# 2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

The 2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Scarlet Knights played their home games at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ as a member of the Big East Conference. This was the first season with Kyle Flood as the head coach, as former head coach Greg Schiano accepted the head coaching position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rutgers finished the season 9–4, 5–2 in Big East play to win the school's first ever Big East Conference football championship, sharing the conference title with Cincinnati, Louisville, and Syracuse. Rutgers played in the Russell Athletic Bowl against Virginia Tech losing in overtime 13-10.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 8:00 pm | at Tulane* | | Mercedes-Benz SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA | CBSSN | W 24–12 | 26,059 |
| September 8 | 3:30 pm | Howard* | | High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, NJ | SNY | W 26–0 | 50,855 |
| September 13 | 7:30 pm | at South Florida | | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN | W 23–13 | 44,219 |
| September 22 | 7:00 pm | at Arkansas* | | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback StadiumFayetteville, AR | ESPNU | W 35–26 | 72,543 |
| October 6 | 12:00 pm | Connecticut | No. 22 | High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, NJ | ESPNU | W 19–3 | 50,870 |
| October 13 | 12:00 pm | Syracuse | No. 20 | High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, NJ | Big East Network | W 23–15 | 48,011 |
| October 20 | 12:00 pm | at Temple | No. 19 | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | Big East Network | W 35–10 | 35,145 |
| October 27 | 3:30 pm | Kent State* | No. 18 | High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, NJ | SNY | L 23–35 | 49,345 |
| November 10 | 12:00 pm | Army* | No. 24 | High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, NJ | ESPNU | W 28–7 | 43,250 |
| November 17 | 12:00 pm | at Cincinnati | No. 22 | Nippert StadiumCincinnati, OH | Big East Network | W 10–3 | 34,526 |
| November 24 | 12:00 pm | at Pittsburgh | No. 22 | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ESPN2 | L 6–27 | 38,786 |
| November 29 | 7:30 pm | Louisville | | High Point Solutions StadiumPiscataway, NJ | ESPN | L 17–20 | 52,798 |
| December 28 | 5:30 pm | vs. Virginia Tech* | | Florida Citrus Bowl StadiumOrlando, FL (Russell Athletic Bowl) | ESPN | L 10–13 $^{OT}$ | 48,127 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | RV | 23 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 18 | RV | 24 | 22 | 21 | RV | RV | |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 т | 21 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 25 | RV | |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 19 | 17 | 15 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 19 | RV | RV | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 15 | 15 | — | 23 | 22 | 18 | — | — | Not released |