Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 86. Rutgers
The Birthplace of College Football
On November 6, 1869, Rutgers and Princeton students walked on to a small plot of land on the Rutgers campus, and played the first college football game in history. Donning scarlet kerchiefs atop their heads, Rutgers won the inaugural game 6-4. Since then, they’ve played the 2nd most games in college football history (1395), with UPenn as #1. Rutgers come in as the 5th worst Power 5 team on this list, but are a key part of college football lore.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
| 11 | Rutgers | 2006 | 34.14 | 11-2 |
| 27 | Rutgers | 2011 | 13.55 | 9-4 |
| 24 | Rutgers | 1984 | 13.361 | 7-3 |
| 32 | Rutgers | 2009 | 12.5 | 9-4 |
| 33 | Rutgers | 2008 | 11.785 | 8-5 |
| 39 | Rutgers | 2007 | 5.395 | 8-5 |
| 45 | Rutgers | 2012 | 4.594 | 9-4 |
| 51 | Rutgers | 2014 | 1.148 | 8-5 |
| 38 | Rutgers | 1992 | 0.211 | 7-4 |
| 48 | Rutgers | 2005 | -4.015 | 7-5 |
| 45 | Rutgers | 1986 | -4.274 | 5-5-1 |
| 47 | Rutgers | 1987 | -7.706 | 6-5 |
| 54 | Rutgers | 1994 | -8.479 | 5-5-1 |
| 55 | Rutgers | 1991 | -11.219 | 6-5 |
| 64 | Rutgers | 1988 | -12.265 | 5-6 |
| 71 | Rutgers | 2003 | -15.521 | 5-7 |
| 95 | Rutgers | 2020 | -21.38 | 3-6 |
| 85 | Rutgers | 2013 | -22.109 | 6-7 |
| 71 | Rutgers | 1993 | -22.25 | 4-7 |
| 81 | Rutgers | 2004 | -25.241 | 4-7 |
| 94 | Rutgers | 2021 | -25.926 | 5-8 |
| 77 | Rutgers | 1998 | -26.378 | 5-6 |
| 90 | Rutgers | 2010 | -27.299 | 4-8 |
| 74 | Rutgers | 1995 | -27.898 | 4-7 |
| 92 | Rutgers | 2015 | -28.074 | 4-8 |
| 101 | Rutgers | 2017 | -29.822 | 4-8 |
| 80 | Rutgers | 1989 | -29.988 | 2-7-2 |
| 110 | Rutgers | 2022 | -31.076 | 4-8 |
| 88 | Rutgers | 1985 | -36.757 | 2-8-1 |
| 91 | Rutgers | 1983 | -36.906 | 3-8 |
| 91 | Rutgers | 1990 | -39.458 | 3-8 |
| 95 | Rutgers | 2000 | -40.447 | 3-8 |
| 100 | Rutgers | 1996 | -47.826 | 2-9 |
| 120 | Rutgers | 2019 | -47.871 | 2-10 |
| 122 | Rutgers | 2016 | -48.409 | 2-10 |
| 106 | Rutgers | 2001 | -53.006 | 2-9 |
| 125 | Rutgers | 2018 | -56.731 | 1-11 |
| 111 | Rutgers | 1999 | -57.71 | 1-10 |
| 113 | Rutgers | 2002 | -58.394 | 1-11 |
| 112 | Rutgers | 1997 | -72.286 | 0-11 |
+------+---------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 9139 (86th)186-274-5 record
1 conference title
6-4 bowl record
1 consensus All-American
43 NFL players drafted
Greg Schiano was a lifesaver for the program, with 5 of the top 6 seasons on the list. No other coach has really found any success in the last 4 decades. Their first EVER bowl win wasn’t even until 2006, after over 130 years of playing football. They went on a spurt afterwards, winning 6 bowls in 9 years from 2006-14. Despite 1st Team All-American seasons from RB Ray Rice and P Adam Korsak, Rutgers’ only consensus AA is TE Marco Battaglia, who caught 69 passes for 894 yards and 10 TD in 1995, winning Big East OPOTY. Schiano’s produced a lot of tough NFL players, including Ray Rice, Devin/Jason McCourty, Logan Ryan, Mohamed Sanu, and Isiah Pacheco.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1997 (0-11 overall, 0-7 Big East)
Do you know what this is? It’s the worst season by a Power 5 team in this series! Going back all the way to 1983, Rutgers’ 1997 season stands alone as the worst ever among Power 5 teams, ranking as the worst team in the nation that year. With a 76th ranked strength of schedule, they averaged just 17.4 PPG while giving up 45.1 PPG. There were just 2 one-possession losses all year—35-37 to 4-7 Army, and 48-55 in 2OT to Pitt. Blowout losses included 19-59 to Virginia Tech, 14-48 to 4-7 Texas, 7-36 to Navy, 0-48 to West Virginia, 3-50 to Syracuse, 23-51 to 5-6 Miami (FL), and worst of all, 7-49 to 3-8 Temple. Temple had gone just 8-58 the 6 years prior!! Incredibly, there were some decent players on this team. OL Shaun O’Hara became a 7 year starter for the New York Giants in the NFL, making 3 Pro Bowls and winning a Super Bowl in 2007. Freshman QB Mike McMahon ended up being one of the best QBs in school history: Despite throwing just 6 TD to 12 INT in his first year, he would go on to leave as Rutgers’ 2nd all time leading passer with 6608 yards, and was the first QB ever drafted out of Rutgers in the 5th round of 2001 NFL Draft. McMahon was a very talented player on some bad Rutgers’ teams, and if you put him under Schiano, he might’ve been considered the best QB in school history.
