2023 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

2023 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
2023 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Pinstripe Bowl champion
Pinstripe Bowl, W 31–24 vs. Miami (FL)
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–6 (3–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Greg Schiano (15th season);
Offensive coordinator	Kirk Ciarrocca (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Joe Harasymiak (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3 or 4–2–5
Home stadium	SHI Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Scarlet Knights were led by Greg Schiano in the fourth year of his second stint (15th overall season) as Rutgers' head coach. This was Rutgers first winning season since 2014.

2023 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 1 Michigan xy$#^	9	–	0	15	–	0
No. 10 Ohio State	8	–	1	11	–	2
No. 13 Penn State	7	–	2	10	–	3
Maryland	4	–	5	8	–	5
Rutgers	3	–	6	7	–	6
Michigan State	2	–	7	4	–	8
Indiana	1	–	8	3	–	9
West Division
No. 24 Iowa xy	7	–	2	10	–	4
Northwestern	5	–	4	8	–	5
Wisconsin	5	–	4	7	–	6
Minnesota	3	–	6	6	–	7
Illinois	3	–	6	5	–	7
Nebraska	3	–	6	5	–	7
Purdue	3	–	6	4	–	8
Championship: Michigan 26, Iowa 0
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The Scarlet Knights played their home games at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team drew an average home attendance of 49,251 in 2023.

Offseason

Coaching changes

On October 9, 2022, offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson was fired in the middle of the 2022 season.^[1] On January 7, 2023, Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca was hired to replace Gleeson.^[2] This is Ciarrocca's second stint at Rutgers, having served as a co-offensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010.^[3]^[4]

Andrew Aurich transitioned from running backs coach to tight ends coach.^[5]

Preseason

Big 10 media poll

The Scarlet Knights were predicted to finish sixth in the Big 10's East Division.^[6]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Big 10 media poll East Division
1	Michigan	248 (27)
2	Ohio State	226 (8)
3	Penn State	192 (2)
4	Maryland	143
5	Michigan State	105
6	Rutgers	74
7	Indiana	48

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	12:00 p.m.	Northwestern	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	CBS	W 24–7	53,026
September 9	7:30 p.m.	Temple*	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 36–7	45,317
September 16	3:30 p.m.	Virginia Tech*	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 35–16	52,657
September 23	12:00 p.m.	at No. 2 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	L 7–31	109,756
September 30	3:30 p.m.	Wagner*	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 52–3	40,065
October 7	12:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	Peacock	L 13–24	74,885
October 14	12:00 p.m.	Michigan State	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 27–24	52,879
October 21	12:00 p.m.	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	W 31–14	43,611
November 4	12:00 p.m.	No. 1 Ohio State	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	CBS	L 16–35	53,703
November 11	3:30 p.m.	at No. 22 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	BTN	L 0–22	69,250
November 18	12:00 p.m.	at No. 12 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	FS1	L 6–27	105,114
November 25	3:30 p.m.	Maryland	SHI Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	L 24–42	47,012
December 28	2:15 p.m.	vs. Miami (FL)*	Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY (Pinstripe Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–24	35,314
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after October 31) - Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[7]

Game summaries

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	0	7	7
Scarlet Knights	7	10	7	0	24

Statistics	NU	RUTG
First downs	13	20
Total yards	201	285
Rushing yards	12	122
Passing yards	189	163
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	22:04	37:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Ben Bryant	20/36, 169 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Brendan Sullivan	4 rushes, 11 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	4 receptions, 45 yards
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	17/29, 163 yards, TD
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	14 rushes, 49 yards, TD
	Receiving	Isaiah Washington	4 receptions, 36 yards

Temple

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	0	0	7	7
Scarlet Knights	7	6	0	23	36

Statistics	TEM	RUTG
First downs	20	20
Total yards	298	452
Rushing yards	68	254
Passing yards	230	198
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	25:01	34:59

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Temple	Passing	E. J. Warner	20/47, 230 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Joquez Smith	9 rushes, 45 yards
	Receiving	Dante Wright	6 receptions, 67 yards, TD
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	10/21, 198 yards, TD
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	28 rushes, 165 yards, TD
	Receiving	JaQuae Jackson	4 receptions, 95 yards

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	0	3	7	6	16
Scarlet Knights	7	14	0	14	35

Statistics	VT	RUTG
First downs	18	14
Total yards	319	302
Rushing yards	129	256
Passing yards	190	46
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	33:44	26:16

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Virginia Tech	Passing	Kyron Drones	19/32, 190 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Kyron Drones	22 rushes, 74 yards
	Receiving	Daquan Felton	6 receptions, 84 yards, TD
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	7/16, 46 yards, TD
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	16 rushes, 143 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Christian Dremel	3 receptions, 34 yards, TD

