2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football

PapaJohns.com Bowl champion
PapaJohns.com Bowl, W 29–23 vs. NC State
Conference	Big East Conference
2008 record	8–5 (5–2 Big East)
Head coach	Greg Schiano
Offensive coordinator	John McNulty
Home stadium	Rutgers Stadium (Capacity: 41,500)

2008 Big East football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#17 Cincinnati $		6	–	1		11	–	3
Pittsburgh		5	–	2		9	–	4
#23 West Virginia		5	–	2		9	–	4
Rutgers		5	–	2		8	–	5
Connecticut		3	–	4		8	–	5
South Florida		2	–	5		8	–	5
Louisville		1	–	6		5	–	7
Syracuse		1	–	6		3	–	9

$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

After losing star halfback Ray Rice to the NFL Draft, Rutgers faced a rebuilding season. Senior Mike Teel was forced to step up his game at quarterback without being able to rely on Rice so frequently. Rutgers started off very slowly, dropping 5 of the first 6 games, including two to Big East rivals West Virginia and Cincinnati. With dreams of a Big East championship now completely eroded, Rutgers now had to recover to try to at least secure a fourth consecutive bowl berth. Starting with a 12-10 win against Connecticut on homecoming weekend, Rutgers never lost another game. The next week, they posted an impressive 54-34 win over #17 Pittsburgh. They won their next four games, finishing the season 7-5 with a solid 5-2 conference record. Rutgers earned a bowl berth in the PapaJohns.com Bowl, and they won a close game against NC State for their third consecutive bowl win.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	4:00 PM	No. NR/25 Fresno State*	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPN	L 7–24	42,508
September 11	7:45 PM	North Carolina*	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPN	L 12–44	42,502
September 20	3:30 PM	at Navy*	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSCS	L 21–23	37,821
September 27	3:30 PM	Morgan State*	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	SNY	W 38–0	42,411
October 4	12:00 PM	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	SNY	L 17–24	59,122
October 11	12:00 PM	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	SNY	L 10–13	32,370
October 18	12:00 PM	Connecticut	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPNU	W 12–10	42,491
October 25	3:30 PM	at No. 17/20 Pittsburgh	Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN360	W 54–34	51,161
November 8	12:00 PM	Syracuse	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPNU	W 35–17	42,172
November 15	12:00 PM	at South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	SNY	W 49–16	47,216
November 22	12:00 PM	Army*	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	SNY	W 30–3	42,212
December 4	7:45 PM	Louisville	Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPN	W 63–14	42,347
December 29	3:00 PM	vs. North Carolina State	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (PapaJohns.com Bowl)	ESPN	W 29–23	38,582
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP and Coaches Polls released prior to game.. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

Rutgers Scarlet Knights football

Venues	College Field (1869–1890) Neilson Field (1891–1938) Rutgers Stadium (1938–1992) Giants Stadium (1993) High Point Solutions Stadium (1994–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Maryland

Culture & lore	Marching band First American football game (painting)

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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