2025 PSU at Rutgers

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General Game Information

PSU-RUTGERS FINAL GAME STATS LINK

PSU-RUTGERS GAME FLOW & SUMMARY LINK

• Game Twelve of 2025 season—This is the fifth and final road game of the Big Ten season and the final game of the regular season for Penn State (5-6, 2-6). This is also the final regular season game where Nike gear will be worn/used by PSU (Adidas will replace Nike in 2026). And probably the final regular season game for Penn State Interim Head Coach, Terry Smith (2-3). This is Rutgers coach Greg Schiano’s 5th meeting with PSU as a head coach (0-4). Rutgers (5-6, 2-6) comes into this game off its Nov. 22 loss at #1 Ohio State, 42-9. Both teams are playing for bowl eligibility in this game. Penn State has not finished with a losing record in a complete football season since 2004 when the Nittany Lions were 4-7 (the Covid-shortened 2020 season saw PSU at 4-5). The PSU-Rutgers winner will become the 12th and final bowl eligible team in the Big Ten in 2025.

• Last PSU Game: Penn State 37 Nebraska 10 (2nd straight win for PSU & Terry Smith’s first win at home)

• This week’s rankings: CFP Poll PSU #NR for 4th straight week (Nov. 25 CFP Poll-#1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #6 Oregon) / AP Poll PSU #NR for 8th straight week (Nov. 23 AP Poll-#1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #5 Oregon) / Coaches Poll PSU #NR for 7th straight week, but received votes this week (Nov. 23 Coaches Poll-#1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, also #5 Oregon—PSU received 4 votes and is technically tied for 34th with Illinois & UConn)

• 35th meeting with Rutgers all-time (11th meeting as Big Ten members): The series dates back to 1918 when a war-depleted roster of Nittany Lions lost to the then-Rutgers Queensmen, 26-3 at New Beaver Field (Rutgers featured All-America Left End Paul Robeson that fall). The series was dormant until a 1950 win in State College, and since then, Penn State has only lost one additional time to the now Scarlet Knights in 1988 when former PSU player and assistant coach Dick Anderson upset Joe Paterno at Beaver Stadium, 21-16. Penn State is 32-2 all-time against Rutgers (10-0 in the Big Ten since Rutgers joined in 2014). The Nittany Lions have never lost to the Knights in New Jersey (PSU is 14-0 overall on the road including a 6-0 record vs. Rutgers at the old Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands—the last meeting there was in 1995). Penn State is riding a 17-game winning streak over the Knights.

• 6th meeting with Rutgers at SHI Stadium: PSU is 5-0 against Rutgers in their current home stadium. Their last meeting in Piscataway, NJ was in 2022 when #11 Penn State beat the Scarlet Knights, 55-10 (Freshman Nick Singleton returned a kick 100 yards for a TD in this win). SHI Stadium opened in 1994 as Rutgers Stadium (name changed to High Point Solutions Stadium in 2011, Highpoint.com Stadium in 2018, & SHI Stadium in 2019). Penn State’s first ever game in this stadium was also Rutgers’ Big Ten debut game in 2014 which saw the Lions squeeze out a narrow 13-10 win.

• Their last meeting in 2023: #12 Penn State was a 27-6 winner at Beaver Stadium in the first game after PSU’s offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was fired. Drew Allar started the game at QB but left in the third with a 10-6 lead after taking a big hit to his right shoulder. Beau Pribula took over and finished the game leading the Lions to 17 unanswered points. Pribula threw only 1 pass, but he rushed for a team high 71 yards and a TD which was set up by a KJ Winston interception. A strip sack and recovery by Chop Robinson setup Kaytron Allen’s second touchdown run of the afternoon.

• Last time PSU & Rutgers played in the season-closing game: In 2019 when #10 Penn State beat the Scarlet Knights, 27-6 at Beaver Stadium. Will Levis started in place of an injured Sean Clifford in that game.

• Greg Schiano ties to Penn State: Schiano was a former assistant under Joe Paterno at PSU in the 90’s. He began as a Grad Assistant in 1990, and from 1991-95, he was the coach of the PSU defensive backs. Schiano has faced Penn State eight times as either an assistant or head coach. As an assistant at Miami (1999-2000), he was the Hurricanes defensive coordinator in the famous “No Flags” Penn State 27-23 win in 1999 at the Orange Bowl Stadium. As the DC at Ohio State (2016-18), he was involved in two narrow 1-point Buckeye wins and the legendary 2016 Whiteout “Block Six” victory by Penn State. He has served two separate stints as the head coach at Rutgers. In his pre-Big Ten days with the Knights (2001-2011), Schiano and Rutgers did not play against Penn State. In part two of his Rutgers career (2020-present), Schiano has faced the Nittany Lions on 4 occasions losing all four. Note: Schiano’s offensive coordinator at Rutgers is Kirk Ciarrrocca who was the OC under James Franklin at Penn State in 2020.

• Sixth 3:30pm ET kick for PSU in 2025. Prior 3:30 ET kicks this season: Nevada, Villanova, at UCLA (12:30pm PT), Northwestern, and at Michigan State. PSU is 3-2 in this TV window so far this fall.

  TV Information

• Big Ten Network Gameday Announcers: Jeff Levering and Jake Butt with Brooke Fletcher on sidelines. This is Levering and Butt’s first PSU game this season. They called two games in 2024—PSU’s wins over Kent State & Maryland.

• First TV game on BTN since week 2 victory over FIU at Beaver Stadium (PSU 34-0). This is the second straight regular season-closing game to be telecast by BTN along with the 2024 closer vs. Maryland.

• 5th non-traditional network TV game of the 2025 season. Villanova & Northwestern games both aired on FS1, and the Iowa game appeared on Peacock streaming, in addition to the FIU game on BTN.