Virginia Tech is a ‘prove it game’ for Rutgers

Greg Schiano is off to a strong start in Year 4 of his second stint at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are 2-0 heading into an important matchup with Virginia Tech on Saturday.

On3’s Nick Kosko joined Andy Staples on Thursday and shared that he believes Rutgers has a chance to show that it is ready to have a solid season with a win this weekend.

“I would say going into the year, everyone circled this game as, ‘Alright, this is the prove it game. Can you win a big nonconference game like this?’” Kosko said. “Now again, ‘big’ being a relative term, because Virginia Tech we know is also in rebuilding mode under Brent Pry. But with the way Schiano has coached up this team this year, and again, Northwestern and Temple, not overly impressive. … But the defense looks really good. Gavin Wimsatt is not a turnover machine right now at quarterback, so that’s a good sign to see if you’re a Scarlet Knights fan.”

Rutgers beat Northwestern 24-7 in its opener, before blasting Temple 36-7 this past weekend. As Kosko alluded to, the competition wasn’t exactly great the first two weeks of the season.

Still, the Scarlet Knights put together solid performances. Wimsatt has three touchdowns and no interceptions through the first two weekends of the season, and Rutgers is favored by seven entering Saturday’s matchup as it looks to move to 3-0.

“This is a good game. It’s in Piscataway, so you already have the advantage there,” Kosko said. “And I would say if they win this game, you’re halfway to bowl eligibility with three wins already. I know Michigan, they have to go to Ann Arbor in Week 4, but you come back home and play Wagner. Hypothetically they could be 4-1 after five games and at that point you have seven games left to win just two.”

Reaching a bowl game would be a big accomplishment for Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights have made only one bowl since 2014, which came in 2021. Rutgers was ineligible for a bowl that season due to going 5-7, but it ended up playing in the Gator Bowl after Texas A&M withdrew due to COVID.

Rutgers will obviously be a huge underdog in Week 4 against Michigan, but in addition to Wagner, the Scarlet Knights have winnable games against unranked teams Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana and Maryland.

“You’re back in the postseason in a legitimate way – not the Gator Bowl a couple of years ago when Texas A&M had to drop out,” Kosko said of how the season could play out. “I would say this is probably Schiano’s best team overall since coming back. … And if they are going to be a legitimate bowl team, I would say they have to win at 3:30 on Saturday.”