Next up in our Minnesota 2024 schedule preview is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who are looking primed to be a spoiler in the Big Ten this fall and a program that some are even calling a dark horse for the College Football Playoffs. While we're not quite ready to be that high on the Scarlet Knights, this is a program that is much improved from recent years and will be fielding their best team in quite some time this fall.
Last season, the Scarlet Knights won at least seven games for the first time since the 2014 season with a 7-6 record that was capped off by a Pinstripe Bowl win over Miami. Rutgers got off to a fast start winning six of their first eight games but struggled as the calendar flipped to November losing each of their last four regular season contests.
The Scarlet Knights last season were led by a top-40 defense that allowed just 21.2 points and 313 total yards per game. Their ceiling, however, was capped quite low by a sluggish offense that averaged just 306.2 yards and 23.2 points per game.
Similar to the Gophers, Rutgers had poor quarterback play in 2023 with Gavin Wimsatt completing just 47.8% of his passes for 1,735 yards and nine touchdowns to eight interceptions. Schiano and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarocca hope to solve their issues at quarterback with a former Gopher in Athan Kaliakmanis. It will be that quarterback play and the Rutgers offense that ultimately determines how far the 2024 version of the Scarlet Knights can go.
The last time the two programs met was in 2022, a 31-0 win for P.J. Fleck and the Gophers at home. The Gophers have won all three matchups between the two programs, all coming since 2016.
Let's take a deeper look at the 2024 Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
HEAD COACH PROFILE: Greg Schiano
There are few coaches in college football that are as well respected as Greg Schiano. The 58-year old New Jersey native is in his second stint as the Scarlet Knights head coach and has the one perennial doormat program back to competing in arguably the country's toughest conference.
After battling through three straight losing seasons between 2020 and 2022, Schiano and the Scarlet Knights got to bowl eligibility in 2023 with a 6-6 record and won the Pinstripe Bowl over Miami. In his college head coaching career, all of it at Rutgers, Schiano has compiled an 87-95 career record.
OFFENSE
As mentioned above, the offense last year for Rutgers was sluggish and severely hampered by poor quarterback play from now Kentucky quarterback Gavin Wimsatt. The Scarlet Knights addressed that need in the transfer portal this offseason by adding former Gopher quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis who with Minnesota last season had struggles of his own, Kaliakmanis's development this upcoming fall will be one of the more interesting story lines for Gophers fans to follow at a conference level.
The good news for Kaliakmanis is that the Scarlet Knights only need him to be serviceable.
Rutgers returns one of the country's top running backs in Kyle Monangai after he totaled 242 carries for 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns a season ago.
At wide receiver, the Scarlet Knights will hope for improved play and addressed the position in the transfer portal by adding FCS star Dymere Miller from Monmouth. Miller was the 2023 leading receiver at the FCS level with 1,293 receiving yards. Overall, the wide receiver room is a rather young and inexperienced position group for Rutgers. The development of those younger wide receivers will be imperative for the Scarlet Knights to meet their own expectations this fall.
The offensive line for Rutgers should once again be a strength for the program as they return three All-Big Ten selections from last season in Gus Zilinskas (center), Bryan Felter (guard), and Hollin Pierce (tackle). The Scarlet Knights pass protection was phenomenal in 2023, allowing just 14 sacks in 13 games, tied for 11th best in the country while also of course paving the way for Kyle Monangai to rush for nearly 1,300 yards.
The Scarlet Knights offense in 2024 will have a quality floor but it will be their passing attack that ultimately makes or breaks them this fall. If the passing game can take a step forward, the Scarlet Knights are going to have a chance to be a very good team this fall.
DEFENSE
After a very good defensive showing in 2023, the Scarlet Knights return seven starters from a year ago. It would've been eight, however, linebacker Mohamad Toure (93 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4.5 sk, 1 INT) recently tore his ACL and will be out for the entirety of the season. It was an unfortunate break for the Scarlet Knights as they hoped to have both Toure and Tyreem Powell (53 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 2.0 Sk) set to hold down the second level after Powell missed the back end of the 2023 season with an injury of his own.
That being said, the Scarlet Knights still return a majority of their production from last year including star defensive end Aaron Lewis (5.0 TFL, 3.5 Sk) and Wesley Bailey (4.5 TFL, 4.0 Sk) who combined for 9.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks a season ago. In the middle Kyonte Harrison (1.0 TFL, 1 Sk) also returns while former Florida State defensive tackle Malcolm Ray is expected to start alongside Hamilton in the interior.
At linebacker, we mentioned Tyreem Powell's return. The likely starter now at the WILL for Rutgers will be redshirt freshman Abram Wright. In the secondary, the Scarlet Knights return nearly every major piece in Robert Longerbeam (43 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 INT, 10 PBU), Shaquon Loyal (66 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBU), Flip Dixon (76 tackles, 2.0 TFL), 1 INT, 6 PBU), Eric Rogers (19 tackles, 6 PBU), and Desmond Igbinosun (64 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 1.0 sack).
Overall, the Rutgers defense should once again be one of the better defenses in the Big Ten and in the country this fall and will be a driving force for the Scarlet Knights as they look to go to a second-straight bowl game.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As mentioned above, this should be one of the best teams that Rutgers has been able to field in quite sometime and one that has plenty of high expectations entering this fall. The Scarlet Knights have a schedule that could be adventurous as well with games against Howard and Akron to start their season. The middle part of their schedule featuring Virginia Tech, Washington, Nebraska, Wisconsin, UCLA, and USC will be challenging but they match up well for the back half of their schedule featuring Minnesota, Maryland, Illinois, and Michigan State.
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