ESPN FPI has Rutgers in arm’s reach of a bowl appearance

Rutgers football is now favored in just two more games the rest of the season, underscoring the difficult (albeit not impossible…in fact, far from impossible) pathway to a bowl game.

With five games remaining on their schedule, Rutgers is favored in just two of those games according to ESPN FPI. The first comes on Oct. 30 following the Scarlet Knights bye week where Rutgers is at 58.6 percent to win at Illinois.

Then, Rutgers is favored in their season finale on Nov. 27 at home to Maryland (63.1 percent).

In the other three games, including their next home game on Nov. 6 against Wisconsin (37.4 percent), Rutgers is not favored. This includes Nov. 13 at Indiana (32.4 percent) and Nov. 20 at No. 7 Penn State (11.1 percent).

Rutgers has lost four straight games. The first three losses came against teams currently in the top 10 of the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. This past weekend’s 21-7 loss at Northwestern was against a program that played in the Big Ten Championship Game last year.

Rutgers is projected by ESPN FPI for 5 wins. It is the first time in four weeks that Rutgers isn’t projected by ESPN FPI to be bowl eligible.