Football Rutgers Football voted 17th in Big Ten Preseason Media Poll

[PSAL_Hoops]

I am not sold on the QB room so 17th is probably accurate !

As long as the OL stays healthy, the offense should be servicable as long as either QB option can be a game manager type. Lonergan seems capable of this so the floor on offense figures to be reasonably high.

On D, we better hope that coaching really does make a huge different as opposed to sheer talent. Our D projects to be brutal based on talent alone.

 

[Lerxst72]

Brief right-up of every B1G team. I think it's fair

Three national titles and counting: The biggest questions facing each Big Ten team at 2026 media days

From Indiana's encore to Kyle Whittingham's Michigan debut, we've got one big storyline from every Big Ten team headling into media days in Chicago

www.cbssports.com

 

[Shelby65]

Some discussion here shows the usual lack of proper perspective. Who cares if The Grifter and his staff of 100+ exceeds expectations and finishes a spot or three higher than 17th. That’s not overachieving, that’s losing.

Regardless where in the bottom of the Big10 he finishes, it’s the bottom. The only thing he’s been successful at is stealing salary. If there were a Grifter Hall of Fame, no long-term coach in history would be more deserving. So much so that it would have to be located in Piscataway.

Not Canton, Springfield or anywhere else. Piscataway.

Keep Choppin’ LOL

 

[MADHAT1]

His bio says:
Attorney,NIL Professor and college basketball writer.

The “What If’s” in Rutgers Men’s Basketball History

Your best source for quality Rutgers Scarlet Knights news, rumors, analysis, stats and scores from the fan perspective.

www.onthebanks.com

google search came up with:
Richard Kent is a sports attorney, college sports professor, and author known for his extensive writing on college basketball, particularly the Ivy League. He has contributed to outlets like Ivy Hoops Online and written books including The Madness of Ivy Basketball and Inside Women's College Basketball

Background and Career

• • Profession: Practicing attorney, sports agent representing coaches, and former sports law professor at Manhattanville College.
  • 
    
  • Writing Focus: Specialized heavily in women's and men's college basketball, covering the Big East and publishing deep dives into the Ivy League's historic seasons.
• ( This might be the reason he seems negative )
• Education: Earned his undergraduate degree summa *** laude from Rutgers University and his J.D. from Boston College

In the message I'm replying to, the link in it had "When Richard was a student at Rutgers, he was on the basketball beat as a writer for the Daily Targum. During that time, Rutgers was coached by the great Bill Foster,"
His negativity might stem from being at Rutgers when the MBB program started down the road to success and he seen it do from being a top program into the gang that couldn't shoot straight

 

[rosenst2]

Stating the obvious here, but it all really comes down to QB play and the defense.

I think the injured guys from last year (Doug Blue-Eli and Ryder Langsdale) aren't being accounted for enough.

The D was coached poorly last year and they were slow. I hope Greg fixed that with Johansen and the portal additions.

The qb play won't be as good as Athan, but the D has to be much better, right? We'll get a good sense of what their red flags are and if they are fixable after UMASS. I do think there will some young guys that step up as Greg is good at developing talent.

Fingers crossed

 

[RUfrom NJ]

I just don't see 17th - that's 2-10 or 3-9 territory. The defense was historically horrible last year - gave up almost 9 yards/play. With even a "bad" defense last year as opposed to historically awful, we probably win 3 more games (Iowa, Minnesota, PSU). By accident, that side of the ball should be improved. I'm most concerned about a dropoff in QB play. We need our two offensive studs to mask any deficiencies there. Please just stay healthy.

 

[Rutgers Chris]

I just don't see 17th - that's 2-10 or 3-9 territory. The defense was historically horrible last year - gave up almost 9 yards/play. With even a "bad" defense last year as opposed to historically awful, we probably win 3 more games (Iowa, Minnesota, PSU). By accident, that side of the ball should be improved. I'm most concerned about a dropoff in QB play. We need our two offensive studs to mask any deficiencies there. Please just stay healthy.

I think we win 5-6 games this year and realize just how good we had it with AK as our quarterback. If whoever our starter is over performs, we can absolutely do better. If they underperform, we might be in trouble.

The case for 3-4 wins isn’t a stretch…
Umass- win
BC- on the road, a new quarterback on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 for the Red Bandana game could be a narrative loss
USC- heavy underdog
Howard- win
Indiana- heavy underdog
Maryland- we have their number but on the road against a team with similar talent could be trouble.
Northwestern- again a conference road game, one we should win, but this too could get tricky
Michigan- likely underdog, not a game we’ve won in a while
Wisconsin- they have our number
Nebraska- see above
Penn State- see above
Michigan State- should be a win, especially at home. If a bowl game is on the line hopefully we step up, if we underachieve and this is in scratching our way to win 4, who knows

 

[Caliknight]

3-4 wins would be worst case. It would force Keli's hand at least a year if not two earlier than would be ideal.

