Penn State will face Rutgers in 2014-15
And as it seems to be customary now, Penn State will travel to Rutgers before facing them at home the following season.
Penn State agreed to play their first game away from home in their series with Notre Dame (2006), Syracuse (2008), Alabama (2010), and Virginia (2012) before our opponents have to return the favor the following seasons.
This was a good attempt by the scheduling gurus at Penn State, but let’s not kid ourselves by showcasing the Rutgers game as a marquee matchup.
As exciting as it is for Penn State to schedule an actual live opponent from a BCS conference, Rutgers is as enticing an opponent as Syracuse or Temple.
Do you believe that home game against the Scarlet Knight will be even considered for a white out, prime time, or even scheduled beyond the noon televised spot? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. Students will be hard pressed to wake up early for this eventual noon matchup.
| Record (Conference) | Bowl Game | Bowl Score | Final BCS rank | |
| 2008 | 7-5 (5-2) | PapaJohns.com Bowl v NC State (6-6) | W 29-23 | Not Ranked |
| 2007 | 7-5 (3-4) | International Bowl v Ball State (7-5) | W 52-30 | Not Ranked |
| 2006 | 10-2 (5-2) | Texas Bowl v Kansas St (7-5) | W 37-10 | 16 |
| 2005 | 7-4 (4-3) | Insight Bowl v Arizona St (6-5) | L 45-40 | Not Ranked |
| 2004 | 4-7 (1-5) | No Bowl | N/A | Not Ranked |
| 2003 | 5-7 (2-5) | No Bowl | N/A | Not Ranked |
| 2002 | 1-11 (0-7) | No Bowl | N/A | Not Ranked |
Even at their prime, with a 10-2 (5-2 conference record) in 2006, Rutgers played in the Texas Bowl. A 10-2 record for a real marquee opponent would basically guarantee them a spot in the BCS no questions asked.
But let’s give Curley and the athletic department some credit. One of the biggest issue last season before our season came to a screeching halt at Iowa was that Penn State’s non conference schedule was too weak to be taken seriously. In light of that, I applaud Tim Curley for scheduling a team with a recent history of a few winning seasons, but let’s not forget that Syracuse was coming off a 10-3 season when we scheduled them.
But let’s not begin patting ourselves as a program for this move. Adding Rutgers to the 2014-2015 seasons is as meaningful BCS computer Strength of Schedule wise as playing Akron. I’m just hoping the negotiations with Nebraska and Miami pan out. Unfortunately, I would bet my house the athletics department is now prematurely content with our 2014-15 football schedules (marquee matchup wise).
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Kevin 