Rutgers Football's Top Games Under Greg Schiano
With Greg Schiano being named head coach of the Rutgers football for a second time, here at The Knight Report we've decided to put together a quick list of the top four games Schiano has coached at Rutgers.
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NO. 15 RUTGERS 28, NO. 3 LOUISVILLE 25 (NOV. 9, 2006)
Every Rutgers fan knows this game and knew this would wind up number one on our list. It was a chilly November night, when the Scarlet Knights welcomed number three Louisville to New Jersey. The 8-0 Cardinals were hot off a big 44-34 win against a top three ranked West Virginia program the week before and were ready to keep that hot streak going. However running back Ray Rice and Rutgers had different plans.
Rice ended up running wild, finishing with 160 rushing yards and two touchdowns to help secure the the programs biggest win in school history. It truly was just the beginning of the Greg Schiano era at Rutgers.
RUTGERS 44, CINCINNATI 9 (NOV. 26, 2005)
Some of you may be asking why this game was so important. Well this win over Cincinnati in 2005 would secure the first winning season for the Scarlet Knights in over 13 years.
Rutgers came into the game off a two game losing streak as it lost to South Florida and Louisville, but bounced back to destroy the Bearcats by a score of 44-9. This not only would clinch Rutgers first winning season since 1992, but it also secured an invitation to a bowl game, the second in program history and first since 1978.
NO. 16 RUTGERS 37, KANSAS STATE 10 (DEC. 28, 2006 - TEXAS BOWL)
Rutgers was headed to its third ever bowl game and second in a row back in 2006. Despite losing to West Virginia in a triple-overtime thriller in the last game of the season, Rutgers finished the year 11-2 and went to the Texas Bowl to take on Kansas State.
Running back Ray Rice tore it up, rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown helping lead the way to Rutgers first ever bowl victory. After this win, Greg Schiano would go on to lead Rutgers to four more bowl victories over the next five seasons.
RUTGERS 30, NO. 2 SOUTH FLORIDA 27 (OCT. 18, 2007)
Just a year later after taking down the No. 3-ranked Louisville Cardinals, the Scarlet Knights welcomed yet another big time opponent to Rutgers Stadium in the No. 2-ranked South Florida Bulls.
The Scarlet Knights had a little bit of that magic once again as they pulled multiple trick plays, including a fake punt pass and a fake field goal pass. Along with a little trickery, Rice ran for over 180 yards that day to help lead them to yet another victory.
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