Rutgers football game-by-game predictions for 2025: Will Scarlet Knights finish with winning record?

After nine months of movement on the roster and coaching staff, discussions on what it will mean on the field and previews of what is to come in the fall, the 2025 season has finally arrived.

Rutgers opens the campaign on Thursday, when it hosts defending MAC champion Ohio in Piscataway.

The Scarlet Knights, who are seeking a third consecutive season with a winning record and bowl game appearance, bolstered their high-powered offense and revamped their disappointing defense ahead of the sixth season of head coach Greg Schiano’s second stint at the helm.

Will it be enough for Rutgers to take another step in the right direction as a program?

Here are our game-by-game predictions of how the 2025 season will play out for the Scarlet Knights:

GAME 1

vs. Ohio (Aug. 28)

Lanni: Ohio is the first team from the Mid-American Conference to win six straight bowl games and is coming off its first MAC championship in 56 seasons. If that’s not the gold standard for a Group of 5 team, consider this even more improbable stat: Last year’s team won 11 games while replacing nearly every starter on offense. Ohio will be much more experienced with its QB and top four receivers returning from a unit which averaged over 400 yards and nearly 30 points per game last season. Bottom line: Rutgers’ inexperienced defense will be put to the test right away. I see trouble looming. Could this be a major spoiler?

Record: 0-1.

Fonseca: Ohio was one of the best Group of Five programs in college football last season, but while the Bobcats return their starting quarterback, they lost their longtime head coach to Charlotte and their star edge rusher to ... the Scarlet Knights.

The game may stay close in the first half, but Rutgers’ high-powered offense will flex its muscles and its defense will overpower the Ohio offense as the Scarlet Knights pull away in the second.

Record: 1-0.

Politi: Ohio had the ninth-best defense in the country last season, and even with top pass rusher Bradley Weaver switching sides from the Bobcats to the Scarlet Knights in the offseason, this is a team that Greg Schiano rather not play in the opener. Rutgers will win, but fans might want to avoid an expensive manicure before this one as they might spend much of the second half gnawing on their nails.

Record: 1-0.

GAME 2

vs. Miami (Ohio) (Sept. 6)

Lanni: This is a good team but not as good as Ohio. I think Rutgers figures things out after a disappointing opener and puts together a dazzling performance in what will be a cruising victory. After getting gashed defensively, Rutgers gets the type of dominant defensive performance it needs to get things rolling.

Record: 1-1.

Fonseca: Rutgers may not face a Power Four program in non-conference play this season, but starting off with two tough MAC teams will prep the Scarlet Knights for a crucial start to Big Ten play. Another game that starts close before the hosts eventually pull away for a comfortable two-score win.

Record: 2-0.

Politi: Now the other participant in the MAC championship game comes to Piscataway. The Redhawks have 20 victories to show for the past two seasons, and thanks to their own good work in the transfer portal, are led by a quarterback (Dequan Finn) who has thrown for nearly 7,000 yards in his three college seasons at Toledo. Where are the MAC cupcakes? Not on this schedule. Most sweat at SHI, but Rutgers prevails.

Record: 2-0.

GAME 3

vs. Norfolk State (Sept. 13)

Lanni: This one will look a lot like the Howard game last season, where the Scarlet Knights controlled every facet of the game from start to finish and some new faces danced in the end zone for the first time.

Record: 2-1.

Fonseca: Rutgers will run right over the Spartans in what will be Michael Vick’s first game against a Power Four program as a head coach. He might be tempted to run back the clock and get on the field himself, but even that wouldn’t be enough to prevent a major blowout.

Record: 3-0.

Politi: Finally, an easy day — and a chance to see the young players like backup quarterback AJ Surace. The Scarlet Knights take care of business with a perfect record in non-conference play, and that’s a must.

Record: 3-0.

GAME 4

vs. Iowa (Sept. 19)

Lanni: You have to go back to when Rutgers played in the American Conference for the last time Iowa finished with a losing record so is this game winnable? It’s one of Rutgers must-win games so it better be. Still, you would think the Scarlet Knights need a perfect outing against a team that should be more balanced than recent seasons with QB Mark Gronowski set to make the jump from North Dakota State to Iowa after winning two FCS national titles.

Record: 2-2.