 

[Shelby65]

3-4 wins would be worst case. It would force Keli's hand at least a year if not two earlier than would be ideal.

Talk is cheap. His contract, his excuses du jour and his legions of Schianopoxers will keep him here at least another 5 years.
-bare cupboard
-inadequate facilities
-NIL
-no vertical alignment

Excuses are for losers and the Grifter’s list grows by the year.

 

[Caliknight]

Talk is part of getting things done. He's not the guy you win with, but I assure you that any real coach who takes a job wants to know how much the President supports the athletic dept. and know what kind of relationship the AD and President have. It's impossible to win when those two oars specifically aren't rowing in the same direction. Assuming this structure stays in place, it will be a selling point for the next coach. It's that important.

 

[MADHAT1]

Talk is part of getting things done. He's not the guy you win with, but I assure you that any real coach who takes a job wants to know how much the President supports the athletic dept. and know what kind of relationship the AD and President have. It's impossible to win when those two oars specifically aren't rowing in the same direction. Assuming this structure stays in place, it will be a selling point for the next coach. It's that important.

I believe what you posted is a reason ( in the past) the best avoided Rutgers and the ones that would come were mainly were considered pretty good gambles that had a career considered on the upswing but not ready for prime time .
I feel even some of the ones Rutgers wanted, felt there wasn't enough support to be successful and said no thanks through 3rd parties. .

Now it might be different, but I feel the money isn't right to make a move unless Schiano's program really bombs in 2026
A 5-7 season might not see Greg replaced, .unless Keli can convince a good up and coming HC one to take less and make his mark at Rutgers

 

[RUfrom NJ]

Talk is part of getting things done. He's not the guy you win with, but I assure you that any real coach who takes a job wants to know how much the President supports the athletic dept. and know what kind of relationship the AD and President have. It's impossible to win when those two oars specifically aren't rowing in the same direction. Assuming this structure stays in place, it will be a selling point for the next coach. It's that important.

I'm not going to say I didn't hope/expect to be further along in 2.0's tenure when he returned. But I'm also not going to look past the impact that a lack of NIL preparedness had on where we are today. Like everything else with this athletic department for the last 2 decades, they were caught flatfooted and worse yet, seemingly ignored reality. How many examples do we need to cite? What this HC (or any that would've taken this job in December of '19) was up against with zero foresight from their President/AD cannot be understated.

Some may call it an excuse, but it's the reality. Even in '26, Rutgers ranks dead last in B1G NIL payout to their football program. Forget the Oregons, Ohio States and USCs of the world - all of whom are $20M+ ahead of RU in that department. We're $5M+ off the league average. The fact is, we're a one legged man in an ***-kicking contest. I'm encouraged when I listen to Tate and Zinn talk about this stuff. We finally seem to have adults in charge and that "vertical alignment" is crucial. The next step is doing it - whether for this HC or whoever comes next.

 

[Anon1754923206]

Not familiar with “vertical alignment”. Meaning?

 

[Knight Shift]

I'm not going to say I didn't hope/expect to be further along in 2.0's tenure when he returned. But I'm also not going to look past the impact that a lack of NIL preparedness had on where we are today. Like everything else with this athletic department for the last 2 decades, they were caught flatfooted and worse yet, seemingly ignored reality. How many examples do we need to cite? What this HC (or any that would've taken this job in December of '19) was up against with zero foresight from their President/AD cannot be understated.

Some may call it an excuse, but it's the reality. Even in '26, Rutgers ranks dead last in B1G NIL payout to their football program. Forget the Oregons, Ohio States and USCs of the world - all of whom are $20M+ ahead of RU in that department. We're $5M+ off the league average. The fact is, we're a one legged man in an ***-kicking contest. I'm encouraged when I listen to Tate and Zinn talk about this stuff. We finally seem to have adults in charge and that "vertical alignment" is crucial. The next step is doing it - whether for this HC or whoever comes next.

Ran this question through Grok on spending per team for football for 2025-26 and 2026-27.

In my humble opinion, if the numbers below are correct, there are five blue bloods, which are separated from the other 13 teams in the B1G. For those that want to get more granular, separate out Nebraska and Indiana.

But Indiana raises a good point- how are they competing with the blue bloods? COACHING!

There is no reason Rutgers cannot compete and beat the other 11 teams in the B1G, and for that matter Nebraska, and once in a while getting a signature win against one of the blue bloods. Heck Ilinois NIL spending is on par with ours, and they are competing with and beating better teams.

