Notable Preseason Poll Predicts Tragic 2026 Season For Rutgers
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Rutgers Football is hoping for a bounce back season after a five-win campaign in 2025.
Well, according to an annual preseason poll by a well-known publication, that might not be the case.
On Monday, Cleveland.com released its 16th annual edition of the Big Ten preseason poll. The unofficial list predicted a poor finish for Rutgers, as it had it slated 17th in the conference out of 18 teams. The release of the poll came before Big Ten Media Days kick off from Tuesday to Thursday in Chicago.
This projection is not out of the ordinary. Previously, both Athlon Sports and Phil Steele predicted Rutgers to finish 16th in the Big Ten.
The biggest question for Rutgers remains — can the defense improve?
The Scarlet Knights featured a group that was the worst in the Big Ten last season. Despite returning KJ Duff and Antwan Raymond at skill positions, there are many questions around Rutgers as a whole, led by the defensive unit.
Rutgers schedule this season features four teams ranked in the top six by the website. The Scarlet Knights will take on Indiana, USC, Michigan, and Penn State. Rutgers also has five teams on the schedule ranked in the back half of the conference.
Here is the full projection put together by Cleveland.com for 2026:
- Ohio State (15)
- Oregon (11)
- Indiana (5)
- USC
- Michigan
- Penn State
- Washington
- Iowa
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Wisconsin
- UCLA
- Northwestern
- Maryland
- Michigan State
- Rutgers
- Purdue
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