Inside The Banks: Early Predictions for the 2023 Rutgers Football season

On the day the NFL schedule drops, it only makes sense to take a look at the Rutgers football schedule for the upcoming season to give a post-spring assessment on how the Scarlet Knights might do this year.

In today's Inside The Banks, we take a game by game look at how RU's 2023 football season might play out, including score predictions for each contest (last year I nailed the 4-8 record in these same predictions).

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Huge game to open up the season, and a very winnable one at that. Northwestern went 1-11 last year and 1-8 in the Big Ten, losing 11 straight games after beating Nebraska in their 2022 opener. I do think the Wildcats will be slightly improved over last year's showing, but with improved QB play and a stout defense for the Knights, I think the home team pulls out a lower scoring contest 20-13 to advance to 1-0 on the season.

On the road last year, Rutgers edged out the Owls 16-14 in a game that was much closer than it should have been. I expect year two of the Stan Drayton Era to show an improved Temple team that landed a number of players from the portal who should have an instant impact. That said, I think having home field advantage will help Rutgers out in this one, and I think they'll get the season rolling on a two-game winning streak, advancing to 2-0 with a 27-17 win over TU.

This is the marquee non-conference game for Rutgers, but Virginia Tech is in somewhat of a rebuild under first year head coach Brent Pry. That said, the Hokies do have a pretty talented roster, and while the offense may need some time to click, the defense should be immediately solid under Pry's leadership. While I truly think this one could go either way, I am going to go with Rutgers here, 24-20, as I think the VT offense has too many questions that they won't be able to answer by week 3. RU starts 3-0 once again.

Don't need to expand a ton here, but I don't think this one is going to be pretty. RU was leading Michigan at half last year and then got bulldozed by a 52-17 final score. I think the final result will be somewhat similar and the Wolverines get a dominant 45-14 win over the Knights to push Rutgers to 3-1.

Last year resulted in a 66-7 drumming of Wagner by Rutgers and I expect something similar this year. Let's go even higher, as RU coasts to a 73-10 win over the Staten Island-based program to advance to 4-1 on the season.

First year coach for the Badgers, but a good one at that. I think Luke Fickell is going to have Wisconsin very competitive this year, and with the game being in Camp Randall, I am not seeing this one go so well for Rutgers. UW wins 41-17 to drop RU to 4-2 on the campaign.

Rutgers lost 27-21 at Sparty last year, and there has been no love lost between these programs. Michigan State took some big hits in the portal this year and I think they're going to have a tough year in 2023. Rutgers gets some revenge for last year's game and gets a big win at home 31-23 to move to 5-2 overall.

While I think the arrow is pointing down big time for Indiana under Tom Allen, going on the road in the B1G is never easy, and this trip to Bloomington will be no different. Dexter Williams, the expected IU QB, is a heckuva playmaker with his legs and can throw it a bit too. Allen is a pretty good defensive coach and should have a solid game plan for Gavin Wimsatt. While this is totally a winnable game, they can't win them all, and I have the Hoosiers avenging last year's loss in Piscataway by winning 28-24 and dropping RU to 5-3.

Ohio State could be vulnerable this year with a new quarterback, three new offensive line starters, and a defense with many question marks. That said, the talent gap here is too wide and the Buckeyes should have things generally figured out by November 4. Ohio State wins 45-20 and RU is now 5-4.

Iowa made some nice portal moves this off-season, picking up quarterback Cade McNamara and Erick All from Michigan, and receiver Kaleb Brown from Ohio State, among some other moves. Plus, their offense can't be as bad as it was last year, and they always have a strong O-line and defense. This game is in Kinnick, making it even harder. Iowa wins 31-16 and Rutgers drops to 5-5 overall.

I'm pretty high on Penn State this year. While I don't think James Franklin is a particularly good in-game coach, Drew Allar is the real deal, the PSU running backs are studs, the receivers are solid, the O-line should be very good, and the defense is always top notch. Last year's score at RU was 55-10 in favor of PSU. While I don't think it will be that ugly, it won't be close either. PSU wins 48-17 to make it 4 straight losses for Rutgers and have them in danger of missing a bowl at 5-6 overall.

HAVE to win this game. Not only to go bowling, but because these are the types of games, at home, that must be win for RU to take the next step. Stopping Taulia Tagovaiola won't be easy, but I think Greg Schiano will have a thing or two up his sleeves to slow the star QB down. The Terps' defense isn't ultra impressive either, and I think Wimsatt & co. will be able to move the ball effectively. This will be a hard fought game, but RU will prevail 31-27 to advance to 6-6 on the season and go bowling.

I am seeing Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Penn State, and Wisconsin as games that Rutgers won't win no matter what. I am seeing Wagner as a definite win and Temple as a likely win. That means there are five other games that can go either way and should determine the outcome of RU's season, with those being Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Indiana, and Virginia Tech. Right now I have RU winning four of those, but that won't be easy, although I think three is certainly very possible. I'd give RU a floor of 4-8, but I think 5-7 or 6-6 is more likely, with 7-5 probably being this team's ceiling in the most optimistic of scenarios.

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