Fonseca: This is a game that, on paper, could make or break the season for the Scarlet Knights. In a similar spot last year, Rutgers beat Washington in what felt like a season-defining moment, only to flounder with four straight losses. The inverse very well could happen this fall when Rutgers come up short against the Hawkeyes once again.

Record: 3-1.

Politi: Rutgers is hoping to recreate the magic of last September, when a night-game atmosphere helped the Scarlet Knights beat a marquee league opponent in Washington. They needed a lot of breaks from the sloppy Huskies in that game to pull out the victory — something that is unlikely to happen a year later against a well-coached Hawkeyes team.

Record: 3-1.

GAME 5

@ Minnesota (Sept. 27)

Lanni: The season could hang in the balance in land of 10,000 lakes. Rutgers looks better on paper than Minnesota and squeaked out a big win last year. Expect a really good game that Rutgers desperately needs to win.

Record: 3-2.

Fonseca: In his return to the place where he started his career, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis makes sure the Scarlet Knights don’t slide any further after their first slip-up of the season. He has a career day against the Golden Gophers, helping Schiano earn another victory over his protégé PJ Fleck.

Record: 4-1.

Politi: This, to me, is the pivotal game on the schedule. Rutgers has an opportunity to get a huge road victory against a Golden Gophers team that has won eight or more games in three of the last four seasons under former Rutgers assistant P.J. Fleck.

Record: 4-1.

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GAME 6

@ Washington (Oct. 10)

Lanni: Rutgers gets a Big Ten break here in another game that will make or break its season. The extra preparation will help. Since 2005 under Schiano, the Scarlet Knights have a 10-3 record coming off bye weeks. It used the extra prep last year to down Virginia Tech and Minnesota. After a sloppy game last year, Washington will be better versed — especially at home — but Rutgers finds a way to steal another.

Record: 4-2.

Fonseca: The last time Rutgers went to Seattle, it suffered a humiliating 48-13 loss that foreshadowed Chris Ash’s disastrous tenure. This time, the Scarlet Knights prove that last year’s win over the Huskies was not a fluke, beating Jersey guy Jeff Fisch’s team on Montlake.

Record: 5-1.

Politi: There are reasons to wonder where the Huskies stand in their second season under Jeff Fisch, who had to rebuild the national runners-up roster upon arrival in Seattle — losing both coordinators, for example, has led to instability. This is a winnable game for the Scarlet Knights, but I see the Huskies getting revenge at home one year after they lost in New Jersey.

Record: 4-2.

GAME 7

vs. Oregon (Oct. 18)

Lanni: Rutgers may not be ready to dethrone one of the conference’s best teams, but it will at least show progress against a team that would have run the Scarlet Knights off the field a few years ago.

Record: 4-3.

Fonseca: With a raucous home crowd and mountains of momentum behind it, Rutgers will be playing with house money on a rare Homecoming night game. But while they will put a scare into the Ducks, the Scarlet Knights will fall short of the monumental upset that has alluded them since joining the Big Ten.

Record: 5-2.

Politi: The Scarlet Knights’ glaring weakness — lack of team speed — was exposed in a bowl-game loss to Kansas State. While Schiano worked to address it in the offseason, I don’t think he’s gotten his program to a level where it can compete with a high-powered opponent like Oregon. The Ducks will establish the ceiling for this Rutgers season with an easy victory.

Record: 4-3.

GAME 8

@ Purdue (Oct. 25)

Lanni: It will be a friendly season on the road for Rutgers — and West Lafayette, Indiana, will be the place to celebrate with a get-right game that gives the Scarlet Knights a shot at bowl eligibility in the month of November. Rutgers can not afford a stinker against a team that has steadily fallen to the Big Ten basement.

Record: 5-3.

Fonseca: Purdue was the worst team in the Big Ten last season by a wide margin, and unless Barry Odom is a miracle worker, that will likely be the case this fall, too. The Scarlet Knights take care of business in West Lafayette to punch their ticket to a third straight bowl game and give themselves a strong chance to finish with a winning regular-season record for the second straight year.

Record: 6-2.

Politi: This is a must win. Purdue is picked for finish dead last in the Big Ten and dropped a 66-0 decision to end the season at rival Indiana. Rutgers moves to within one victory of bowl eligibility.

Record: 5-3.

