2018 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

2018 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record1–11 (0–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJohn McNulty (1st season)
Offensive schemePower spread
Defensive coordinatorJay Niemann (3rd season)
Base defenseMultiple
Home stadiumHighPoint.com Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 3 Ohio State xy$   8 1     13 1  
No. 14 Michigan x   8 1     10 3  
No. 17 Penn State   6 3     9 4  
Michigan State   5 4     7 6  
Maryland   3 6     5 7  
Indiana   2 7     5 7  
Rutgers   0 9     1 11  
West Division
No. 21 Northwestern xy   8 1     9 5  
Wisconsin   5 4     8 5  
No. 25 Iowa   5 4     9 4  
Purdue   5 4     6 7  
Minnesota   3 6     7 6  
Nebraska   3 6     4 8  
Illinois   2 7     4 8  
Championship: Ohio State 45, Northwestern 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Scarlet Knights played their home games at HighPoint.com Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey and competed as members of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Ash.

Rutgers began the year with a 35–7 victory over Texas State, but things quickly turned south for the team. After a blowout loss to Ohio State in Rutgers' conference opener, the team traveled to play Kansas, who had lost 39 of their previous 42 games against FBS opponents.[1] Rutgers lost in a blowout, 55–14. The next week, the team was blown out 42–13 by Buffalo of the Mid-American Conference. In the remainder of conference play, the Scarlet Knights were mostly outmatched, losing the rest of their games, despite holding fourth quarter leads in games against Northwestern and Michigan State.[2][3] Rutgers' final record of 1–11 matched the previous school record for losses in a season with their 1–11 2002 team and 0–11 1997 team.[4]

Freshman quarterback Artur Sitowski led the team in passing, finishing with 1,158 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. Sophomore running back Raheem Blacksheer led the team in both rushing and receiving yards, and had 953 yards from scrimmage on the year.[5] On defense, senior linebacker Trevor Morris finished in sixth in the conference with 105 total tackles. He concluded his career in ninth on the school's all-time leaderboard for total tackles.[6]

  1. ^ Fonseca, Brian (June 5, 2018). "Rutgers Football 2018 Preview: Kansas at a glance". 247Sports.com. Note: the source lists 39 of 41 as of the beginning of the 2018 season, and Kansas defeated FBS team Central Michigan the week prior.
  2. ^ "Bowser's second TD run rallies Northwestern past Rutgers". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Michigan State scores late TD, beats Rutgers 14-10". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football Record By Year". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  5. ^ "2018 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  6. ^ Kratch, James (March 12, 2019). "Trevor Morris flying under NFL Draft radar after standout Rutgers career: 'It's better to be the underdog'". NJ.com.