Viewing Guide: What games should Rutgers Football fans watch this weekend
Rutgers Football enters week five of the 2025 college football season with an early season bye week after winning games against Ohio, Miami (OH), Norfolk State, along with two losses to Iowa and Minnesota.
Below, The Knight Report offers up four Big Ten games that could be worth watching for Scarlet Knight fans.
12:00pm ET – Illinois @ Purdue
TV: Big Ten Network
SPREAD: Illinois -8.5pts
Purdue is coming off a bye week, after suffering back to back losses to both USC (home) and Notre Dame (away). Prior to that, they showed some promise in Barry Odom’s first year against lower ranked opponents in Ball State and Southern Illinois to open the season. The program has made strides this year, going from 130th in offense and 131st in defense last year up to 78th in offense and 89th in defense so far this season.
The Fighting Illini bounced back last week with an exciting 34-32 win over USC just a week after losing 63-10 to Indiana just a week prior. The Fighting Illini started off 3-0 with wins over Western Illinois, Duke, and Western Michigan, and are looking to continue to earn victories, as the Illini hope to continue their winning ways to earn a chance at the College Football Playoff.
3:30pm ET – Washington @ Maryland
TV: Big Ten Network
SPREAD: Washington -5.5pts
Washington will make the cross country trip this weekend to Maryland to take on a pesky 5-0 Terrapins team. The Huskies are coming off a hard fought 24-6 loss to the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes last week at home and are looking to bounce back this weekend. They will welcome the Scarlet Knights to town next Friday not just on short rest, but also fresh off a road trip that took them from coast to coast.
On the flip side, Maryland is 4-0 with wins over Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois, Towson and Wisconsin. This upcoming game will be the program’s first real test. Not to mention, they are coming off a bye week where the guys will be fresh and ready to go. Should be an interesting one not just from a Rutgers perspective, but also a Big Ten and National perspective as well.
3:30pm ET – Penn State @ UCLA
TV: CBS
SPREAD: Penn State -24.5pts
Penn State is coming off their first loss of the season, as Oregon walked into the Happy Valley and walked away with a 30-24 victory in the White Out, something that does not happen all that often. That being said, the Nittany Lions are looking to bounce back in a big way against UCLA this weekend as they hope to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
UCLA is looking to snap their four game losing streak to start the season, as they’ve already lost to Utah, UNLV, New Mexico and Northwestern this year. On top of that, they let go of their head coach in Deshaun Foster recently and promoted Tim Skipper interim head coach, as they are hoping to see some sort of spark this year.
7:30pm ET – Minnesota @ Ohio State
TV: NBC & Peacock
SPREAD: Ohio State -23.5pts
Rutgers fans are already pretty familiar with Minnesota, as the Gophers welcomed the Scarlet Knights to town and won by a final score of 31-28. On the year, the Gophers have one loss to California and three wins against Rutgers, Buffalo, and Northwestern State. However this week they will have their toughest test of the year in Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are sitting at the top of the AP Top 25 rankings with wins over Texas, Grambling, Ohio, and Washington so far, as they look to maintain their rankings. The Buckeyes are led by the nation’s top ranked defense, only allowed an average of 5.5 points per game so far this year. Ohio State is also the odds on favorite to win the National Championship at +500 per BetMGM.
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