5. 2008 (8-5 overall, 5-2 Big East)
With All-American RB Ray Rice leaving for the NFL, senior QB Mike Teel was forced to step up and lead more of a passing offense in 2008. Things started VERY rough, and it looked like Rutgers may have been returning to their losing ways, with a 7-24 loss to Frenso State, 12-44 to North Carolina, and 21-23 to Navy. 3 games later, Rutgers was just 1-5 with their only win over FCS Morgan State. It turned out those initial teams they played all ended up having great years, and for the rest of the season, Rutgers was resurgent. They were one of the hottest teams in the country to end the year, winning 7 straight including 12-10 over 8-5 UConn, 54-34 over #17 Pitt, 29-23 in the bowl over Russell Wilson and NC State, and a combined 142-33 result vs USF/Army/Louisville. Teel finished his career as the Knights’ all-time greatest passer, throwing for 3418 yards 25 TD 13 INT, throwing for 447 yards and 7 TD vs Louisville. A big reason for Teel’s success was the 6’3 WR Kenny Britt, who was 3rd Team All-American with 1371 receiving yards, and finished 1st in Big East history with 3043. 8 starters were drafted from this team, including 1st rounders Britt, DB Devin McCourty, and OL Anthony Davis.
4. 2009 (9-4 overall, 3-4 Big East)
Uncertain about the season with the loss of QB Teel and WR Britt, new starters would step up on offense, and the defense was one of the best in the country, giving up just 15.5 PPG not including the first game against eventual 12-1 Cincinnati. Outside of the opening 15-47 loss to Cincy, Rutgers got off to a hot start, improving to 7-2 with a 31-0 win over #24 USF, in which the Bulls were held to just 7 first downs and 159 yards. A following 13-31 loss to Syracuse, who was 3-7 and 0-5 in the Big East, was one of the more surprising results of the season, as Rutgers managed just 130 yards against a defense that gave up 56 points to UConn a week later. Still, Rutgers would finish the season 9-4 with a win over UCF in the bowl, completing their 4th straight season with 8+ wins, something previously unthinkable for the program. QB Tom Savage stepped up in Teel’s absence, putting together a Freshman All-American season, throwing for 2211 yards 14 TD 7 INT, and showed future 1st round potential. The 5’8 Tim Brown stepped up in 6’3 Kenny Britt’s place, catching just 55 passes, but for 1150 yards and 9 TD, ranking 4th in the nation in yards per catch. WR Mohamed Sanu was a swiss army knife, putting up 639 receiving yards, 346 rushing yards, 66 punt return yards, 38 passing yards, and 9 total TD. OL Anthony Davis and DB Devin McCourty were 1st round picks after the season.
