RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS NOTES:
NOTABLE
• Rutgers heads to New York to take on Miami in the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. The Scarlet Knights are 5-2 in bowl games under head coach Greg Schiano and 6-5 overall. • Schiano’s five bowl victories are ranked tied for third among active Big Ten head coaches. • This will be the third time Rutgers appears in the Pinstripe Bowl, the only bowl the Scarlet Knights have played in multiple times. • Rutgers owns six wins overall in 2023, the most in a season since going 8-5 in 2014. • Rutgers picked up three Big Ten wins, matching the program high previously set in 2014, 2017 and 2020. • Rutgers saw 13 different players recognized in the All-Big Ten voting, the second-highest total for the program behind the 14 honored in 2020. • Rutgers’ 2023 strength of schedule is ranked No. 2 nationally according to the ESPN College Football Power Index. Eight opponents from this season will appear in bowl games. • Rutgers has won its last six non-conference games and 10 of the last 11 dating back to 2019. The Scarlet Knights are 49-20 overall in non-conference games under Schiano. • Rutgers is 2-2 in bowl games against ACC members, defeating NC State (2008 PapaJohns. com) and North Carolina (2014 Quick Lane). The Scarlet Knights have one ACC win in each of the last three years (2023 Virginia Tech, 2022 Boston College, 2021 Syracuse). • Rutgers has 26 players on the current roster that played in the 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, including six starters on both offense and defense. • Rutgers is 12-1 since 2020 when not committing a turnover in a game. • Rutgers leads the nation in kickoff returns (33.0), ranks second in punts blocked (2), ninth in red zone defense (0.738), 11th in passing defense (175.9), 13th in fewest tackles-for-loss allowed (4.00), 14th in fewest sacks allowed (1.17), 19th in total defense (313.7), 19th in fumbles recovered (9), 24th in fewest turnovers lost (13), 27th in scoring defense (21.0), 29th in fewest penalties (5.00) and 29th in time of possession (31:34). • Rutgers went 5-2 at home this season, the most home victories in a season since picking up six in 2011. • Rutgers, “The Birthplace of College Football,” will play its 1,408th game in program history on record dating back to 1869, the most in the sport.
PINSTRIPE BOWL
• This will mark Rutgers’ third trip to the Pinstripe Bowl, tying Syracuse for the most appearances since the game started in 2010. • Rutgers will be the ninth different Big Ten team over the last nine editions of the Pinstripe Bowl. The Big Ten has won each of the last six and is 7-1 overall in the game. • Special events, promotions and community outreach will take place throughout Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl week. Scheduled visits to New York City institutions will include One World Observatory, the 9/11 Memorial, Radio City Music Hall and more. • The night before the game, on Dec. 27, the bowl will be publicly recognized by an iconic New York City landmark as the Empire State Building will be lit in the school colors of Rutgers and Miami. • “We are thrilled about the opportunity to continue our season and play in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl,” head coach Greg Schiano said. “The bowl experience is a reward for the players. We are blessed with a chance to be together for the next month and to compete against an excellent opponent. Having played in the Pinstripe Bowl before, we know the Yankees do a tremendous job in making this a memorable time for our program. New York is a great place to be for the holidays and we look forward to seeing our fans at Yankee Stadium.”
YANKEE STADIUM
• This will be the 13th time Rutgers plays at Yankee Stadium, with three prior games at the current version of the venue. > 1926: NYU 30, Rutgers 0 > 1927: NYU 60, Rutgers 6 > 1928: NYU 48, Rutgers 0 > 1929: NYU 20, Rutgers 7 > 1930: NYU 33, Rutgers 0 > 1931: NYU 27, Rutgers 7 > 1932: NYU 21, Rutgers 0 > 1933: Rutgers 6, NYU 6 > 1948: Rutgers 40, NYU 0 > 2011: Rutgers 27, Army 12* > 2011: Rutgers 27, Iowa State 13*^ > 2013: No. 25 Notre Dame 29, Rutgers 16*^ > 2023: Rutgers vs. Miami*^ * – current Yankee Stadium ^ – Pinstripe Bowl • This will be the Scarlet Knights’ sixth bowl game at an MLB stadium: > 2005 Insight Bowl (Arizona Diamondbacks): Chase Field > 2008 International Bowl (Toronto