Big Ten football power rankings after spring portal closes: Did Nittany Lions get better?
By Josh Yourish
Last Year: 7-6 Pinstripe Bowl W. . team. Head Coach: Greg Schiano. 10. . . Rutgers. . 452
Key losses: Max Melton, Rene Konga Key additions: Dymere Miller, Athan Kaliakmanis
Greg Schiano teams are not particularly exciting, but he’s steadily turning Rutgers back into a respectable program. No longer the laughingstock of the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights went 7-6 last year though just 3-6 in conference play.
Gavin Wimsatt is back at quarterback for Rutgers which gives the team a baseline of competence on that side of the ball, but not a particularly high ceiling. More importantly, Kyle Monangai is returning after rushing for 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior.
Defensively, Schiano will always put a good product on the field, but losing Max Melton, who became a second-round pick in the NFL draft, will hurt. With four new teams coming into the Big Ten, Rutgers gets pushed a bit further down the hierarchy and a trip to USC in late October won’t be easy, but the Scarlet Knights are a mid-tier Big Ten program and that’s a great compliment.