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▼ game. Conversely, if they were to get upset by Rutgers, the ridicule would be nonstop for at least nine months before the new season begins. "I'm a football coach, so I don't think in those terms," Kelly said of the matchup with the Scarlet Knights that is perceived as a mismatch. "… [Rutgers] is going to be in the Big Ten this year. If we don't play well, they'll beat us." Rutgers probably would have finished ahead of 1-11 Purdue in the Big Ten this year, yet the Irish had to rally to a hardfought 31-24 win against the Boilermakers Sept. 14. Nothing can be taken for granted. coaching vacancy. Flood joined the Rutgers staff in 2005, right when it began its shift into more prominence under Schiano. With the program having established a solid foundation under Schiano, Flood led the Scarlet Knights to their first Big East championship (shared with Louisville, the Big East's representative in the BCS) in his debut season. Flood and the Cardinals' Charlie Strong also shared the 2012 Big East Coach of the Year honors. Rutgers lost 13-10 to Virginia Tech in the Russell Athletic Bowl to finish 9-4 and drop to 5-2 in its last seven bowl outings dating back to 2005. A big piece of the success was linebacker Khaseem Greene, who set an NCAA record for forced fumbles in a career (15) and became the second player in league history to be named Big East Defensive Player of the Year two consecutive seasons. The fourth-round NFL Draft pick also became the fourth player in Rutgers football history to be named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America team. With the loss of Greene and 10 other players who were either drafted or signed free agent contracts with the NFL, 2013 was viewed as a "bridge season" for the Scarlet Knights in the newly named American Athletic Conference (AAC) before taking residence in the Big Ten in 2014 — another testament to its growth within the past 10 years. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO BGI'S PINSTRIPE BOWL PREVIEW PODCAST Since Notre Dame's return to the bowl scene in 1969, this will be only the second time in 32 postseason matchups that the Irish opponent will enter the contest with a worse record than Notre Dame. The other was the 1976 Gator Bowl, when head coach Dan Devine's 8-3 Irish defeated 7-4 Penn State the year before capturing the national title. FROM 'RUPTURES' TO RESPECTABILITY In the late 1990s and into the turn of the century, Rutgers was one of the worst football programs at the Division I-A level. In preparation for his final home game at Notre Dame in 1996 versus the Scarlet Knights (a 62-0 Notre Dame victory), Irish head coach Lou Holtz referred to the New Jersey school as "Ruptures" when speaking with his team. However, the program experienced its form of a renaissance under head coach Greg Schiano. From 2005-12, Rutgers was a more than respectable 65-37, highlighted by a 5-1 record under Schiano in bowl games, most notably upsetting defending A STEP BACK IN 2013 Redshirt sophomore Paul James is Rutgers' leading rusher despite missing four games due to injury, compiling 833 yards and nine scores on 146 attempts (5.7 yards per carry) during the regular season. PHOTO CVOURTESY RUTGERS national champion Texas in 2006 to finish 11-2 and No. 12 in the country. Schiano parlayed his success into getting noticed enough by the NFL to accept the head coaching job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. That led to the promotion of assistant head coach/offensive line coach Kyle Flood to Schiano's head ✦ PAGE 2 In the 2013 preseason poll for the 10team AAC, Rutgers was listed third behind Louisville and Cincinnati. It seemed on course to vie for another conference title while starting 4-1, the lone loss occurring 52-51 in overtime in the season-opening shootout against eventual Mountain West champion Fresno State, which would finish the season 11-1 and No. 20 in the BCS standings. The Scarlet Knights missed a game-winning