Rutgers football’s Pinstripe Bowl win over Miami certainly seemed to help the program’s perception nationally. It saw Rutgers make a move in the final ESPN FPI update of the year.
Rutgers moved up four spots, finishing No. 50 nationally in the ESPN FPI index. Interestingly enough, Miami did not move at all despite the loss to Rutgers. The Hurricanes are ranked No. 24 in the nation per ESPN FPI.
With the Pinstripe Bowl win, Rutgers finished the season 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten). It was their first winning season and first bowl win since 2014.
The season certainly showed progress for head coach Greg Schiano and his rebuilding of the Rutgers program.
Rutgers finished seventh in the Big Ten in the ESPN FPI, for what it is worth.
The Pinstripe Bowl represented the first big-name opponent beaten by Rutgers in the four years since Schiano has been back with the program.
Despite the Hurricanes being down several players for the game, the 31-24 win was nonetheless a big step forward for a program that has struggled to beat the top-tier programs in the Big Ten since they joined the conference in 2014.
ESPN’s Tom Luginbill saw the Rutgers win as an important one for the program.
“It was a solid win and I think it’s very fair and it is valid to say that because of who it was against and the athletes that are on that team – for Rutgers to beat that team,” Luginbill told Rutgers Wire last week.
“And I know it’s not the full Miami team and that’s fine, but they’ve got great athletes and they probably got lots of athletes that Rutgers would take right now on their two-deep and they beat them.”
Story originally appeared on Rutgers Wire
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/did-rutgers-football-finish-espn-051220660.html
Author : Rutgers Wire
Publish date : 2024-01-10 05:12:20
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