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2017 Rutgers

4–⁠8 (3–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Chris Ash.

Schedule and results

Rutgers in 2017, game by game: lost vs. No. 8 Washington 14–30; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 13–16; won vs. Morgan State 65–0; lost at Nebraska 17–27; lost vs. No. 11 Ohio State 0–56; won at Illinois 35–24; won vs. Purdue 14–12; lost at Michigan 14–35; won vs. Maryland 31–24; lost at No. 16 Penn State 6–35; lost at Indiana 0–41; lost vs. No. 21 Michigan State 7–40+65−56Lost 14–30 vs. No. 8 Washington-16No. 8 WashingtonLost 13–16 vs. Eastern Michigan-3Eastern MichiganWon 65–0 vs. Morgan State+65Morgan StateLost 17–27 at Nebraska-10NebraskaLost 0–56 vs. No. 11 Ohio State-56No. 11 Ohio StateWon 35–24 at Illinois+11IllinoisWon 14–12 vs. Purdue+2PurdueLost 14–35 at Michigan-21MichiganWon 31–24 vs. Maryland+7MarylandLost 6–35 at No. 16 Penn State-29No. 16 Penn StateLost 0–41 at Indiana-41IndianaLost 7–40 vs. No. 21 Michigan State-33No. 21 Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vs8WashingtonL 14–⁠3020%
Sep 9vsEastern MichiganL 13–⁠1649%
Sep 16vsMorgan StateW 65–⁠075%
Sep 23atNebraskaL 17–⁠2723%
Sep 30vs11Ohio StateL 0–⁠5616%
Oct 14atIllinoisW 35–⁠2434%
Oct 21vsPurdueW 14–⁠1246%
Oct 28atMichiganL 14–⁠3513%
Nov 4vsMarylandW 31–⁠2448%
Nov 11at16Penn StateL 6–⁠3511%
Nov 18atIndianaL 0–⁠4131%
Nov 25vs21Michigan StateL 7–⁠4030%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan State 40–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 107th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 152 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠6 tied for 9th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
216–⁠340
Coach
Chris Ash
Elo
1368 −13 this season
SP+ rating
-5.5 No. 92 of 128; offense No. 101, defense No. 77, special teams No. 59
SRS
−2.9 No. 79 of 130 in FBS
Returning
54% of last season’s EPA, No. 82 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 42 roster talent No. 51 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jerry Kill
Defensive coordinators
Jay Niemann and Bill Busch
Offense
Power spread
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense126th of 130
  • Defense88th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted121st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted90th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.1036%1.05126th of 130
Defense0.1445%1.1288th of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.03 off
0.14 def		39% off
44% def		—121st off
90th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.2own 3419% allowed
Defense4.0own 3015% caused

CORE rating -9.9, 104th of 130 (offense -8.2, defense 1.7).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsKyle Bolin QB711 yds
Passing touchdownsKyle Bolin QB3 TD
Rushing yardsGus Edwards RB713 yds
Rushing touchdownsGus Edwards RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJerome Washington TE282 yds
Receiving touchdownsRaheem Blackshear RB2 TD
TacklesTrevor Morris LB115 tkl
SacksKemoko Turay DE4 sacks
InterceptionsJawuan Harris WR3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Micah Clark OT★★★★No. 129
Bo Melton WR★★★★No. 246
Tyshon Fogg OLB★★★★No. 300
Johnathan Lewis DUAL★★★No. 710
Samuel Vretman OT★★★No. 751

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.859
Running backs13.00.807
Receivers63.00.830
Offensive line43.30.872
Defensive line43.00.834
Linebackers43.00.837
Defensive backs33.00.833
Athletes and specialists13.00.822
Whole class243.00.839

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 2Kemoko Turay DEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 6Sebastian Joseph DTLos Angeles Rams

Roster 104

The 2017 roster

104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin9–⁠013–⁠17
Ohio State8–⁠112–⁠25
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠28
Northwestern7–⁠210–⁠317
Michigan State7–⁠210–⁠315
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠64–⁠8
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Minnesota2–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠92–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.