Kirk Herbstreit calls Wisconsin 2024 opponent a College Football Playoff dark horse

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit made headlines during his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday when he called the Rutgers Scarlet Knights a dark horse to make the 2024 College Football Playoff.

“Someone is going to come out of that conference that you really didn’t expect,” Herbstreit said. “Whether that’s an Iowa, who knows if [Dylan] Raiola and Nebraska…Whoever has the most manageable schedule. Rutgers has a schedule that by Big Ten standards and this new Big Ten world that we’re in, they can make a little bit of a run.”

Herbstreit is certainly onto something. Rutgers has the easiest strength of schedule in the Big Ten this season, that while returning most of its production from a strong 7-6 2023 team and adding a potential upgrade at quarterback in Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis.

For Herbstreit’s forecast to come true, however, that would likely mean Rutgers finding wins against some of the stronger programs on its schedule — including Wisconsin.

The tougher games on Rutgers’ 2024 schedule are against Washington, Nebraska, Wisconsin and USC. The Scarlet Knights should be prohibitive underdogs in each of them, barring unforeseen injury or an early-season collapse.

A 10-2 mark with wins against two of those four teams would certainly enter the Scarlet Knights into the playoff discussion. Somehow winning three of those four could make the team a near-lock.

But most roads that include Rutgers as a playoff dark horse include it defeating Wisconsin on Oct. 12 — something the program has never done.

Rutgers on paper could look like a potential contender. This has happened in the past — a lower level program in the conference having a perfect storm of a veteran team and an easy schedule. Most of the time, the mid-level program ends up falling short against the top teams it plays.

The good news for Rutgers: those top teams are no longer named Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. The bad news: it’s hard to see 2024 becoming the first time the Scarlet Knights ever defeat the Badgers.

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