Blue Jays): Rogers Centre > 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl (Tampa Bay Rays): Tropicana Field > 2011 New Era Pinstripe Bowl (New York Yankees): Yankee Stadium > 2013 New Era Pinstripe Bowl (New York Yankees): Yankee Stadium > 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (New York Yankees): Yankee Stadium • Overall, this will be the Scarlet Knights’ 51st game at an MLB stadium. It will be the 13th game at Yankee Stadium to break a tie with Veterans Stadium for the most such games. > Yankee Stadium (New York): 13 > Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia): 12 > Polo Grounds (New York): 11 > Ebbets Field (New York): 3 > Nickerson Field (Boston): 3 > Fenway Park (Boston): 2 > Baltimore Stadium (Baltimore): 1 > Chase Field (Phoenix): 1 > Navin Field (Detroit): 1 > Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati): 1 > Rogers Centre (Toronto): 1 > Three Rivers Stadium (Pittsburgh): 1 > Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, Fla.): 1
VERSUS MIAMI
• Rutgers and Miami met annually in Big East play from 1993-2003, six times at the Orange Bowl and five times at Rutgers Stadium. The Hurricanes won all 11 games. UM was ranked in seven of the matchups, including being No. 1 twice (2001, 2002). • Head coach Greg Schiano served as the defensive coordinator at Miami in 1999 and 2000 before becoming the Rutgers head coach in 2001. The Hurricanes posted a 20-5 record during that time, including an 11-1 mark, the No. 2 national ranking and a Sugar Bowl win in 2000. That defense finished fifth nationally in scoring defense (15.5) after ranking 12th in the category the year before (17.2). • Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was on Schiano’s first three staffs at Rutgers (2001-03), working with the offensive tackles and tight ends for the first two seasons before shifting his focus solely to the offensive line in 2003. • Schiano (Rutgers) and Cristobal (FIU) previously faced off as head coaches in 2009 (Piscataway) and 2010 (Miami), with the Scarlet Knights winning both, 23-15 and 19-14. • Rutgers last faced a team from Florida in 2013, a 31-6 win over USF. • Rutgers has 11 players on its roster from the state of Florida: DL Mayan Ahanotu (Tampa), RB Ja’shon Benjamin (Pahokee), DB Todd Bowles Jr. (Tampa), OL Dantae Chin (Weston), OL Curtis Dunlap Jr. (Jacksonville), DL Henry Hughes Jr. (Tampa), DB Bo Mascoe (Kissimmee), WR Vilay Nakkoun Jr. (Orlando), WR Isaiah Washington (Jacksonville), OL Mozell Williams (Gainesville) and LB Abram Wright (Jacksonville). DL Wesley Bailey (Clearwater Academy International) and LS Jake Eldridge (IMG Academy) also attended high school in the state. • Rutgers game highs versus Miami: Rushing Yards: Jacki Crooks, 122 (1997) Passing Yards: Mike McMahon, 275 (1998) Receiving Yards: Bill Powell, 109 (1998)
LAST TIME OUT
• Rutgers lost to Maryland, 42-24, to close out the regular season at SHI Stadium. • RB Kyle Monangai finished the game with 20 carries for 118 yards and became the eighth player in program history to surpass 1,000 yards on the ground in a season. QB Gavin Wimsatt threw for 165 yards and a touchdown and added two rushing scores. • DB Max Melton intercepted his third pass of the season, while DB Flip Dixon forced a fumble that was recovered by DL Isaiah Iton. LB Mohamed Toure set a career high with 11 tackles with a sack.
MIAMI HURRCANES NOTES:
THE GAME
• Coming off a dominant 45-20 win over Boston College in their regular season finale, the Hurricanes wrap up their second season under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal on Thurs., Dec. 28 against Rutgers at the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York, N.Y. • The game will be broadcast on ESPN with Drew Carter (pxp), Rod Gilmore (color) & Taylor Davis (sideline) on the call. Joe Zagacki (pxp) & Don Bailey, Jr. (color) are in the 560 WQAM booth for the 22nd season. Radio Mundo 1210 AM will also broadcast Miami’s bowl game from New York.
THE SERIES
• Miami leads the all-time series against Rutgers by a perfect 11-0 margin; the programs were BIG EAST foes and played every year from 1993-2003. • UM has not faced the Scarlet Knights since 2003, a 34-10 win by the Canes at the Orange Bowl. The upcoming bowl is the first neutral site matchup. • Mario Cristobal coached tight ends and offensive line under Greg Schiano at Rutgers from 2001-2003, facing off against Miami three times there.
