This Saturday, the Scarlet Knights travel to Champaign to take on the Illini of the University of Illinois. Though they have only played against one another on three previous occasions, there is a short but significant history between these two schools.
Prior to their first meeting, Rutgers was in the midst of yet another attempt to rebuild and be competitive, this time under Head Coach Greg Schiano. The previous season, the Scarlet Knights had a 4-7 record, 1-5 in the Big East, which was the best so far in Schiano’s four year tenure at the time. The big excitement the previous season had been the opening week win over Michigan State, but had followed that up with a loss to I-AA New Hampshire, and finished the season with a five game losing streak.