3. 1984 (7-3 overall, Independent)
Literally 1984. Rutgers had a VERY good run under coach Frank Burns the 11 years prior, going 78-43-1, and new coach Dick Anderson used the remaining talent for another great year. QB Eric Hochberg, who was literally painting #11 Penn State’s steps just a few years prior, travelled to Beaver Stadium as the starting QB for Rutgers, putting up a good fight in a 12-15 losing effort. 2 weeks later, Rutgers shut out Syracuse 19-0. You know what Syracuse proceeded to do just a week later? They beat #1 NEBRASKA. Rutgers was transitively the best team in college football for a moment. Rutgers’ defense continued to star throughout the year, giving up just 15.5 PPG, good news for an offense that averaged just 21.3. Aside from the Syracuse win, they beat 8-3-1 Army and #19 West Virginia. With the lack of bowls back then, finishing 7-3 as an Independent didn’t earn them a bid.
2. 2011 (9-4 overall, 4-3 Big East)
Schiano’s last season in his first stint with Rutgers. Chas Dodd vs Gary Nova at the QB position dominated the headlines all season, along with the inspiration brought to the team by the paralyzed Eric LeGrand. The defense played with their hair on fire all year long for the former defensive lineman, ranking 8th in the nation with just 18.3 PPG allowed. Wins included 38-26 over 10-4 Ohio, 34-10 over 6-7 Pitt, 20-3 over 10-3 Cincinnati, and 27-13 over Iowa State in the bowl. A few slip-ups saw them go just 4-3 in the Big East, with a 4th placed finish. Still, with inconsistent QB play all year, it’s a miracle this team won 9 games. Dodd, the returning starter from last season, threw for 1637 yards 10 TD 7 INT. The fresman Nova wasn’t any better, throwing for 1553 yards 11 TD 9 INT. Nova would take over in the following years, finishing as Rutgers’ 2nd all time leading passer and a 4ish-year starter. The team won 9 games because they were stupidly loaded at other positions. 9 starters were drafted over the next 3 years. Mohamed Sanu was 4th in the nation with 115 catches, going for 1206 yards and 7 TD. LB Khaseem Greene was 10th in the country in tackles with 141, also notching 14.5 total TFL. Greene would go on to finish 2nd in Big East history with 387 total tackles. Future Bill Belichick proteges Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon combined for 8 INTs in the secondary. Greg Schiano couldn’t avoid the calls to the NFL any longer, and left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching job after the season.
1. 2006 (11-2 overall, 5-2 Big East)
While many people talk about the crazy 2007 season for the many non-traditional powers that had a crack at the national title, people forget about 2006, where Rutgers was once on pace to become a national champion. The defense was among college football’s best, giving up 8.3 PPG in their first 6 games en route to a 6-0 start. 2 more wins set up the biggest game in Rutgers history—#15 Scarlet Knights hosting #3 unbeaten Louisville. Louisville seemed unstoppable with QB Brian Brohm and coach Bobby Petrino, beating #3 West Virginia just a week prior and pulverizing #17 Miami (FL) 31-7 earlier in the season. One of the most magical games in college football history ensued—you just had to be there at the time. Louisville took a 25-7 lead in the 2nd quarter only to see it slowly erased, capped off by a winning 28 yard FG from Jeremy Ito, to fittingly win 28-25 with the famous “Pandemonium in Piscataway!” call from commentators. The hype was short lived, as #7 Rutgers was dominated 30-11 by an upstart Cincinnati team the following week, who’d go on to win 33 games over the next 3 years. #13 Rutgers still had a chance to win the Big East at #15 West Virginia in the final week, but lost 39-41 in an exciting 3OT game. Most concerns of a “soft” schedule were alleviated when Rutgers dominated Kansas State 37-10 in the bowl.
They finished #12 in the nation, their highest ever finish. RB Ray Rice won the Big East POTY, rushing for 1794 yards and 20 TD. He’d go on to rush for 2000+ yards the next year as well. FB Brian Leonard won the Draddy Trophy, aka the “Academic Heisman”, rushing for 423 yards with 294 receiving yards, and paving the way for Rice. DL Ramel Meekins was a 2x National Defensive Player of the Week winner, and had 68 tackles 8 sacks 5.5 TFL. The defense was EXCELLENT at getting to the QB, with a whopping 6 players amassing 10+ total TFL for a defense that gave up just 14.3 PPG. This is easily Rutgers’ best ever year, and a fun season for all football fans.
5th Quarter
Agree with Rutgers’ rank on the list? What do you think/remember about the Schiano years? Are they headed back on the right track or it’s not going to work out the 2nd time with him? Why has Rutgers been so poor historically despite being the premier team in a state that loves football (at least, professionally)? And finally, now that we’ve seen 5 Power 5 teams on this list…who’s up next?
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub
