It’s been a long time since Rutgers had an opportunity to even smell the poison.
But the sum of 14 returning starters, the addition of a Big Ten-proven starting quarterback and a fortuitous schedule missing the consensus five best teams in the conference have created an expectation that Rutgers football could have its best season in nearly two decades.
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit went as far as to name the Scarlet Knights as a dark horse for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
“We don’t listen to that stuff. I take care of that rather quickly,” head coach Greg Schiano told The Post. “Praise is fine, but it’s like poison: If you leave it on the table, it’s not going to hurt you. If you drink it, watch out. These guys are not drinking it because they know how hard it is to go 7-6.”
Rutgers finished last season with its first winning record and postseason victory (Pinstripe Bowl against Miami) since 2014.
The victories since then include retaining reigning Big Ten-leading rusher Kyle Monangai and securing Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis, who threw for 1,838 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season.
“When you are building a program and you win a bowl game and end up with a winning record, that’s definitely — to use an analogy because we are in New Jersey — a mile-marker. It’s not the exit you are looking for,” Schiano said. “You just need to keep moving forward, and the reality is there is no exit. I want there to be expectations. If there are no expectations, you are definitely arrow down. But if you can lose yourself in the process, then you can relieve a lot of that pressure.”
Thanks to realignment, Rutgers won’t face Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan for the first time since joining the Big Ten.
Iowa and newcomer Oregon — one of four PAC-12 defectors — also are not on the schedule.
The season opener at 6 p.m. Thursday at home against Howard is a welcome distraction to a campus still looking for answers after athletic director Pat Hobbs’ recent sudden health-related resignation.
“Our potential is as big as we make it,” said receiver Ian Strong, a Coram native. “If we do all the right things and we listen to coach Schiano, I think we could have a big year. I can definitely feel that coach is driving us.”
Strong is one of 11 New Yorkers on this year’s roster. He made a toe-tapping touchdown catch in his college debut and is positioned to be the new No. 1 receiver.
“To bring New York into New Jersey is really an amazing thing,” Strong said.
Kaliakmanis also feels at home at Rutgers — and not because the Illinois native has relatives spread throughout the state. He is reuniting with offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who recruited the quarterback to Minnesota and coached him as a freshman.
“I know I can do this at this [Big Ten] level,” Kaliakmanis said. “It’s about being my best and playing my best football — because I feel like I haven’t done that yet.”
For one reason or another, Rutgers has used five different starting quarterbacks during the first four seasons of Schiano’s second stint.
Once-prized recruit Gavin Wimsatt, who started all 13 games last season, transferred to Kentucky after losing a spring-camp battle to Kaliakmanis.
The hope is that Kaliakmanis, who has two years of eligibility remaining, can stabilize the position. He and Ciarrocca already speak the same schematic language.
“I know this: Athan played his best football when coach Ciarrocca was coaching him,” Schiano said. “I see a chemistry and things that excite me. He is seeing it quickly, he’s getting rid of it quickly and he’s accurate with the ball. If we can do that, we are light years ahead of where we were.”
Rutgers traditionally has been powered by its defense and special teams. But the best days of Schiano’s first tenure — the five straight bowl trips and wins over opponents ranked as high as No. 2 and No. 3 in the country from 2005-09 — featured a complementary offense with a stud running back (Ray Rice).
Monangai put off the NFL draft for the chance to build off last season’s breakthrough.
“He understands the run game even better than he did at the end of last season,” Schiano said. “Kyle is an incredible worker, an incredible leader and an incredible player. Those are three pretty good things to have said about you.”
Rutgers is having plenty of good things said about its potential this season. And the poison is under control.
“I had to come in here and earn the job,” Kaliakmanis said. “My experience throughout playing is just staying in the moment, and not looking into the future and not looking into the past.”
