Rutgers Football: Scarlet Knights look for success in 2018
Schedule and predictions
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT |
| 1 | Sat, Sept 1 | vs Texas St. |
| 2 | Sat, Sept 8 | at Ohio St. |
| 3 | Sat, Sept 15 | at Kansas |
| 4 | Sat, Sept 22 | vs Buffalo |
| 5 | Sat, Sept 29 | vs Indiana |
| 6 | Sat, Oct 6 | vs Illinois |
| 7 | Sat, October 13 | at Maryland |
| 8 | Sat, October 20 | vs Northwestern |
| 9 | BYE | BYE |
| 10 | Sat, Nov 3 | at Wisconsin |
| 11 | Sat, Nov 10 | vs Michigan |
| 12 | Sat, Nov 17 | vs Penn State |
| 13 | Sat, Nov 24 | at Michigan St. |
Rutgers will have a much easier go in the first half of the year as opposed to the second part of the season.
The Scarlet Knights already face stiff competition being a part of the Big Ten East. That means they have to face the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and the reigning Big Ten Champion Ohio State Buckeyes annually.
Rutgers will also have to contend with a tough west division opponent in the Wisconsin Badgers, who went undefeated in the regular season last year.
In 2017, the Scarlet Knights were 4-8 overall and finished with a 3-6 record in the Big Ten.
By the time Rutgers reaches the full slate of Big Ten games, there are reasons to believe it can square off against Indiana with a 3-1 record. Rutgers should take care of business against FCS opponent Texas State and will likely lose in decisive fashion to Ohio State as it’s done pretty much every year since joining the Big Ten. Kansas is another favorable matchup and should be a win as is Buffalo from the MAC Conference.
Moving into Big Ten play, the Scarlet Knights have a more feasible front end before a brutal stretch at the back end to conclude the season.
Rutgers was shut out by Indiana in a blowout loss in 2017 but has beaten the Hoosiers in the past, so there are reasons to believe that could be a plus for the win column. Illinois and Maryland made up two-thirds of Rutgers’ Big Ten wins last year, so those should both be winnable games in 2018 as well.
The Northwestern matchup is a bit of a toss-up, but the Scarlet Knights should be able to escape that one with home field advantage.
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Barring some kind of miracle, Rutgers will likely fall in its final four games of the season, but the good news is it only needs six wins to become bowl eligible. If the Scarlet Knights get the wins they need to and claims victories in at least three in-conference games, they have a good shot at making a bowl game for the first time in four seasons.
Rutgers probably won’t compete for the Big Ten East division title or the entire Big Ten for that matter, but a .500 season or better would certainly boost morale moving forward in the Chris Ash era.