Rutgers football turns down bowl invitation

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Rutgers football had a chance to play one more game.

But the Scarlet Knights declined the opportunity, a source confirmed.

Rutgers finished the season 5-7 – one win short of qualifying for a bowl bid – but when there was an open spot to play Georgia Southern in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 29 with no six-win teams remaining, five-win teams began to be asked in order of Academic Progress Rate standing.

On3’s Brett McMurphy was first to report that Rutgers received an invitation but ultimately declined it.

This was a similar situation to 2021 when the Scarlet Knights replaced Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl as a five-win team after the Aggies suffered a COVID-19 outbreak.

But that was a much higher profile bowl game at a game when Schiano was early on in building the program back up in his second stint.

Since losing to Penn State in the regular-season finale, Greg Schiano and his staff have been fully focused on preparing for 2026.

That included the firings this week of both co-defensive coordinators Robb Smith and Zach Sparber, along with defensive line coach Colin Ferrell.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football turns down bowl invitation

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