Pittsburgh vs. Rutgers

Pittsburgh and Rutgers have 30 meetings on file, the first in 1981; Pittsburgh leads the series 22–⁠8 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s even at 5–⁠5.

Pittsburgh wins
22
Rutgers wins
8
Ties
0
Earliest on file
1981
Longest streak
9 Pittsburgh
Current streak
1 Pittsburgh
Last 10 meetings
even at 5–⁠5
Most recent
2012

The series at a glance

Every meeting by decade, colored by the winner
’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1980s7–⁠0
1990s7–⁠3
2000s6–⁠4
2010s2–⁠1
Average margin
17.5 points; 7 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Pittsburgh
12–⁠3 Pittsburgh’s record at home
At Rutgers
5–⁠9 Rutgers’s record at home
Neutral sites
1–⁠0 Pittsburgh first
Shutouts
2

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Pittsburgh’s biggest win1982: Pittsburgh 52, Rutgers 6by 46 points
  2. Rutgers’s biggest win2011: Rutgers 34, Pittsburgh 10by 24 points
  3. Upset1993: Pittsburgh 21, Rutgers 10Pittsburgh had a 23% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  4. Upset1998: Rutgers 25, Pittsburgh 21Rutgers had a 23% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  5. Upset2008: Rutgers 54, Pittsburgh 34Rutgers had a 31% chance, by our ratings before kickoff

Coach against coach

YearsPittsburghSeriesRutgers
1986–⁠1989Mike Gottfried4–⁠0Dick Anderson
1990–⁠1992Paul Hackett2–⁠1Doug Graber
1993–⁠1995Johnny Majors2–⁠1Doug Graber
1997–⁠2000Walt Harris3–⁠1Terry Shea
2001–⁠2004Walt Harris4–⁠0Greg Schiano
2005–⁠2010Dave Wannstedt2–⁠4Greg Schiano

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Pittsburgh’s side (Gottfried 4–⁠0 against Anderson). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Pittsburgh and Rutgers, 1981 on1300150017001990200020102020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

Stars of the series

Biggest days

Mike Teel Rutgers14 of 21, 361 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT2008 Passing
Kenny Britt Rutgers5 catches, 143 yards, 3 TD2008 Receiving

Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).

Every game

Nov 24, 2012Pittsburgh 27, 21Rutgers 6at Pittsburgh
Oct 8, 2011Rutgers 34, Pittsburgh 10at Rutgers
Oct 23, 2010Pittsburgh 41, Rutgers 21at Pittsburgh
Oct 16, 2009Pittsburgh 24, Rutgers 17at Rutgers
Oct 25, 2008Rutgers 54, 17Pittsburgh 34at Pittsburgh
Nov 17, 2007Rutgers 20, Pittsburgh 16at Rutgers
Oct 21, 200619Rutgers 20, Pittsburgh 10at Pittsburgh
Sep 30, 2005Rutgers 37, Pittsburgh 29at Rutgers
Oct 23, 2004Pittsburgh 41, Rutgers 17at Pittsburgh
Oct 18, 2003Pittsburgh 42, Rutgers 32at Rutgers
Sep 21, 2002Pittsburgh 23, Rutgers 3at Pittsburgh
Nov 10, 2001Pittsburgh 42, Rutgers 0at Rutgers
Sep 23, 2000Pittsburgh 29, Rutgers 17at Pittsburgh
Oct 23, 1999Pittsburgh 38, Rutgers 15at Rutgers
Oct 17, 1998Rutgers 25, Pittsburgh 21at Pittsburgh
Oct 25, 1997Pittsburgh 55, Rutgers 48at Rutgers
Nov 30, 1996Pittsburgh 24, Rutgers 9at Pittsburgh
Oct 28, 1995Rutgers 42, Pittsburgh 24at Rutgers
Nov 19, 1994Pittsburgh 35, Rutgers 21at Pittsburgh
Oct 28, 1993Pittsburgh 21, Rutgers 10at Rutgers
Sep 17, 1992Rutgers 21, Pittsburgh 16at Rutgers
Nov 9, 1991Pittsburgh 22, Rutgers 17at Pittsburgh
Oct 13, 1990Pittsburgh 45, Rutgers 21at Pittsburgh
Dec 2, 198924Pittsburgh 46, Rutgers 29Neutral site
Nov 5, 1988Pittsburgh 20, Rutgers 10at Pittsburgh
Nov 7, 1987Pittsburgh 17, Rutgers 0at Rutgers
Nov 15, 1986Pittsburgh 20, Rutgers 6at Pittsburgh
Oct 19, 1985Pittsburgh 38, Rutgers 10at Rutgers
Nov 20, 19826Pittsburgh 52, Rutgers 6at Pittsburgh
Nov 7, 19811Pittsburgh 47, Rutgers 3at Rutgers

Every game is listed as played on the field.