ESPN's preseason Football Power Index isn't terribly kind to Rutgers, but it's rather high on the Big Ten, specifically its Eastern division. The Big Ten has five of the top-12 teams in the analytical ranking, and four play in the East.
FPI, according to ESPN, is a "predictive rating system for college football teams that we use to fuel our predictions and projections before and during the season. ... Factors used in the preseason model include: Team performance over the past four seasons (most emphasis on last season), returning starters at quarterback, on offense overall and on defense, whether a team has a returning head coach and recruiting rankings over the past four seasons.