2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
| 2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football | |||
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| PapaJohns.com Bowl Champions | |||
| PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. NC State, W 29–23 | |||
| Conference | Big East | ||
| 2008 record | 8–5 (5–2 Big East) | ||
| Head coach | Greg Schiano | ||
| Offensive coordinator | John McNulty | ||
| Home stadium | Rutgers Stadium (Capacity: 41,500) |
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Seasons
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| 2008 Big East football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 champion Rankings from AP Poll |
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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# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
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| September 1 | 4:00 PM | #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 #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. |
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References
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