West Virginia’s departure to the Big 12 has left Big East teams scrambling to fill another hole in their 2012 schedule. For Rutgers, that task got a little bit easier.
At the very least, they won’t have to play Syracuse twice.
The school announced today that the Scarlet Knights will be playing a home-and-home series with Arkansas this season and in 2013. A non-conference matchup between the two had been rumored for a while. Rutgers will visit Fayetteville this upcoming season, with the Razorbacks returning the favor in 2013. Both games will be played in September (Sept. 22, 2012 and Sept. 21, 2013).
Rutgers is 5-11-2 all-time vs. the SEC, with the last meeting being a 37-34 win over Vanderbilt in 2004. The Scarlet Knights still have one more slot to fill because of WVU’s departure. However, the door remains open for a Boise State entry in 2012, which would give Big East teams another much-needed conference opponent.
Additionally, Arkansas announced that the LSU game scheduled for Nov. 24 will be played in Fayetteville -- the first time the two have met at Arkansas’ campus since 1992.