By Bert Leeson

BOWL GUIDE

https://scarletknights.com/documents/2023/12/11/23_PinstripeBowl.pdf

PINSTRIPE BOWL

https://www.mlb.com/yankees/pinstripe-bowl

MEDIA GUIDE

https://scarletknights.com/news/2023/8/17/2023-football-media-guide.aspx

RUTGERS (6-6) vs. MIAMI (7-5)
December 28, 2023 • 2:15 p.m. ET • ESPN
Yankee Stadium • Bronx, N.Y.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football heads to New York to take on Miami in the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Kickoff on Dec. 28 is set for 2:15 p.m. on ESPN. The Scarlet Knights are 5-2 in bowl games under head coach Greg Schiano and 6-5 overall.

Tickets through the Rutgers allotment are on sale. Visit Rutgers Bowl Central for more information.

The official Rutgers Tailgate and Pep Rally will take place at Billy’s Sports Bar across the street from Yankee Stadium. Doors open at 10 a.m. and programming begins at 11 a.m. with appearances from the Marching Scarlet Knights, Rutgers cheer and dance teams, Sir Henry and other special guests. The original Springsteen tribute band and New Jersey’s own The BStreetBand will perform on site.

Official Rutgers merchandise is on sale for the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. Visit the Team Shop to purchase.

Rutgers twice previously appeared in the Pinstripe Bowl, taking on Iowa State in 2011 and Notre Dame in 2013. This will be the 13th time RU plays at Yankee Stadium dating back to 1926, with three prior games at the current version of the venue. Overall, this will be the Scarlet Knights’ 51st game at an MLB stadium and sixth such bowl game.

TV: ESPN (ESPN app)
Play-By-Play: Drew Carter
Analyst: Rod Gilmore
Reporter: Taylor Davis

Radio: RWJBarnabas Health Rutgers Sports Network
WFAN 660-AM/101.9-FM (coverage begins live from Yankee Stadium at 10 a.m.), FOX Sports New Jersey 93.5-FM/1450-AM, SiriusXM 372, SXM app, Audacy app, Scarlet Knights app
Play-By-Play: Chris Carlin
Analyst: Mike Teel
Analyst: Julian Pinnix-Odrick
Sideline: Anthony Fucilli
Engineer: Paul Shrager
Pre/Post: Marc Malusis & Eric LeGrand

ESPN Radio: SiriusXM 80
Mike Corey & Harry Douglas

Student Radio: WRSU 88.7-FM
Dylan Allen & Alec Crouthamel

• Rutgers saw 13 different players recognized in the All-Big Ten voting, the second-highest total for the program behind the 14 honored in 2020.
• Rutgers’ 2023 strength of schedule is ranked No. 2 nationally according to the ESPN College Football Power Index. Eight opponents from this season will appear in bowl games.
• Rutgers owns six wins overall in 2023, the most in a season since going 8-5 in 2014.
• Rutgers leads the nation in kickoff returns (33.0), ranks second in punts blocked (2), ninth in red zone defense (0.738), 11th in passing defense (175.9), 13th in fewest tackles-for-loss allowed (4.00), 14th in fewest sacks allowed (1.17), 19th in total defense (313.7), 19th in fumbles recovered (9), 24th in fewest turnovers lost (13), 27th in scoring defense (21.0), 29th in fewest penalties (5.00) and 29th in time of possession (31:34).
• Rutgers has 26 players on the current roster that played in the 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, including six starters on both offense and defense.

• This will mark Rutgers’ third trip to the Pinstripe Bowl, tying Syracuse for the most appearances since the game started in 2010.
• Rutgers will be the ninth different Big Ten team over the last nine editions of the Pinstripe Bowl. The Big Ten has won each of the last six and is 7-1 overall in the game.
• Special events, promotions and community outreach will take place throughout Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl week. Scheduled visits to New York City institutions will include One World Observatory, the 9/11 Memorial, Radio City Music Hall and more.
• The night before the game, on Dec. 27, the bowl will be publicly recognized by an iconic New York City landmark as the Empire State Building will be lit in the school colors of Rutgers and Miami.
• Rutgers has 12 players on its roster from the state of New York: DB Kessawn Abraham (Brooklyn), WR Dylan Braithwaite (Valley Stream), OL Ireland Brown (Jamaica), WR Deondre Johnson (Newburgh), DL Caleb Patterson (Jamesville), WR Ben Rosenblatt (New York), QB Ajani Sheppard (Bronx), WR Jordan Smikle (Farmingdale), WR Ian Strong (Coram), TE Jordan Walker (Rochester), LB Moses Walker (Staten Island) and DB Trevor Yeboah-Kodie (Garden City).

