Rutgers Athletics made a big statement over the holiday break with victories for the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the university’s football team.

The 24th-ranked Rutgers men’s basketball team is off to a hot start. In less than a week the Scarlet Knights have defeated Sacred Heart, Fairleigh Dickinson and Hofstra.

“It’s great to get off three games in a short period of time, because a lot of teams haven’t played any games yet,” says head coach Steve Pikiell.

Pikiell says that Rutgers is also winning when it comes to COVID testing.

“A huge achievement. A tip of the hat, the protocol. It’s not just our team. The other team has to go through it too and every single guy has to test the right way,” Pikiell says.

But the basketball team wasn’t the only sport that had success over the holiday.

“Congrats to [football] Coach [Greg] Schiano on an awesome – I was watching every score,” Pikiell says. “It was awesome beating Purdue on the road. It’s been a great weekend for Rutgers. [Women’s basketball] Coach [Vivian] Stringer wins too.”

The football team earned its second win of the season with a 37-30 victory over Purdue.

“I was really pleased the way we did it,” Schiano says. “The time of possession in the fourth quarter. And if you can do that, you’ve got a chance.”

The football team is now preparing to welcome 1-5 Penn State, a team that Rutgers hasn’t beaten since 1988. But Schiano says that he isn’t looking at it as a rivalry.

“If we play well enough over a number of years here in the game against Penn State, it would be a natural rival. Bordering states, all that. But Rutgers hasn’t given a reason yet to be Penn State’s rival. That’s up to us,” he says.

Rutgers and Penn State kick off this Saturday at noon. Meanwhile both men's and women's basketball are back in action next week.