Miami football will play Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl

The Miami football team will make its second trip to the Pinstripe Bowl they found out on Sunday. Miami will play Rutgers. The Hurricanes have an 11-0 record against the Scarlets Knight. Miami will have a much different look in its bowl game with several key players opting out for the NFL Draft or the transfer portal.

Miami finished the regular season with a 7-5 record and Rutgers is 6-6. The Hurricanes won their final game of the season at Boston College to end a three-game losing streak. Rutgers finished the season with four consecutive losses. Temple is the only common opponent Miami and Rutgers had in 2023.

Miami won 41-7 at Temple. Rutgers defeated Temple 36-7. Rutgers also won 35-16 over Virginia Tech this season. Miami did not play Virginia Tech for the first time since 1991. The only losses by Rutgers in the first six games of the season were to Michigan and Wisconsin. Three of the final four Rutgers losses were to top 20 teams.

Rutgers lost to number seven Ohio State, 20th-ranked Iowa, number 10 Penn State and unranked Maryland. All of those losses were by three scores. Miami does not have a three-score loss this season. Rutgers should have a big crowd advantage. Yankee Stadium is less than 50 miles from the Rutgers campus.

Miami is making its first bowl appearance since 2020. The Hurricanes were not eligible for a bowl game in 2022 with a 5-7 record. Miami earned a berth in the 2021 Sun Bowl against Washington State. The Hurricanes had to withdraw from the Sun Bowl following a Covid outbreak.

Oklahoma State defeated Miami 37-34 in the Cheez-It Bowl in 2020 in the Hurricanes’ last postseason game. The last bowl appearance for Rutgers was a 38-10 loss to Wake Forest in the 2021 Gator Bowl. This is the first season that Rutgers has finished the regular season with at least a .500 record since 2014.

Mario Cristobal and Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano have a relationship that dates back to their days on the Miami football coaching staff from 1998-2000. Cristobal was on Schiano’s staff from 2001-2003 during his first stint as the head coach at Rutgers. Schiano is 86–95 in 15 seasons as the Rutgers head coach.