GAME 9

@ Illinois (Nov. 1)

Lanni: Illinois used its last-second, stunning winning at Rutgers last season to spring board its way to the Citrus Bowl. That just shows you how much flexibility there may be in the middle of the conference standings. I see this game as almost a replica of last season. It’s a true swing game coming down to the final quarter. Could Rutgers flip the script and stun Illinois? Crazier things have happened, but this won’t be a signature win for the Scarlet Knights.

Record: 5-4

Fonseca: Illinois is the darling of preseason prognosticators, who universally see Bret Bielema’s program having one of the best 15 teams in the country. But the Scarlet Knights remember how close they came to upsetting the Illini in Piscataway last fall, and they exact revenge with a similarly-dramatic win in Champaign.

Record: 7-2.

Politi: The Illini are a popular surprise pick for the national playoff, and while that feels like a big ask, Bret Bielema has a roster with 15+ returning starters and a star quarterback in Luke Altmyer. Rutgers fans who still find themselves shaking their heads at that agonizing loss a season ago in Piscataway might want to keep the Tums handy.

Record: 5-4.

GAME 10

vs. Maryland (Nov. 8)

Lanni: Rutgers won’t be playing for a playoff spot, but it will be playing for the postseason in a RIVALRY game. Yes, lets call it what it is. No more dancing around the question. Rutgers can pick up its second straight win in this series and possibly clinch a bowl game against a team that it will continue to battle regardless of how outsiders view the game.

Record: 6-4

Fonseca: Rutgers dominated the Terrapins in College Park last season, pushing Mike Locksley further into the hottest seat in the Big Ten. The pressure will be on the head coach to steal a win back in Piscataway this year, and luckily for him, he will find the Scarlet Knights tired from back-to-back road trips and overconfident from their upset of Illinois.

Record: 7-3.

Politi: The best Big Ten development lately for Schiano is the unraveling of a Maryland program that had taken the upper hand in the Rutgers matchup. A win here for the Scarlet Knights could put an end to the Mike Locksley Era in College Park — and would get the Scarlet Knights back in a bowl game.

Record: 6-4

GAME 11

@ Ohio State (Nov. 22)

Lanni: Ohio State hopes to be hitting its stride in its national title attack. That’s bad news for Rutgers as it tries to dethrone a blue blood for the first time in a long time.

Record: 6-5.

Fonseca: Rutgers came oh-so-close to bringing the Buckeyes to the brink of an upset the last time these two met in Piscataway. The defending national champions don’t let it get that close in Columbus.

Record: 7-4.

Politi: Too much speed. Too much talent. Too much everything.

Record: 6-5

GAME 12

vs. Penn State (Nov. 29)

Lanni: Rutgers fans would kill for a long-awaited upset against the hated Nittany Lions and imagine the story for the grandkids if Penn State comes to Piscataway ranked No. 1. That’s a dream for crazy fans or reporters who picked a 10-win Rutgers season a year ago! Back to reality for Rutgers and Pat Lanni.

Record: 6-6.

Fonseca: Upsetting the Nittany Lions would turn a good season into an unforgettable fall. Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, this may be the best Penn State team they’ll face since joining the Big Ten. The visitors quiet a deafening home crowd early on before cruising to a three-score victory.

Record: 7-5.

Politi: I’m not ready to give James Franklin his national championship (or, for that matter, win over Ohio State) as many prognosticators are quick to do this summer. But this roster is loaded, and while Rutgers fans want a W in this game more than any other, I just don’t see it.

Record: 6-6.

Bowl Game Projection

Lanni: It’s the year of MACtion for Rutgers. After taking on two of the league’s top teams to start the season, the Scarlet Knights will end up playing the eventual MAC champion — Buffalo — in the GameAbove Bowl in Detroit, Michigan.

Fonseca: The Yankees, who should turn one of the many luxury boxes in their stadium into the Scarlet Knight Suite at this point, will get their wish as Rutgers makes its fourth overall appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl. And for the second straight time, Schiano will face a protégé of his as Fran Brown and his Syracuse Orange accept the same invite.

Politi: Get your EZ Pass ready. We’re headed to the Bronx again.

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Brian Fonseca may be reached at [email protected].

Patrick Lanni may be reached at [email protected].

Steve Politi may be reached at [email protected].