Rutgers Football saves bowl hopes with home win over Maryland
Rutgers Football is one win away from a bowl game.
The Scarlet Knights (5-5, 2-5) got off the mat and took down Maryland for their fifth win, for the second year in a row in November.
In a gut-check game, Rutgers’ offense shone through, led by a Herculean effort by running back Antwan Raymond. He racked up a whopping 40 carries for 238 yards and a touchdown, surpassing Kyle Monangai for the most rushing yards in a Big Ten game and third-most in any game in program history. He also surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.
The passing game was efficient as well, as Athan Kaliakmanis completed 13 of his 20 pass attempts for 229 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. Ian Strong was the recipient of three of those scores, finishing with five catches for 88 yards and those three touchdowns. He became the first Rutgers wideout with three touchdown grabs in a game since Leonte Carroo did so against Indiana in 2015, a game where the Scarlet Knights came back and won after trailing by 25 points. Kaliakmanis also ran four times for 12 yards, showing improved pocket management.
DT Sheffield had one of his best performances of the season, catching four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown of his own. He served as a safety valve of sorts for Kaliakmanis, combining a deep catch with two key third-down conversions over the middle.
Maryland’s freshman quarterback Malik Washington had a solid game in the loss, running wild for 164 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing for a score with 98 yards passing and an interception.
Offensive bounceback
After laying an egg offensively last week at Illinois, Kirk Ciarrocca’s unit got back to its production from the beginning of the season, putting up 21 points in the first half and relying on the run game.
Raymond reached the 100-yard mark in the first half, while Kaliakmanis had an efficient opening 20 minutes through the air with three touchdown passes – two to Strong and one to DT Sheffield – with two interceptions coming from a pass that bounced off of Strong twice, and a Hail Mary in the end zone at the end of the half.
The Scarlet Knights had a much better game up front – helped by the return of right tackle Taj White – and created plenty of holes for Raymond in the run game, while the pass game avoided negative plays. Kaliakmanis helped in that regard as well, showing an improved management of the pocket, with both touchdowns to Strong coming on Kaliakmanis improvisations behind the line of scrimmage.
With the ball to start the third quarter, that momentum continued. Rutgers marched right down the field and scored with ease – helped by a 49-yard pass to KJ Duff on a third-and-13. The sophomore continued his breakout campaign with only two catches, but both went for big plays. He also hauled in a 20-yard gain on the opening drive.
It was not all pretty, though. The offense had two straight drives stall out in Maryland territory, but after the Terrapins got within a possession, Raymond took over again. Rutgers stayed efficient, racking up 486 yards of offense and converting eight of 11 third-down tries.
Similarly to the defense, the offense was able to do enough – and live up to its reputation as the Scarlet Knights’ best offensive unit in the Big Ten – with dominance on the ground, and efficiency through the air.
Defense struggles, but steps up
Rutgers’ defense has had a rough season – that is not news.
But the Scarlet Knights did come up with a couple stops when they needed to most.
The run defense lagged behind yet again, as a Maryland offense that came into the game averaging 93.3 yards per game on the ground ran all over the Scarlet Knights. Washington opened the game with a 73-yard scamper on the game’s second play from scrimmage, and the Terrapins got long runs from multiple different contributors.
Maryland finished the game with over 200 rushing yards, as once again Rutgers’ defense had way too many reps where defenders were nowhere in sight on a long run.
Even after all of the big plays given up and the production on the ground, the defense eventually got enough stops to give the team a chance to win the game.
The Terrapins scored just three points in the second half, and were held in check for the entire final 30 minutes. They had just three drives, managing 93 total yards, compared to 310 total yards in the first half. They also forced a turnover late in the first half, as Jett Elad slammed the two-minute drill shut by hauling in an overthrown pass by Washington.
Despite being a much-maligned unit coming in – and showing why throughout the game – the defense in the second half stepped up and allowed the offense some breathing room.
Off the mat
Every year, the Scarlet Knights seem to have a point in the season where things start to fall apart, and for the last two years, Rutgers has gotten back up.
Coincidence or not, both of those performances also came against the Terrapins.
Rutgers now sits a win away from a bowl game, and with Penn State on the horizon in the regular season finale – a team that is still winless in conference play, and just lost to No. 2 Indiana in agonizing fashion. Extra encouraging, the defense took a step forward in the victory, and the offense got back to its efficient ways.
The Scarlet Knights end their season with two extremely talented teams, but there is a path to a postseason appearance, one that was thought to be nearly inconceviable after noncompetitive losses earlier in the Big Ten slate.
Up next
The Scarlet Knights will have their second bye week coming up, as they prepare for the final two games of the regular season at No. 1 Ohio State, and Penn State at home.
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