Urban Meyer envisions Indiana blueprint can be done at Rutgers next

The Indiana national title sent shockwaves across the college football landscape because Curt Cignetti came to a school known for losing in Indiana. Still, he brought them to two straight College Football Playoff appearances, culminating in a national title within two seasons. The win opens up the pool to teams outside the blue bloods, thanks to the NIL and transfer portal era, and Indiana was the first to do it.

On the latest episode of “The Triple Option Podcast,” Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, and Urban Meyer discussed which programs could become the next Indiana and follow their blueprint to reach a national title. Meyer brought up Rutgers because he trusts Greg Schiano as a program builder, and the Scarlet Knights were in the top 10 back in the mid-2000s.

However, Meyer did say, “I’m biased, he’s a great friend and a great football coach.”

Rutgers has a recent history of being a laughingstock, much like Indiana was before Cignetti got there. However, Rutgers can completely own recruiting in the northeast and is still in a major conference like the Big Ten. Meyer is also right that Schiano has already taken the Scarlet Knights to significant heights when he was there for his first run as the head coach.

In 2006, they were ranked as high as No. 6 in the BCS rankings. They finished that 2006 season at 11– 2 and ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll.

Rutgers’ advantage is its ability to own that northeast recruiting base. Rutgers also has a large enough alum base with prominent names in major industries that could donate and provide the Scarlet Knights with a significant NIL infusion of cash, giving them a treasure chest to work with.

Greg Schiano also proved, with that first Rutgers run, that he could recruit and develop talent that would eventually play in the NFL. Ray Rice was the starting RB. They had future NFL WR’s in Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt. Then, finally, future NFL DBs Devin and Jason McCourty were also on the team. It is a different era of college football, but Meyer’s pick for Rutgers is not crazy given those factors.

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