Can Rutgers get over the hump in 2018 and qualify for a bowl game?
It's too early to know, but the Scarlet Knights can find positive signs in ESPN's early 2018 Football Power Index rankings. Rutgers is rated the nation's 68th-strongest team for this coming season, according to FPI, which 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.