Projected to finish last among the eight Big East conference teams, Rutgers flipped its 4-8 record from a year ago and finished 8-4 overall and 4-3 in Big East play. The Scarlet Knights won three of five games decided by seven or fewer points, including two overtime wins against Syracuse and South Florida.

Here’s a look at some of the story lines that shaped Rutgers’ regular season.

Nearly conference champions

Entering their regular season finale against Connecticut, the 8-3 Scarlet Knights needed a win against the 4-7 Huskies to earn a share of the Big East championship and possibly receive a berth in a BCS bowl game. The Scarlet Knights were favored to win after winning their last three, but six turnovers and a stifling UConn run defense that held Rutgers to -9 yards on the ground spelled an upset as the Huskies cruised to a 40-22 victory.

Instead of a trip to the BCS, the Scarlet Knights will make the short 50-mile trip northeast from Piscataway, N.J. to New York City for the Pinstripe Bowl.

Back at Yankee Stadium

When Rutgers takes the field at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 30, it will be the second appearance on the home field of the MLB’s New York Yankees this season. Rutgers and Army squared off in the third college football game played at the new Yankee Stadium on Nov. 12.

A blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and an impressive day — 13 catches for 129 yards — from junior wide receiver Mohamed Sanu led the Scarlet Knights to the 27-12 victory against the

Black Knights. The win brought Rutgers within a half game of Big East-leading Cincinnati heading into the final three weeks of the regular season.

Paralyzed player provides inspiration

The Army-Rutgers matchup in 2011 brought back vivid memories for the Rutgers players, coaches and fans of the 2010 game between the two teams.

While covering a kickoff in the fourth quarter of last year’s matchup, Eric LeGrand, a junior defensive lineman, went to the ground immediately after making a tackle on Army kick returner Malcolm Brown. LeGrand laid on the field for five minutes and was unable to move after a pair of fractured vertebrae paralyzed him from the neck down.

Initial sadness became strength as LeGrand progressed rapidly through his treatment. Told by doctors that he would never come off a ventilator, LeGrand came off of it just five weeks after the incident and hasn’t used it since.

Amid snowy conditions on Oct. 29, the Scarlet Knights walked beside and behind LeGrand, who led the team onto the field in his wheelchair for the Scarlet Knights’ home game against West Virginia. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said on Wednesday that he hopes with the game being so close to New Jersey that LeGrand will be able to be on hand for some of the week’s festivities.

Sanu shines as one of nation’s best wideouts

As an underclassmen, Rutgers wide receiver Mohamed Sanu hauled in a total of 95 catches — 51 as a freshman and 44 as a sophomore. This season, as a junior, Sanu more than equaled that total, coming in at fifth among all receivers nationally and first in the Big East Conference with 109 catches.

The total of 109 breaks the single-season record of 87 at Rutgers set by Kenny Britt in 2008 and the Big East record of 93 set by Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald in 2003.

The South Brunswick, N.J., prep also set the Big East record for catches in a game with 16 in a 38-26 Rutgers win against Ohio back on Sept. 24 and is second in the nation with 65 catches for first downs.

If he chooses to leave Rutgers a year early, Sanu has already been projected as a potential first-round pick in April’s NFL Draft.

Defense among Big East’s best

Allowing 314.4 yards and 18.8 points per game, the Scarlet Knights boast the Big East’s best defensive unit in both yards and points allowed per game. Although they have struggled against the run — ranking last in the conference allowing 146 yards per game — the Scarlet Knights’ pass defense has been one of the nation’s best, giving up only 168.3 yards per game and intercepting a league-high 17 passes.

The defense is led by senior linebacker Khaseem Greene who led the Big East with 127 tackles and ranked No. 12 nationally in tackles per game. The 6-foot-1-inch, 220-pound Greene started all 12 games last season at free safety before moving down to linebacker.

A defensive coach throughout his career, Schiano has spent time on the defensive staffs at Penn State and Miami and in the NFL for three years with the Chicago Bears before taking over in Piscataway in 2001.

Quarterback question mark remains

At the time of publication, Schiano had not yet announced who would be starting at quarterback for the Scarlet Knights in the Pinstripe Bowl. Sophomore Chas Dodd started in seven games, including the regular season finale, until he was relieved by freshman Gary Nova, who started five games this season.

“That’s a good question,” Schiano said when asked about the situation last Monday. “It’s not going to be an easy one. They both are capable. We’ve just got to figure out which fits best. You never know. It could be both, I don’t know.”

Dodd ended the regular season completing 56.6 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions, while Nova completed 51.4 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.