With just one game left on the schedule, Rutgers has the chance to do two things it never has in school history: win a Big East title and make it to a BCS bowl game.
The team is unranked after a loss last week to Pittsburgh, but still controls its own destiny as they host the Louisville Cardinals in Piscataway.
Although the conference doesn't have a title game, this game will serve as a Big East championship game since Rutgers is only one game ahead of the Cardinals in the standings.
With a win, Rutgers will improve to 6-1 in the Big East and bring home its first outright conference title in school history. The team has already clinched a share of the Big East title, but a loss would likely give the BCS spot to Louisville in the Sugar or Orange Bowl. The Cardinals are 4-2 in the Big East and will be tied with Rutgers at 5-2 if they win, likely giving them the BCS bowl spot.
The battle between the two teams may be the last for a while depending on the schedule next year. Both teams will be leaving the Big East conference in 2014, with Rutgers moving to the Big Ten and Louisville going to the ACC.
First-year coach Kyle Flood has led Rutgers to one of the best seasons in recent years and is on the verge of only the third 10-win season in the history of the program.
Flood took over this season for Greg Schiano, who left to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL. According to ESPN.com, if Flood wins, he will be the first coach in Rutgers history to lead his team to 10 wins in his first season as coach.
The team had a chance to win the conference title outright last week, but lost 27-6 on the road at Pittsburgh. The strength of the team this season has been on defense. Rutgers is ranked 4th in the nation, allowing only 13.7 points per game and allowed only 10 total points in back-to-back wins against Army and Cincinnati earlier this month.
Running back Jawan Jamison has been one of the best players for Rutgers this year and finally looks healthy after injuring his ankle against Cincinnati. This season he has rushed for 1,004 yards on 227 carries and four touchdowns. In the loss against Pittsburgh he had only 14 yards on nine attempts, but will be much better after a week of rest.
Rutgers started the season with seven straight wins, including a 35-36 victory on the road at Arkansas on Sept. 22. The team lost at home 35-23 against Kent State on Oct. 27, but rebounded to win two straight before falling to Pittsburgh. The team has only scored over 30 points twice this season, but the defense has been so good it hasn't been much of an issue.
Gary Nova has been inconsistent at quarterback this season, but is completing nearly 60 percent of his passes this year. He has thrown for 2,282 yards and 20 touchdowns this season, but has thrown 13 interceptions, including 10 in the past four games. Last season in a 16-14 loss against Louisville he threw three interceptions.
Last year the team went 9-4 and finished in fourth place in the Big East with a 4-3 record. Rutgers played in the Pinstripe Bowl where they beat Iowa State 27-13.
Louisville enters the game on a two-game losing streak after opening the season with the best start in school history.
The Cardinals opened up 9-0 with impressive wins over North Carolina and Cincinnati, but haven't won since a 45-17 victory on Nov. 3 over Temple. Last Saturday the team lost 23-20 in triple-overtime to Connecticut and was blown out on Nov. 10 by Syracuse 45-26.
Louisville has one of the most explosive offenses in the Big East, scoring 32 points per game, while the passing attack is ranked 26th behind the play of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
The sophomore quarterback has thrown for 3,189 yards this season and 23 touchdowns with only six interceptions. Bridgewater is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and threw for a career-high five touchdowns in the win against Temple. He also passed for a career-high 424 yards in the loss to Syracuse.
Bridgewater will not be fully healthy against Rutgers, as he is dealing with a broken wrist and a sprained ankle.
The running game has been solid this season, ranking 93rd in the country, but had to overcome the loss of Senorise Perry to a torn ACL against Syracuse. He was first on the team with 705 rushing yards and a Big East-leading 11 touchdowns.
Junior Jeremy Wright has rushed for 723 yards and nine touchdowns and gained 29 yards on 10 carries in Perry's place against Syracuse.
The Scarlet Knights will try to attack Bridgewater with their aggressive defense to make the game more of a slugfest rather than a shootout. Louisville has given up a combined 68 points in the past two games and gave up a season-high 524 yards in the loss to Syracuse.
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