At No. 2 Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Scarlet Knights	7	0	0	0	7
No. 2 Wolverines	7	7	10	7	31

Statistics	RUTG	MICH
First downs	10	20
Total yards	257	415
Rushing yards	77	201
Passing yards	180	214
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	23:52	36:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	11/21, 180 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Gavin Wimsatt	6 rushes, 28 yards
	Receiving	Christian Dremel	3 receptions, 85 yards, TD
Michigan	Passing	J. J. McCarthy	15/21, 214 yards, TD
	Rushing	Blake Corum	21 rushes, 97 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Colston Loveland	5 receptions, 75 yards

Wagner

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	0	3	0	0	3
Scarlet Knights	10	14	14	14	52

Statistics	WAG	RUTG
First downs	6	28
Total yards	106	436
Rushing yards	83	267
Passing yards	23	169
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	22:23	37:37

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wagner	Passing	Steven Krajewski	4/6, 19 yards
	Rushing	Rickey Spruill	7 carries, 36 yards
	Receiving	Kobi Ray-Reed	2 receptions, 10 yards
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	12/19, 146 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	19 carries, 87 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	JaQuae Jackson	4 receptions, 71 yards

At Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Scarlet Knights	0	0	6	7	13
Badgers	3	14	0	7	24

Statistics	RUTG	WIS
First downs	16	23
Total yards	275	358
Rushing yards	64	213
Passing yards	211	145
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	27:13	32:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	16/35, 181 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Gavin Wimsatt	9 carries, 43 yards
	Receiving	Isaiah Washington	3 receptions, 53 yards
Wisconsin	Passing	Tanner Mordecai	17/31, 145 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Braelon Allen	21 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Will Pauling	8 receptions, 68 yards

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	7	10	7	0	24
Scarlet Knights	3	3	0	21	27

Statistics	MSU	RUTG
First downs	22	20
Total yards	247	306
Rushing yards	113	125
Passing yards	134	181
Turnovers	3	3
Time of possession	29:16	45:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan State	Passing	Katin Houser	18/29, 133 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Nathan Carter	20 carries, 52 yards
	Receiving	Montorie Foster Jr.	5 receptions, 48 yards, 1 TD
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	13/28, 181 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	24 carries, 148 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Christian Dremel	6 receptions, 80 yards

At Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Scarlet Knights	7	10	7	7	31
Hoosiers	7	7	0	0	14

Statistics	RUTG	IU
First downs	20	18
Total yards	315	279
Rushing yards	276	153
Passing yards	39	126
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	37:38	22:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	5/12, 39 yards
	Rushing	Gavin Wimsatt	16 carries, 143 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Christian Dremel	2 receptions, 14 yards
Indiana	Passing	Brendan Sorsby	15/31, 126 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Trent Howland	9 carries, 54 yards
	Receiving	Omar Cooper Jr.	1 reception, 35 yards, 1 TD

No. 1 Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Buckeyes	7	0	14	14	35
Scarlet Knights	0	9	0	7	16

Statistics	OSU	RUTG
First downs	15	22
Total yards	328	361
Rushing yards	139	232
Passing yards	189	129
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	24:23	35:37

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio State	Passing	Kyle McCord	19/26, 189 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	TreVeyon Henderson	22 rushes, 128 yards, TD
	Receiving	TreVeyon Henderson	5 receptions, 80 yards
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	10/25, 129 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	24 rushes, 159 yards
	Receiving	Christian Dremel	5 receptions, 69 yards

At No. 22 Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Scarlet Knights	0	0	0	0	0
No. 22 Hawkeyes	0	0	0	0	0

Statistics	RUTG	IOWA
First downs	7	21
Total yards	127	402
Rushing yards	34	179
Passing yards	93	223
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	21:38	38:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	7/18, 93 yards, INT
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	13 carries, 39 yards
	Receiving	Ian Strong	3 receptions, 47 yards
Iowa	Passing	Deacon Hill	20/31, 223 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Leshon Williams	13 carries, 63 yards
	Receiving	Addison Ostrenga	8 receptions, 47 yards

At No. 12 Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Scarlet Knights	3	3	0	0	6
No. 12 Nittany Lions	0	10	3	14	27

Statistics	RUTG	PSU
First downs	13	16
Total yards	229	322
Rushing yards	99	234
Passing yards	130	88
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	32:00	28:00

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	10/16, 130, INT
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	16 carries, 39 yards
	Receiving	Isaiah Washington	5 receptions, 55 yards
Penn State	Passing	Drew Allar	6/13, 79 yards
	Rushing	Beau Pribula	8 carries, 71 yards, TD
	Receiving	Tyler Warren	2 receptions, 32 yards

