Big Ten Media Days: Nebraska Opponent Rutgers has Big-Time Ambitions

When you scan Nebraska football’s Big Ten opponents, there are few perceived weak links. One such opponent might be Rutgers, which is the Huskers’ Week 10 matchup.

And with the game in Central Jersey on Nov. 14, that matchup might not be the cakewalk some think. Nebraska is 7-0 all-time against Rutgers.

Scarlet Knights coach Greg Schiano and players took to the podium Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. But what Schiano said before Media Days drew more attention than anything he said Tuesday.

Schiano recently proclaimed to media member Yogi Roth, a former wide receiver at Pitt: “My goal is to win the national championship at Rutgers. Can it be done? I don’t know. We’re going to find out. I believe it can.”

Schiano cited alignment and commitment with the Rutgers infrastructure, starting with the university president and including athletic director Keli Zinn, who arrived in 2025 from LSU, and has restructured the Scarlet Knights’ NIL program.

He reiterated his stance in Chicago on Tuesday, saying Rutgers now had “vertical alignment.”

“Vertical alignment, to me, isn’t a slogan,” Schiano said. “Vertical alignment is when you have a board president or a board chair, a president, an AD, and a head football coach who look at winning at Rutgers the same way, and also look at the investment needed to do it.”

Outstanding offense

If Rutgers’ form holds true from 2025, Nebraska can expect to see a strong offense and a defense that needs to improve in major ways.

Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff makes a difficult catch again Penn State last season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rutgers was one of eight teams in the nation with a 3,000-yard passer (Athan Kaliakmanis), 1,000-yard rusher (Antwan Raymond) and 1,000-yard receiver (KJ Duff). The Scarlet Knights averaged 28.9 points per game — exceptional in a difficult conference.

Duff, whom some consider a likely first-round draft pick, is 6-foot-6, 225 pounds. He will be a challenge, again, for Big Ten secondaries. Duff and Raymond were among the 12 players selected for Big Ten Preseason Honors.

Struggling defense

The Rutgers’ defense is another story.

Rutgers ranked 127th in the nation on defense, worst in the Big Ten. Travis Johansen, the head coach at South Dakota, was hired as defensive coordinator.

“We need to get better at defense, period, and that’s why we hired Travis Johansen as our new coordinator,” Schiano said.

“I am really thrilled and excited, not only to see the level of play rise, but the feeling between those players, that chemistry between the players and the coaches. I see it developing every day, and it’s an exciting thing to me.

“We have a deep and talented roster, the deepest and most talented I’ve had since I’ve been back, and it’s only going to get better now with the resources now starting to match the expectations that you have when you’re in the Big Ten Conference,” said Schiano, who has coached Rutgers for 18 seasons over two stints.

“The players we brought today really are highlighting that. KJ Duff, Kobe Asamoah, and Antwan Raymond. These guys represent what the Big Ten is all about, elite academics and elite football. They’re all players that are all Big Ten-level caliber players, but they’re also great students and great representatives of our university.

“I’m really excited about the team we have coming back, and I’ll close with this. A great New Jerseyean Bill Parcells. I heard him once say, you are what your record says you are. We were 5-7 [2-7, Big Ten] last year. That’s unacceptable.

“But you know what? We know what we had to fix, and we spent the last eight months fixing it, and I really look forward to coaching this team.”

Rutgers has made three bowl games in the past five seasons. The Scarlet Knights were 17th in the Big Ten Media Preseason Poll. Nebraska was 11th.

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