2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

The 2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Scarlet Knights played their home games at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ as a member of the Big East Conference. This was the first season with Kyle Flood as the head coach, as former head coach Greg Schiano accepted the head coaching position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They finished the season 9–4, 5–2 in Big East play to win the school's first ever Big East Conference football championship, sharing the conference title with Cincinnati, Louisville, and Syracuse. They were invited to the Russell Athletic Bowl where they were defeated by Virginia Tech in overtime.

2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Big East co-champion
Russell Athletic Bowl, L 10–13^OT vs. Virginia Tech
Conference	Big East Conference
2012 record	9–4 (5–2 Big East)
Head coach	Kyle Flood (1st as head coach, 7th overall season)
Offensive coordinator	David Brock (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Robb Smith (1st as coordinator, 4th overall season)
Home stadium	High Point Solutions Stadium (Capacity: 52,454)

2012 Big East Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 13 Louisville $+		5	–	2					11	–	2
Cincinnati +		5	–	2					10	–	3
Rutgers +		5	–	2					9	–	4
Syracuse +		5	–	2					8	–	5
Pittsburgh		3	–	4					6	–	7
Connecticut		2	–	5					5	–	7
Temple		2	–	5					4	–	7
South Florida		1	–	6					3	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	8:00 pm	at Tulane*		Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA	CBSSN	W 24–12	26,059
September 8	3:30 pm	Howard*		High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	SNY	W 26–0	50,855
September 13	7:30 pm	at South Florida		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN	W 23–13	44,219
September 22	7:00 pm	at Arkansas*		Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	ESPNU	W 35–26	72,543
October 6	12:00 pm	Connecticut	No. 22	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ESPNU	W 19–3	50,870
October 13	12:00 pm	Syracuse	No. 20	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	Big East Network	W 23–15	48,011
October 20	12:00 pm	at Temple	No. 19	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA	Big East Network	W 35–10	35,145
October 27	3:30 pm	Kent State*	No. 18	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	SNY	L 23–35	49,345
November 10	12:00 pm	Army*	No. 24	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ESPNU	W 28–7	43,250
November 17	12:00 pm	at Cincinnati	No. 22	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	Big East Network	W 10–3	34,526
November 24	12:00 pm	at Pittsburgh	No. 22	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN2	L 6–27	38,786
November 29	7:30 pm	Louisville		High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ESPN	L 17–20	52,798
December 28	5:30 pm	vs. Virginia Tech*		Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL (Russell Athletic Bowl)	ESPN	L 10–13 ^OT	48,127
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	NR	NR	NR	RV	23	22	20	19	18	RV	24	22	21	RV	RV
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	25 т	21	19	17	15	25	20	20	19	25	RV
Harris	Not released						19	17	15	23	22	21	19	RV	RV	Not released
BCS	Not released							15	15	NR	23	22	18	NR	NR	Not released

References