OTB 2026 Staff Picks: Rutgers vs Howard

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After dropping their first three games of the season to UMass, Boston College and No.12 USC, Rutgers is set to close out non-conference play today as they take on Howard at 7 p.m. at home. This is Howard’s second road game of the season against a Big Ten team, as they were dispatched by No.5 Indiana last week. As is tradition here at OnTheBanks, the staff will try to guess the score of the game and give context as to why they think that way.

Andrew Rice

It has been a rough season so far for our staff picks, showcasing the unpredictability of college football. My hope here is that this game is much more predictable than the ones in games past. Howard’s offense could do nothing against Indiana, not even reaching 60 yards of forward progress. While the Knights’ defense has struggled in the first three games and isn’t the same caliber as Indiana’s defense, the hope here is that they can show enough improvement to contain Howard’s offense throughout most of the game. On offense, Rutgers needs to play a mistake free game to capitalize on the advantages they have in both the trenches, and the wide receiver room. This is Rutgers last opportunity to have a dominating win before Big Ten play resumes, where they likely won’t be favorites in any game going forward. While the 42.5-point opening spread seems a little too generous to the Knights, they should still be able to capitalize on their advantages and pull out a convincing win.

Rutgers 38, Howard 10

Bob Cancro

It’s never easy being Rutgers.

You’re installed as 42.5 point favorite: win by less and you’re “in for a long season”; win by too much more than that and it’s “you’re supposed to win” that one. Play your starters – especially Dylan Lonergan – too long and “you’re not getting Surace ready”. Let UMass score a bunch in the fourth…..oh, wait. Wrong game.

Yeah, I just dragged out the first prediction post, cut-and-pasted. Hopefully, this one really is settled by the middle of the second quarter and Surace, along with the 2s and 3s, get plenty of grass time.

Rutgers showed a lot more against USC than they did either of the first two games. Like a lot of other folks, I am still not sold on Lonergan. Start him if you want, coach, but this is the perfect opportunity to get your supposed back up/QB-of-the-future more game time. But, this is a Schiano-coached team, so who knows. Maybe AJ gets a few snaps late in the fourth.

This is also a great opportunity to pad KJ Duff’s stats. And everybody else’s stats. I’m not into running up the score just because you can ( looking at you, Oregon and your 80-0 win). And I truly hope – truly, truly, truly hope – that they can do just that on Friday night. Nothing personal, Howard Bison, but Rutgers needs to go into halftime up at least 35-0. With a time of possession advantage of about 20:00-10:00.

Rutgers should be, at worst, 2-1 coming into this game. But, they’re not. They should be 1-3 when it’s over. But, who are we dealing with here?

Never easy.

Rutgers 52 Howard 7

Ryan Castellano

Rutgers has never failed to prove me wrong this year…

I said that Rutgers “will kickstart another winless season for UMass,” and that last week’s game would be a 46 point loss nicknamed the “USCatastrophe.” This game is a total wild card for predictions, so let’s keep this ball rolling.

I don’t want to view this game the same way as UMass, as Howard lost to Indiana 55-0 two weeks ago. Tell me, do YOU think we’re going to lose 55-0 to Indiana? After the near-miracle that was last week’s game, anything is on the table for Rutgers, especially a potential blowout against an FCS school, which I’m taking in this game.

The Scarlet Knights should win this game comfortably, yet I want to have a bold prediction on this one, as I’m sure even Howard fans are already conceding. This game will be most remembered for the breakout performance of Clay Thevenin, who will finish with over 120 rushing yards, quadrupling his single game high. Once the game is out of reach in the second quarter, Thevenin should get carry after carry against a worn-down Howard defense. I think he makes the most of them, including at least one long touchdown run in the second half.

By the final whistle, Rutgers will leave the game with a 1-2 punch at running back that could throw Indiana off, and will cherish what could be their lone win of 2026.

Rutgers 45, Howard 13

Greg Patuto

It was a strong effort from Rutgers when USC came to town on Saturday. After losses to UMass and Boston College, strong efforts are unfortunately not good enough. It is time to win some games — or even one game.

That will come on Saturday. Yes, Rutgers has a loss to a UMass team that went 0-12 last year but Howard is a different situation. Hopefully the offense found a little bit of a groove last week against the Trojans. The defense has not looked good yet this season. It would not be surprising to see Howard score a little bit, despite its performance against Indiana.

Either way, Rutgers fans, does it really matter? Get KJ Duff a couple more touchdowns, put this one away early, and get some other players in the game as well. Go win the game and win it handily.

Rutgers 41, Howard 13

Arnav Sarkar

It’s gameday on a weekday for the final time this season, as Rutgers football concludes their nonconference slate against a familiar FCS foe in the Howard Bison. Two seasons ago, Howard put together a strong first half, being down just 17-7 after a late Rutgers score, but the Scarlet Knights dominated the second half and won 44-7, continuing to score with backups to pad the margin. Fans might remember Bison quarterback Ja’Shawn Scroggins from two seasons ago, and although his completion percentage sits around 46%, his mobility could prove to give the Knights fits as is custom with the Rutgers defense.

This time around, RU comes in 0-3 and desperate for a win, as Greg Schiano mentioned to the media. Howard is 1-2 and off a bye week; their last time out was a 55-0 thumping at #5 Indiana. They have a win over Alabama A&M in the MEAC/SWAC challenge game and lost by one score to #23 (FCS) Richmond, but the Hoosiers were significantly more talented than either of those teams.

The Knights should be somewhere in the middle, and while the spread sits at over 40 points, I am not so sure that Rutgers will cover the big number. The offense has been shaky at times, while the defense has been very questionable to say the least. I would expect the Bison to score more than expected of an FCS team against a Big Ten team, but Rutgers puts it all together against an overmatched opponent for their first win of 2026, gets their backups in, and allows their starters to rest up for their big night game against the Hoosiers next week.

Rutgers 52, Howard 13

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