2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

American college football season

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2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football

PapaJohns.com Bowl champion

PapaJohns.com Bowl, W 29–23 vs. NC State

Conference| Big East Conference
Record| 8–5 (5–2 Big East)
Head coach|

* Greg Schiano (8th season)

Offensive coordinator| John McNulty (3rd season)
Offensive scheme| Pro-style
Base defense| 4–3
Home stadium| Rutgers Stadium

Seasons

<- 2007

2009 ->

2008 Big East Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
No. 17 Cincinnati $  |  | 6  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 11  | - | 3  |
Pittsburgh |  | 5  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 4  |
No. 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 conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was Greg Schiano and they played their home games at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights finished the season 8–5, 5–2 in Big East play and won the PapaJohns.com Bowl, 29–23, over NC State.

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

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Site| TV| Result| Attendance

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September 1| 4:00 pm| Fresno State*|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, New Jersey

| ESPN| L 7–24| 42,508
September 11| 7:45 pm| North Carolina*|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, New Jersey

| ESPN| L 12–44| 42,502
September 20| 3:30 pm| at Navy*|

* Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
* Annapolis, Maryland

| CBSCS| L 21–23| 37,821
September 27| 3:30 pm| Morgan State*|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, New Jersey

| SNY| W 38–0| 42,411
October 4| 12:00 pm| at West Virginia|

* Mountaineer Field
* Morgantown, West Virginia

| SNY| L 17–24| 59,122
October 11| 12:00 pm| at Cincinnati|

* Nippert Stadium
* Cincinnati

| SNY| L 10–13| 32,370
October 18| 12:00 pm| Connecticut|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, New Jersey

| ESPNU| W 12–10| 42,491
October 25| 3:30 pm| at No. 17 Pittsburgh|

* Heinz Field
* Pittsburgh

| ESPN360| W 54–34| 51,161
November 8| 12:00 pm| Syracuse|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, New Jersey

| ESPNU| W 35–17| 42,172
November 15| 12:00 pm| at South Florida|

* Raymond James Stadium
* Tampa, Florida

| SNY| W 49–16| 47,216
November 22| 12:00 pm| Army*|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, New Jersey

| SNY| W 30–3| 42,212
December 4| 7:45 pm| Louisville|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, New Jersey

| ESPN| W 63–14| 42,347
December 29| 3:00 pm| vs. NC State|

* Legion Field
* Birmingham, Alabama (PapaJohns.com Bowl)

| ESPN| W 29–23| 38,582

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP polls released prior to game.
* All times are in Eastern time

## References

[edit]

* v
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights football

Venues|

* College Field (1869–1890)
* Neilson Field (1891–1938)
* Old Rutgers Stadium (1938–1992)
* Giants Stadium (alternate, 1976–1992, 1994-96; primary, 1993)
* SHI Stadium (1994–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Princeton

Culture & lore|

* Marching band
* First American football game (painting)

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1869
* 1870
* 1871
* 1872
* 1873
* 1874
* 1875
* 1876
* 1877
* 1878
* 1879
* 1880
* 1881
* 1882
* 1883
* 1884
* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
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* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
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* 1903
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* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
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* 1912
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* 1917
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* 1923
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* 1926
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* 1928
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* 1933
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National championship seasons in bold

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number