PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers has accepted a bid to play in
the International Bowl, marking the third consecutive season the
Scarlet Knights will play in a bowl game after a nearly
three-decade drought.
Rutgers will play a team from the Mid-American Conference, most
likely Ball State. The Cardinals earned a share of the MAC's West
Division title with a 27-21 victory over Northern Illinois last
Saturday.
The Scarlet Knights lost 41-38 at Louisville on Thursday night,
dropping to 7-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big East.
The second International Bowl will be played on Jan. 5 at
Toronto's Rogers Centre. Cincinnati won the inaugural game in
January, defeating Western Michigan 27-24.
"We're thrilled to accept this invitation to play in the
International Bowl and I know our team is excited about the
opportunity to play in a bowl game for the third consecutive
year," Rutgers athletic director Robert E. Mulcahy III said.
Last year, Rutgers won the first bowl game in the program's
137-year history, defeating Kansas State 37-10 in the Texas Bowl.
The previous year the Scarlet Knights lost 45-40 to Arizona State
in the Insight Bowl.
The program's only other appearance in a bowl game was in 1978.
Rutgers had high hopes entering this season after finishing 11-2
a year ago and missing a BCS berth only after a triple-overtime
loss to West Virginia. But consecutive losses to Maryland and
Cincinnati in October knocked the Scarlet Knights out of the Top
25.
Subsequent losses to West Virginia and Connecticut dashed any
hopes of a Big East title.