Progress can be measured in many ways and Rutgers took one small step forward on Wednesday on the field of perception among the media. In the annual Big Ten preseason poll conducted by Cleveland.com, the Scarlet Knights were picked to finish in sixth place in the East division ahead of Michigan State. RU finished less than two points behind fifth place Maryland, who they beat last season.
It’s the first time since Rutgers joined the league in the 2014 season that they’ve been picked to finish better than last place. Per the article detailing the poll results, “Rutgers was the most polarizing team in the East, picked to finish anywhere from third to last.