2026 Northwestern Football Know Your Opponent: Rutgers Scarlet Knights

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Northwestern’s third game ever in the new Ryan Field welcomes Rutgers to Evanston on Oct. 24. The last time the Wildcats faced the Scarlet Knights was to open the 2023 season, in which Rutgers won 24-7 in Piscataway.

The Basics

Returning Production: 47% overall (49% offense, 46% defense); 92nd in FBS

2025 Record: 5-7 (2-7 B1G)

Head Coach: Greg Schiano (18th season overall, in second tenure with the team)

The Stats

2026 SP+ Overall: 62nd

2026 SP+ Offense: 37th

2026 SP+ Defense: 90th

2026 SP+ Special Teams: 68th

2025 Capsule

Rutgers missed out on bowl eligibility by just one game in 2025, finishing at 5-7 overall and 14th in the Big Ten. The highlights of the Scarlet Knights’ season came against two MAC opponents and  Maryland. Ohio and Miami (OH) both made bowl games, and Miami (OH) competed in the MAC title game.

Rutgers’ calling card in 2025 was a top-50 offense statistically, with its passing offense tied for 23rd most yards per game in the entire FBS. Athan Kaliakmanis was the fifth-leading passer in the Big Ten (27th in FBS), Antwan Raymond finished with the third-most rushing yards in the conference (14th in FBS) and KJ Duff finished third in the Big Ten in receiving yards (10th in FBS). The problem was that the defense allowed more than 31 points per game.

Offensive Overview

Usually, I start with quarterback on offense. I’ll get to that later. Rutgers has one of the best returning skill-position duos in all of college football. Not just the Big Ten…the entire FBS. Raymond had a breakout sophomore season and is back for the Scarlet Knights, as is Duff. Rutgers has arguably the best running back in the Big Ten and a surefire top-10 wide receiver in the conference. For a school that went 5-7 last year to return that much talent and production is bonkers.

While the rushing offense should still be explosive, Duff and the other Rutgers WRs will have a different quarterback throwing to them. It’s looking like it will be either Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan or redshirt sophomore (if that’s still a thing) AJ Surace. Either way, the starting QB will have a safety net in Duff.

Outside of Duff for pass catchers, the Scarlet Knights lost WRs DT Sheffield and Ian Strong. Both Sheffield and Strong caught five touchdown passes apiece last season. Rutgers didn’t bring in any transfers at the position, so the contributors outside of Duff will be a question mark. Ben Black and Famah Toure are the two names to keep an eye on, though they’ll be stepping into bigger roles. There’s also incoming freshman Dyzier Carter, who looks very promising as a four-star recruit.

For tight end, the most promising player is Ball State transfer Kameron Anthony, who caught seven passes for 117 yards and two scores last season. The rest of the room, including Anthony, is shrouded in mystery. The offensive line for Rutgers has a lot of returning experience and potential, especially if Ryder Langsdale is healthy and starting at left tackle. The problem is that the run blocking and pass protection weren’t great in 2025, and most of that offensive line group is back.

This Rutgers offense feels very similar to its men’s basketball team headed into the 2024-25 season. There are the two stars: Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey in basketball, Duff and Raymond in football. Outside of that, it’s a roster filled with question marks and unknowns.

Defensive Overview

Rutgers’ defense was disastrous in 2025. Across the board, production was worse under a new defensive coordinator, but coach Schiano fired nearly the entire defensive coaching staff after the 2025 season ended. Now, Rutgers’ defensive staff is made up of coaches from FCS South Dakota and FCS Drake. Travis Johansen, who led South Dakota to the FCS Playoffs quarterfinals in 2025 in his first and only year as head coach there, is now the DC for the Scarlet Knights.

Luckily for Rutgers, defensive tackle Doug Blue-Eli should be healthy this season and starting at that position. App State transfer Rondo Porter, although undersized, brings experience to the group, and Keshon Griffin returns and likely slots in as the second starter next to Blue-Eli. At edge, Rutgers went to the transfer portal and brought in Malachi Davis from Toledo and J’Dan Burnett from Tulsa. The two edge rushers combined for 12 sacks and 18 TFLs last season with their respective teams. The rest of the edge room is filled with unknowns.

Linebacker has been a struggle for Rutgers as of late, with many injuries and other off-the-field issues affecting the group. To combat this uncertainty, the Scarlet Knights have loaded up on players to play LB. Kamar Archie and DJ McClary are both entering their sophomore seasons with Rutgers with plenty of buzz surrounding them. Moses Walker also returns and will likely be one of the starters, at least at the beginning of the season. On top of this and other returners, Rutgers brought in two highly productive transfers. The first is Rice transfer Ty Morris, who finished with 88 total tackles and 9.5 TFLs in 2025. The second is Drake transfer Sean Allison, who followed his coaches after a season with 126 total tackles (sixth in FCS) and eight TFLs. There is experience and upside in this room, and along with the new coaching staff, the ceiling is pretty high.

When it comes to the secondary, one returner should be a big piece: safety Kaj Sanders. Sanders was more productive in 2024 under the previous defensive coordinator, but that could change with the overhauled staff. Rutgers didn’t bring in any new safeties in the transfer portal, so it’s likely to lean on developing its returning players. Despite question marks at the position, there’s a chance the Scarlet Knights go with three safeties, with one of them playing in nickel duties.

Cornerback is a different story than safety. After all three starting CBs left the Scarlet Knights after the 2025 season, they brought in three transfers who could all slot in and start in Week 1. Maryland transfer Kevyn Humes would be the guy who most likely wouldn’t get a starting spot, while FCS Villanova transfer Zahmir Dawud and FCS The Citadel transfer Bradlee Jones are likely the top options. Kevin Levy is one of the returning CBs who could also start, but it will likely come down to a Fall camp battle for the entire group.

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