• Rutgers ranks first in the Big Ten in fewest sacks allowed (1.17), third in fewest tackles-for-loss allowed (4.00), fourth in time of possession (31:34) and fourth in rushing offense (165.4).
• Rutgers was one of four Big Ten teams to improve by total offense compared to 2022, seeing the largest jump in the conference: Rutgers (+25.3), Illinois (+13.0), Wisconsin (+7.2) and Indiana (+4.6).
• QB Gavin Wimsatt leads Big Ten quarterbacks with nine rushing touchdowns and 488 rushing yards. He has accounted for 18 touchdowns, the most for a Rutgers quarterback since Gary Nova (25) in 2014.
• RB Kyle Monangai leads the Big Ten with 1,099 rushing yards, the most by a Scarlet Knight in a season in the Big Ten era and first 1,000-yard season for RU since Jawan Jamison (1,075) in 2012. He has six 100-yard games this year.
• WR Christian Dremel, who has at least one catch in all 12 games, paces the team with three receiving touchdowns, 34 receptions and 440 yards.

• Rutgers posted its best marks in league play in total defense (337.9) and scoring defense (25.1) since joining the Big Ten in 2014.
• Rutgers has had 11 stops in the red zone to rank ninth nationally in red zone defense (.738).
• Twelve different players have combined for 18 sacks, led by 3.5 by LB Mohamed Toure, who also has a team-best 7.5 tackles-for-loss. Both DL Wesley Bailey and DL Aaron Lewis have three sacks apiece.
• DB Robert Longerbeam ranks third in the Big Ten with 0.92 passes defended per game (10 breakups, one interception), while DB Max Melton has a team-high three interceptions.
• LB Deion Jennings ranks 10th in the Big Ten with 7.2 tackles per game and has a team-high 86 stops overall.

• RU has blocked 69 kicks under head coach Greg Schiano (13 times scoring off a blocked punt), including two this year and five in 2022. DB Shaquan Loyal picked up the first block of the season at Indiana, deflecting a punt recovered by DB Eric Rogers for a 17-yard touchdown.
• PK Jai Patel has connected on 14-of-16 attempts, on pace for the most accurate season in program history. He has four games with multiple makes and has made 10 in a row.
• P Flynn Appleby and the punt unit have allowed just four returns for 25 yards and forced 29 fair catches.

• Rutgers and Miami met annually in Big East play from 1993-2003, six times at the Orange Bowl and five times at Rutgers Stadium. The Hurricanes won all 11 games. UM was ranked in seven of the matchups, including being No. 1 twice (2001, 2002).
• Head coach Greg Schiano served as the defensive coordinator at Miami in 1999 and 2000 before becoming the Rutgers head coach in 2001. The Hurricanes posted a 20-5 record during that time, including an 11-1 mark, the No. 2 national ranking and a Sugar Bowl win in 2000. That defense finished fifth nationally in scoring defense (15.5) after ranking 12th in the category the year before (17.2).
• Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was on Schiano’s first three staffs at Rutgers (2001-03), working with the offensive tackles and tight ends for the first two seasons before shifting his focus solely to the offensive line in 2003.
• Schiano (Rutgers) and Cristobal (FIU) previously faced off as head coaches in 2009 (Piscataway) and 2010 (Miami), with the Scarlet Knights winning both, 23-15 and 19-14.
• Rutgers last faced a team from Florida in 2013, a 31-6 win over USF.
• Rutgers has 11 players on its roster from the state of Florida: DL Mayan Ahanotu (Tampa), RB Ja’shon Benjamin (Pahokee), DB Todd Bowles Jr. (Tampa), OL Dantae Chin (Weston), OL Curtis Dunlap Jr. (Jacksonville), DL Henry Hughes Jr. (Tampa), DB Bo Mascoe (Kissimmee), WR Vilay Nakkoun Jr. (Orlando), WR Isaiah Washington (Jacksonville), OL Mozell Williams (Gainesville) and LB Abram Wright (Jacksonville). DL Wesley Bailey (Clearwater Academy International) and LS Jake Eldridge (IMG Academy) also attended high school in the state.
• Rutgers game highs versus Miami:
Rushing Yards: Jacki Crooks, 122 (1997)
Passing Yards: Mike McMahon, 275 (1998)
Receiving Yards: Bill Powell, 109 (1998)

• 1978 Garden State Bowl: Arizona State 34, Rutgers 18
• 2005 Insight Bowl: Arizona State 45, Rutgers 40
• 2006 Texas Bowl: Rutgers 37, Kansas State 10
• 2008 International Bowl: Rutgers 52, Ball State 30
• 2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl: Rutgers 29, NC State 23
• 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl: Rutgers 45, UCF 24
• 2011 New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers 27, Iowa State 13
• 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl: Virginia Tech 13, Rutgers 10 (OT)
• 2013 New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Notre Dame 29, Rutgers 16
• 2014 Quick Lane Bowl: Rutgers 40, North Carolina 21
• 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Wake Forest 38, Rutgers 10

2024 Schedule:
• Aug. 31: Howard
• Sept. 7: Akron
• Sept. 21: at Virginia Tech
• Sept. 28: Washington*
• Oct. 5: at Nebraska*
• Oct. 12: Wisconsin*
• Oct. 19: UCLA*
• Oct. 26: at USC*
• Nov. 9: Minnesota*
• Nov. 16: at Maryland*
• Nov. 23: Illinois*
• Nov. 30: at Michigan State*
* – Big Ten

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