Rutgers Football: Greg Schiano’s road to achieving lofty goals

Checkpoint #1 – Steal a Few Toss-Ups in Year 1

Rutgers should beat Monmouth at home to start the 2020 season. Their remaining schedule looks pretty tough, however.

The team was 2-10 in 2019 and is bound to play better this year, with a much-upgraded coaching staff. While it would be expected the Knights at least finish 3-9, Rutgers goal needs to be more than just a one-win improvement. They need at least four wins, and there are a few games that would make sense for RU to take be on their way there.

In Week 2, they play Syracuse, at home. The orange struggled mightily in 2019 to finish 5-7 in a generally down year for the ACC (except of course Clemson). A week later, Rutgers starts their four-year series with Temple on the road. While Temple was 8-5 last year, they played a cupcake schedule. A Power-5 program should have no excuse to let this match-up get away from them.

The third toss-up they can realistically pull off is in a Big Ten tilt. First, there is a home contest against Nebraska on the 24th. The Huskers did recruit well this offseason, but they’ve made it very hard to believe their annual claims that they will be good again. On Halloween, a week later, the Knights head to Maryland to face a very poor Terrapins squad. If there is a conference game to be had it will be at the tail end of October.