2025-26 Revenue Sharing (Direct School Payments)This was the first year of formalized revenue sharing under the House v. NCAA settlement. Schools could share up to ~$20.5 million total across all sports (rising annually). Football received the large majority—typically 70-85%—at most programs, equating to roughly $14-17 million per Big Ten football team.

nil-ncaa.com
Estimated football revenue sharing allocations (examples from 2025-26 data):

• Top programs like Washington, Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State: ~$16-17M (high end due to revenue generation).
• Mid-tier (e.g., Minnesota, Illinois): ~$14-15M.
• These are derived from athletic department revenues, with football often accounting for 75-82% of relevant income.
  
  nil-ncaa.com

Exact per-school breakdowns beyond these estimates are not publicly disclosed in full detail, as allocations vary by program (e.g., some reserved small portions for basketball/volleyball). Many Big Ten schools maxed out or came close to the cap.

nil-ncaa.com
Total Football Roster Costs (Revenue Share + Third-Party NIL/Collectives)Third-party NIL remains private, so totals are estimates. For context, 2026-27 estimates (reflecting the ongoing 2025-26 model with growth) show:Big Ten Median: ~$24.4M total per football roster

• ~$15.6M via school revenue sharing
• ~$8.8M via third-party/commercial NIL

Detailed by School (2026-27 estimates, in $ millions):

nil-ncaa.com

• Oregon: 43.4 total (15.6 rev share + 27.8 NIL)
• Ohio State: 40.4 total (15.6 + 24.8)
• USC: 34.7 total (15.6 + 19.1)
• Michigan: 33.0 total (15.6 + 17.4)
• Penn State: 29.2 total (15.6 + 13.6)

------------------------------------------

• Nebraska: 27.4 total (15.6 + 11.8)
• Indiana: 27.3 total (15.6 + 11.7)

• Washington: 26.4 total (15.6 + 10.8)
• Wisconsin: 24.5 total (15.6 + 8.9)
• UCLA: 24.3 total (15.6 + 8.7)
• Maryland: 23.7 total (15.6 + 8.1)
• Iowa: 23.6 total (15.6 + 8.0)
• Michigan State: 23.1 total (15.6 + 7.5)
• Minnesota: 22.6 total (15.6 + 7.0)
• Illinois: 21.9 total (15.6 + 6.3)
• Rutgers: 21.3 total (15.6 + 5.7)
• Northwestern: 21.0 total (15.6 + 5.4)
• Purdue: 20.4 total (15.6 + 4.8)

Notes on these figures:

• They represent estimated annual roster-wide spending (not per-player averages; top players command far more).
• NIL layers are conservative estimates based on donor activity, collective reports, and athletic revenues. Actuals can fluctuate with portal deals and front-loading.
  
  nil-ncaa.com
• Top teams (Oregon/OSU) push elite spending; the gap to the bottom tier is significant.

 

[Shelby65]

Not familiar with “vertical alignment”. Meaning?

It’s his uniquely smug and deflecting way of saying he has full support and agreement with the university administration and blaming all the losing on a lack of same.

in a year or two he will have yet another excuse. If he were just a quarter the coach that he is a liar we’d be in a bowl mainstream fans have heard of every year.

Instead we play for table scraps hoping to beat out Temple for nationally invisible bowls. If we win 6, I hear the new KFC Bowl in Paducah will take us, and Schiano will spin it as a momentous achievement.

 

[Shelby65]

It’s his uniquely smug and deflecting way of saying he finally has full support and agreement with the university administration and blaming all the losing on a lack of same.

in a year or two he will have yet another excuse. If he was just a quarter the coach that he is a liar we’d be in a bowl mainstream fans have heard of every year.

 

[RU#1fan]

If we actually finished 17th as predicted { hoping to g-d that won’t even be close to happening} that has to be the end of Greg. The longer we delay the inevitable we will continue as the bottom feeder of the B1G and further delay rebuilding the Program.

 

[Knight Shift]

If we actually finished 17th as predicted { hoping to g-d that won’t even be close to happening} that has to be the end of Greg. The longer we delay the inevitable we will continue as the bottom feeder of the B1G and further delay rebuilding the Program.

hater!
just in case sarcasm did not translate, I agree to the extent that the buyout is still not prohibitive. Tending to think and don't necessarily agree that 6-6/3-6 may get him one more year.

 

[RU#1fan]

Games will be played, but this is an absolute worst case scenario for this season. I'm expecting a middle of the B10 defense and that our offense will exceed expectations given WR talent and a top notch RB. If crippling injuries hit the top performers, may bottom 15. If we finish this low, fire GS. But I highly doubt that we will fail like this.

If our Defense actually finishes in the middle of the pack ( rather than dead last as we have had for the last 2 seasons) our new DC should be given a new contract at double his salary. We win at least 8 games if this happens. Write it down. On paper our talent on Defense has gotten worse with huge losses vs. gains in the Portal in the Secondary { Moscoe) and DE (Walker).