Maryland

	1	2	3	4	Total
Terrapins	21	7	7	7	42
Scarlet Knights	3	14	0	7	24

Statistics	MD	RUTG
First downs	24	20
Total yards	498	355
Rushing yards	137	190
Passing yards	361	165
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	25:39	34:21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Maryland	Passing	Taulia Tagovailoa	24/31, 361 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Roman Hemby	15 carries, 113 yards
	Receiving	Tai Felton	5 receptions, 140 yards, 1 TD
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	13/34, 165 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	20 carries, 118 yards
	Receiving	Isaiah Washington	3 receptions, 67 yards

vs Miami (FL) (Pinstripe Bowl)

2023 Bad Boys Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Miami Hurricanes (7-5, 3-5) vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-6, 3-6) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers	7	7	7	10	31
Miami	0	10	7	7	24

at Yankee Stadium • Bronx, New York

Date: Thursday, December 28, 2023
Game time: 2:15 p.m. EST
Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 52 °F (11 °C) • Wind: 8 mph (13 km/h) NE
Game attendance: 35,314
Referee: Justin Elliott
TV announcers (ESPN): Drew Carter (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), and Taylor Davis (sideline)
Box score

Game information

First quarter

(6:54) RUTG – Gavin Wimsatt 1 yard run, Jai Patel kick (Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 8:06; Rutgers 7–0)

Second quarter

(7:37) RUTG – Kyle Monangai 7-yard run, Jai Patel kick (Drive: 6 plays, 42 yards, 4:14; Rutgers 14–0)
(3:19) MIA – Jacurri Brown 7 yard run, Andres Borregales kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:18; Rutgers 14–7)
(0:00) MIA – Andres Borregales 35 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards, 0:45; Rutgers 14–10)

Third quarter

(10:33) MIA – Xavier Restrepo 30 yard pass from Jacurri Brown, Andres Borregales kick (Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:27; Miami 17–14)
(5:06) RUTG – Timmy Ward 0 yard return of blocked punt, Jai Patel kick (Drive: 3 plays, 6 yards, 2:17; Rutgers 21–17)

Fourth quarter

(11:51) RUTG – Gavin Wimsatt 1 yard run, Jai Patel kick (Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 3:04; Rutgers 28–17)
(2:35) RUTG – Jai Patel 35 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 26 yards, 7:12; Rutgers 31–17)
(0:27) MIA – Jacurri Brown 1 yard run, Andres Borregales kick (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 2:08; Rutgers 31–24)

Statistics

Statistics	RUT	MIA
First downs	17	22
Plays–yards	60-292	63-311
Rushes–yards	208	130
Passing yards	84	181
Passing: comp–att–int	7-15-0	20-31-1
Time of possession	34:26	25:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rutgers	Passing	Gavin Wimsatt	7/15, 84 yards
	Rushing	Kyle Monangai	163 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Christian Dremel	1 Rec, 23 yards
Miami (FL)	Passing	Jacurri Brown	20/31, 181 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jacurri Brown	15 carries, 57 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Xavier Restrepo	11 catches, 99 yards, 1 TD

References

^ "Rutgers fires offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson". October 9, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
^ "Here is Rutgers OC Kirk Ciarrocca's salary as contract is approved". nj.com. NJ Advance Media. January 7, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
^ "Rutgers Football Announces Staff Promotions". scarletknights.com. Rutgers Athletics Communications. February 24, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Sargeant, Keith (August 1, 2017). "Why did Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck hire ex-Rutgers assistants as coordinators?". www.nj.com. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
^ Breitman, Aaron (April 11, 2023). "Andrew Aurich discusses progress at tight end position". The Scarlet Faithful. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
^ Cobb, David (July 25, 2023). "Big Ten football predicted order of finish for 2023: Michigan picked to win conference title over Ohio State". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
^ "2023 Football Schedule". Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Retrieved December 20, 2022.

[1] "Rutgers fires offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson". October 9, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2023.

[2] "Here is Rutgers OC Kirk Ciarrocca's salary as contract is approved". nj.com. NJ Advance Media. January 7, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.

[3] "Rutgers Football Announces Staff Promotions". scarletknights.com. Rutgers Athletics Communications. February 24, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2020.

[4] Sargeant, Keith (August 1, 2017). "Why did Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck hire ex-Rutgers assistants as coordinators?". www.nj.com. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved January 3, 2020.

[5] Breitman, Aaron (April 11, 2023). "Andrew Aurich discusses progress at tight end position". The Scarlet Faithful. Retrieved February 8, 2024.

[6] Cobb, David (July 25, 2023). "Big Ten football predicted order of finish for 2023: Michigan picked to win conference title over Ohio State". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2023.

[7] "2023 Football Schedule". Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Retrieved December 20, 2022.

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