The 2015 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in the

2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 3, 2015, and ended on ...

. It is the Scarlet Knights' second season as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

, and second as a member of the East Division. The team was led by

Kyle Flood Kyle J. Flood (born January 20, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the Texas Longhorns football team. He is also the former head football coach of the Ru ...

, in his fourth year as head coach, and played its home games at

High Point Solutions Stadium SHI Stadium is the football stadium at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers Scarlet Knights football, Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse, and women's lacrosse use the venue for home games. It is located on the Busch Campus ...

Piscataway, New Jersey Piscataway ( ) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of the New York metropolitan area, in the Raritan River, Raritan Valley. As of the 2020 United ...

. The season began with controversies over an investigation into violations of NCAA regulations and school policy concerning coach Flood's improper contacting of a professor concerning a student's academic status; and the arrests and dismissal of several football players on violent felony charges connected to an April 2015 home invasion robbery in New Brunswick. Coach Flood was suspended for three games after the investigation found improper contact was made.

Before the season

Controversies and legal issues

The 2015 football season began with the shadow of several incidents of alleged misconduct and criminal charges. On May 24, 2015, redshirt freshman defensive back Darian Dailey was arrested in Florida on felony robbery charges. In late August 2015, head coach Kyle Flood suspended five players from the first half of the season opener for violating team policies on breaking curfews. These players were Ruhann Peele (cornerback),

Leonte Carroo Leonte Carroo (born January 24, 1994) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and was s ...

(receiver), Tim Gleeson (punter), Chris Laviano (quarterback) and Kevin Marquez (linebacker).Tim Casey
"Rutgers Kicks 5 Players Off Team, Then Wins Its Opener"
''The New York Times'', September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015. There were doubts that Flood would be coaching the season opener and some speculation amongst news media and fans about the possibility of Flood's firing or resignation. Around this time, many fans had called for the return of Flood's predecessor,

Greg Schiano Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at Rutgers University, a position he held from 2001 to 2011 and resumed before the 2020 season. Schiano has the most wins in program ...

as head coach.Keith Sargeant
"Rutgers coach Kyle Flood: I will be coaching the game Saturday"
''New Jersey Advance Media'', September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015. According to ''The Asbury Park Press'', students remarked that the recent controversies tarnish the university's reputation. On September 3, 2015, ten suspects, including six players, were arrested and charged with felony

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

, criminal restraint,

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

, and weapons possession charges stemming from an April 26, 2015 incident in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Keith Sargeant
"5 Rutgers football players arrested in connection with home invasions and assaults"
''NJ Advance Media (nj.com)'', September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015. One victim, identified only as a 19-year-old male Rutgers student was reported to have had his jaw broken in the assault."Rutgers dismisses FB Lloyd Terry; is sixth player arrested in week"
''Sports Illustrated'', September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015. Five players—Ruhann Peele (cornerback), Nadir Barnwell (cornerback), Razohnn Gross (fullback), Delon Stephenson (free safety), and Andre Boggs (cornerback)—were dismissed from the team moments before the season-opening football game against the

Norfolk State Spartans The Norfolk State Spartans refer to the 14 intercollegiate sports teams representing Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia, in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, tennis and track and field; wo ...

. Former player Tejay Johnson (free safety and wide receiver), was also arrested on September 3. A sixth player, Lloyd Terry (fullback) was arrested a few days later. Several of the players arrested in this incident had previous arrests in 2013 and 2014 for other criminal charges. One of the suspects, Barnwell, was the center of an ongoing investigation into head coach Kyle Flood for possible violations of school policy and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations prohibiting the athletic coaching staff from contacting faculty regarding the academic eligibility status of a player. According to New Jersey Advance Media, publisher of the ''Star-Ledger'' and other statewide newspapers, Flood defied academic support staff by contacting one of Barnwell's professors and that sources stated that Flood attempted to "circumvent the process and trying to get the kid eligible".Keith Sargeant
"Rutgers coach Kyle Flood defied academic support staff when he contacted professor, sources say"
''New Jersey Advance Media'' (nj.com), September 2, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015. Flood suspended wide receiver Leonte Carroo indefinitely after his arrest on September 13, 2015. Carroo was arrested by the

Rutgers University Police Department The Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD) is a campus police agency responsible for law enforcement on the New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden campuses of Rutgers University. RUPD is a department of the university's ...

and charged with simple assault stemming from a domestic violence incident that occurred on campus shortly after the end of the game against Washington State. Carroo was the seventh Rutgers player arrested in ten days. ''Star-Ledger'' and ''New Jersey Advance Media'' sports columnist Steve Politi described Carroo as "another casualty of the season from hell" and called the incident further proof that Flood had lost control of the team. Politi mused, "you wonder how soon before his head coach joins him on the list"—implying that Flood's tenure as coach should be ending with his termination. The 15-member Rutgers Board of Governors, one of the school's two governing bodies, and university president Robert Barchi met on September 11 in a closed-door emergency session to discuss ongoing "athletic matters" and the potential for litigation in the wake of these controversies and arrests. On September 16, 2015, after the conclusion of a university-led investigation into his conduct determined he improperly contacted a professor to get Barnwell's grade changed, Flood was suspended for three games and fined $50,000 by Rutgers president Robert Barchi. Flood would be suspended during and miss an away game against Penn State (September 19, 2015), and home games against Kansas (September 26) and Michigan State (October 10).Saed Hindash
"Rutgers football coach Kyle Flood suspended three games"
''New Jersey Advance Media (nj.com)'', September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015. Associate head coach

Norries Wilson Norries Wilson (born June 24, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. Since 2017, he has been the director of player development at the University of Minnesota. He was the first African-American head football coach in the Ivy Leag ...

would fill-in as head coach for those three games during Flood's suspension. After Flood's reinstatement, questions continued to circulate about possible drug problems within the program in the wake of former Scarlet Knights' fullback Lloyd Terry telling police that "he failed multiple drug tests while on the football team".Steve Politi
Kyle Flood's suspension is over but major questions loom at Rutgers"
''New Jersey Advance Media (nj.com)'', October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015. Flood, along with athletic director Julie Herman, was fired at the end of the season.

