2025 PSU at Rutgers

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General Pre-Game Information

• Game Ten of 2025 season—This is the fifth and final road game of the Big Ten season and the final game of the regular season. This is also the final regular season game where Nike gear will be worn/used by PSU. And the final regular season game for Penn State Interim Head Coach, Terry Smith. 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 could be playing for bowl eligibility in this game.

• Last PSU Game: Penn State X Nebraska X

• This week’s rankings: CFP Poll PSU #NR for 4th straight week (Nov. 25 CFP Poll-TBA) / AP Poll PSU #NR for 8th straight week (Nov. 23 AP Poll-TBA) / Coaches Poll PSU #NR for 7th straight week (Nov. 23 Coaches Poll-TBA)

• 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: TBA

• First TV game on BTN since week 2 victory over FIU at Beaver Stadium (PSU 34-0).

• 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.