THE HURRICANES
• Miami wraps up the Year 2 of the Mario Cristobal Era on Thurs., Dec. 28 when it travels to New York City for the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. • The Hurricanes are coming off a dominant 45-20 win over Boston College in their regular season finale in Chestnut Hill, Mass. on Friday, November 24. • 13 student-athletes were recognized with All-ACC honors, including first-team picks WR Xavier Restrepo, DB Kam Kinchens and K Andy Borregales. • DL Rueben Bain, Jr. was recognized with ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and was named a Freshman All-America by every outlet. • Miami was the only school in the country to have a 247Sports Freshman All-America in all three phases: Bain, OL Francis Mauigoa and P Dylan Joyce. • In addition to the above three first-team selections, the other all-conference honorees included: OL Jalen Rivers, OL Matt Lee, LB Francisco Mauigoa and specialist Brashard Smith (second team), WR Jacolby George and Bain were named to the All-ACC Third Team, while OL Anez Cooper, OL Javion Cohen, OL Francis Mauigoa and Joyce earned All-ACC Honorable Mention. Smith was additionally named honorable mention all-purpose. • QB Jacurri Brown is projected to make his first start of the season and third of his career against Rutgers; he saw action in eight games as a true freshman in 2022, with his best outing coming in a road win at Georgia Tech, when he threw for three touchdown passes and rushed for 87 yards. • George and Restrepo are one of six FBS duos and the only ACC duo to each record at least 850 receiving yards and 55 receptions this season. It is the only time that UM has had such a duo over the past 25 years; Restrepo was second in the ACC in receiving yards (993) while George was third (851). • UM is playing in a bowl for the first time under Cristobal and the 45th time in history; Miami is 20-24 in bowls, with its last bowl win coming in 2016. • Regarded as one of the nations top recruiters, and in his second recruiting cycle at Miami that ended on Dec. 22, Cristobal and UM – for the second straight year – signed the best class in program history, the top-ranked class in the ACC and top class in the state, according to 247Sports Composite. • Cristobal, a double alum of the University, was named the 26th head coach in program history by school president Dr. Julio Frenk on Dec. 6, 2021. • Cristobal returned home after spending the previous four seasons as head coach at Oregon, where he won two Pac-12 titles and captured a Rose Bowl. • The second-year Miami head coach hired Shannon Dawson from the University of Houston as the team’s offensive coordinator and Lance Guidry from Marshall as the team’s defensive coordinator entering 2023. In total, there were new faces in seven of 10 assistant coach roles this past fall; in addition to Dawson and Guidry, Cristobal hired Derek Nicholson (from Louisville) to coach linebackers, Tim Harris, Jr., (UCF) to coach running backs, Kevin Beard (Toledo) to coach wide receivers and elevated both Jason Taylor (defensive line) and Cody Woodiel (tight ends) from analyst roles.
QUICK HITS
HURRICANES GOING BOWLING IN NYC
• The Hurricanes will be going bowling for the first time under Mario Cristobal on Dec. 28, when they travel to New York City for the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. • The Hurricanes own a 20-24 record in bowl games all-time, and are making their second trip ever for the Pinstripe Bowl. UM fell in the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl to Wisconsin. • Cristobal has a 3-3 all-time record in bowl games as head coach, and a 3-2 mark as a full-time head coach; he was named interim head coach for the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl at Oregon.
RESTREPO & GEORGE AMONG TOP DUOS
• WR Xavier Restrepo and WR Jacolby George emerged with breakout 2023 seasons, and are among the top-performing duos in the nation at wide receiver. • George and Restrepo are one of six FBS duos and the only ACC duo to each record at least 850 receiving yards and 55 receptions this season. • It is the only time that UM has had such a duo over the past 25 years; Restrepo was second in the ACC in receiving yards (993) while George was third (851) • Restrepo was named to the All-ACC First Team, while George was a third-team pick.
“HURRICANE” BAIN NAMED ACC D-ROY
• One of the biggest reasons for Miami’s strong defense in 2023 was the dominance of freshman DL Rueben Bain, Jr., who was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year at the conference’s end-of-year banquet in Charlotte, where he accepted the award. • Bain ranked firs tamong defensive linemen with 37 total tackles, which included a team high-tying 7.5 sacks to go along with 9.5 tackles for loss. • Bain, a Freshman All-America by every major outlet, was named one of five Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year finalists.
HURRICANES TO PLAY RUTGERS IN BAD BOY MOWERS PINSTRIPE BOWL
• Miami wraps up its second season under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal on Thurs., Dec. 28 against Rutgers in the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York, N.Y. • The Hurricanes and Rutgers used to face off as opponents in the BIG EAST Conference. UM is 11-0 alltime against Rutgers, its best record against any opponent, winning each game by at least 14 points. • Miami is playing in a bowl game for the 45th time in history and is 20-24 in 44 previous bowls. As a head coach, Cristobal has totaled a 3-3 bowl record, including a win at Oregon in the 2020 Rose Bowl. •. The Pinstripe Bowl marks the first head-to-head meeting between Cristobal and one of his coaching mentors, Greg Schiano. Cristobal coached tight ends and offensive line at Rutgers from 2001-2003. • Joining Cristobal on the sidelines in 2023 were seven new faces in full-time assistant coach roles, including both coordinators – offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson from the University of Houston and defensive coordinator Lance Guidry from Marshall – who are both in their first seasons at The U. • Miami’s game vs. Rutgers is also slated for broadcast on 560 WQAM and Radio Mundo 1210 a.m.
LAST TIME OUT: MIAMI WRAPS UP REGULAR SEASON WITH WIN AT BC
• The Hurricanes used a 21-point second quarter to take control of the game and cruised to a win 45-20 win over Boston College at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass. in its regular sesaon finale Nov. 24. • WR Xavier Restrepo hauled in six passes for 117 yards while WR Jacolby George had 89 yards on six catches with a touchdown. RB Henry Parrish, Jr., led Miami with 111 rushing yards and two scores. • Three different running backs had a touchdown rush and nine Hurricanes caught at least one pass. • Miami was led defensively by LB Francisco Mauigoa, who finished with a team-high nine tackles, two tackles for loss. DL Rueben Bain, Jr., had a sack and LB Marcellius Pulliam had an interception. • The Hurricanes outgained the Eagles, 532-294. BC QB Thomas Castellanos threw two picks in the loss.