Coaching staff

Coaching changes

2014 offensive coordinator

Ralph Friedgen Ralph Harry Friedgen (born April 4, 1947) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the special assistant coach for Rutgers in 2015 after serving as their offensive coordinator in the 2014 season. He was the head coach at the Un ...

relinquished his position as offensive coordinator due to age and stayed on as a special assistant to the head coach. Ben McDaniels, 2014 wide receiver coach and brother of former Denver Broncos head coach and current

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

offensive coordinator

Josh McDaniels Joshua Thomas McDaniels (born April 22, 1976) is an American professional football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the offensive coordinator of the Patrio ...

, was promoted to offensive coordinator. 2014 graduate assistant and former Rutgers defensive lineman Charlie Noonan was hired as defensive line coach at Holy Cross. Graduate assistant Sam Williams' two years of graduate assistant-ship expired and was hired by

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

working with special teams and recruiting quality control. 2014 Graduate assistant and former Rutgers quarterback

Mike Teel Mike Teel (born January 6, 1986) is an American former professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft. Teel spent ti ...

was hired by his alma mater

Don Bosco Preparatory High School Don Bosco Preparatory High School (Don Bosco Prep) is a private, all-boys Catholic high school from ninth through twelfth grades. Founded in 1915 as a boarding school for Polish boys, by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious community of pr ...

as offensive coordinatorKeith Sargeant
"Rutgers' Kyle Flood on Mike Teel's move back to Don Bosco Prep: 'It's a positive for us as a program'"
''New Jersey Advance Media (nj.com)'', May 29, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015. 2014 undergraduate student assistant Sean Barowski stayed on as a graduate assistant upon graduating.

2015 staff

Schedule

Rutgers announced their 2015 football schedule on June 3, 2013. The 2015 schedule consist of 7 home, and 5 away games in the regular season. The Scarlet Knights hosted Big Ten foes

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

and traveled to

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

.Rutgers Athletics
"Rutgers' 2015 Big Ten Schedule Announced"
(press release) June 3, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2015. The Scarlet Knights hosted three of their four non conference games against

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, Norfolk State and

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. Rutgers matched up against

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

on November 21 at

Michie Stadium Michie Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. The home field for the Army Black Knights, it opened in 1924 and has a seating capacity of 30,000 for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. :Schedule Source:

Game summaries

Home against Norfolk State

On September 5, 2015, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights met the Norfolk State Spartans, a

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

team in the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

, for the fourth game in their series. Rutgers had won the previous three games against Norfolk State in which the Scarlet Knights outscored the Spartans 128–0.

Home against Washington State

After last season's 41–38 victory against Washington State (

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

) on August 28, 2014, this was the second meeting between the Scarlet Knights and the Cougars. Rutgers lost after a penalty-prone fourth quarter (ending with a spike on 4th down), 34–37.

Away at Penn State

In the first game of head coach Kyle Flood's three-game suspension, associate head coach Norries Wilson filled in as head coach for the Rutgers and Penn State conference opener. Rutgers' only score was posted with 10:35 remaining in the fourth quarter by kicker Kyle Federico who made 34 yard field goal.

Home against Kansas

This was the first meeting between the Kansas Jayhawks (Big-12 Conference) and the Scarlet Knights. In 2012, Rutgers and Kansas announced two home-and-home series games this season and the 2018 season.

Home against Michigan State

Rutgers hosted the undefeated Michigan State Spartans for their sixth meeting. With Michigan State ranked number 4 in national polls, it was the first time in 6 seasons that Rutgers met a team ranked the top 25 (beating No 23-ranked USF 31–0 on November 12, 2009) and 8 seasons since they upset a No. 2-ranked South Florida in 2007. This was the last game that interim head coach Norries Wilson coached during head coach Kyle Flood's three-game suspension.Dan Duggan
"Norries Wilson earned Rutgers players' respect for handling 'tough situation' as interim coach"
''New Jersey Advance Media (nj.com)'', October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.

Away at Indiana

Despite a 52–27 Indiana lead in the third quarter, the Scarlet Knights erased the 25-point deficit by converting three fourth-quarter turnovers into touchdowns and took the lead in the game's final seconds with a 26-yard field goal from Kyle Federico. Leonte Carroo caught seven passes, for 157 yards and three touchdowns before leaving in the second half with an injured right leg.

Home against Ohio State

Away at Wisconsin

Away at Michigan

Home against Nebraska

Away at Army

Home against Maryland

Roster

References

{{Rutgers Scarlet Knights football navbox

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

Rutgers Scarlet Knights football seasons

Rutgers Scarlet Knights football The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program represents Rutgers University in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Rutgers competes as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Prior to joining t ...