We have never doubted that Greg Schiano was the right man at the right time for Rutgers a few years ago. After the disastrous Chris Ash hire threatened to damage the program beyond repair, the "Back to the Future" angle with Schiano seemed a good one.

As a long-term answer, however, we have never been sure Schiano is the right choice, and evidence began to mount last season that maybe he isn't. The offense cratered and was one of the nation's worst, scoring a measly 17.4 points per game (ranking a lowly 123rd) and barely gained 280 yards per game (an even-lower 126th nationally). If you toss out a 66-7 win over lower-tier Wagner, those numbers drop to 13 PPG and 254 YPG. Things had deteriorated so badly by the end of the season that Rutgers was blanked twice in its last five games and was outscored a combined 92-10 by Penn State and Maryland in a humiliating close to 2022.  Stubborn as Schiano is known to be, even he could see the direction needed to change...

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Rutgers' 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Big Ten season.

Big Ten preview: Conference winner | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

2023 Rutgers at a glance

• Last Year: 4-8 SU, 5-6-1 ATS, 6-6 O/U
  
• Returning Starters: Offense 5; Defense 8
• Win Total: 4 (Over -130, Under +100)
  

What do you need to know about Rutgers before locking in your Big Ten futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Big Ten futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!