The Terps haven’t lost to the Scarlet Knights since 2020.
Maryland football needs two wins in its final three games to become bowl eligible. In all likelihood, its best chance to get one comes Saturday against Rutgers at SECU Stadium.
Rutgers has lost four of its last five games and hasn’t looked like the same team late in the season. After Rutgers, Maryland has Iowa and No. 4 Penn State — two opponents top-five in the Big Ten standings.
Saturday is Maryland’s military appreciation day. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. and be aired on FS1.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten)
The Scarlet Knights looked like a force to be reckoned with entering October, going 4-0 with wins over Virginia Tech and Washington and climbing to an unofficial No. 33 in the AP Poll. The second half of its season has been a completely different story, though, with its only win since Sept. 27 coming Saturday over Minnesota.
Head coach Greg Schiano is tasked with leading his team to just one more win to secure back-to-back bowl games. Schiano, across two stints and 16 total seasons at the helm, has led the Scarlet Knights to eight bowl game appearances.
The Terps haven’t lost to the Scarlet Knights since 2020.
Players to know
Kyle Monangai, senior running back, No. 5 — Monangai was the engine behind the Scarlet Knights’ early-season success. He racked up an average of 147.3 rushing yards per game over their first four contests, taking more than enough slack from a below-average passing attack. But that’s dropped to 85.5 rushing yards per game since.
Monangai missed the Minnesota game with an undisclosed injury, but Schiano said he was “close” to suiting up, according to NJ.com. It’s yet to be seen if he suits up Saturday, but expect him to.
Dymere Miller, senior wide receiver, No. 0 — Miller transferred over the offseason from Monmouth and immediately became the biggest impact player in Rutgers’ passing attack. Primarily operating out of the slot, Miller leads the team in receptions (42), receiving yards (538) and receiving touchdowns (three). He’s an efficient option on third down and over the middle of the field.
Miller struggles with drops, though, as his six this season are tied for the second-most in the Big Ten.
Dariel Djabome, junior linebacker, No. 28 — Djabome stepped into a starting role after All-Big Ten honorable mention Mo Toure suffered a torn ACL before the season, and Djabome’s excelled. He leads the team in tackles (83, 38 solo) by a wide margin, while also contributing five tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. He’s a remarkably sound player as well, missing just 6.3% of his tackle attempts, according to Pro Football Focus.
Robert Longerbeam, senior cornerback, No. 7 — Longerbeam is on the smaller side for an outside corner, standing 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds. But he’s more than held his own on the outside this year, tied for the fifth-most pass breakups in the Big Ten with seven. And when he does allow completions, he’s a sure tackler on ballcarriers, allowing just 7.8 yards after catch per game this year.
Strength
Big Ten-style football. Rutgers is at its best playing hard-nosed, low-scoring football. In its three wins over Power Four opponents — Virginia Tech, Washington and Minnesota — the games were decided by one score and neither team scored more than 26 points. When the Scarlet Knights control the pace of play and execute on defense, they can become pesty for opponents to stop.
Weakness
Playing from behind. The Scarlet Knights allowed opponents to score first in all four of their losses. Only one of those games ended up being decided by less than a touchdown. With a below-average passing attack — quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis completes just 53.8% of his passes — Rutgers isn’t built to come back into games.
Three things to watch
1. Which version of Maryland’s secondary shows up? The Terps held Heisman contender Dillon Gabriel to a season-low 183 passing yards a week ago. They made USC quarterback Miller Moss look uncomfortable throughout Maryland’s win over the Trojans. But below-average Big Ten passing attacks — Michigan State and Minnesota, in particular — have torched the Terps’ secondary. Rutgers’ passing offense is far from prolific, but it has enough talent to do damage if given the opportunity.
2. Can Billy Edwards Jr. bounce back? Edwards has cooled down from his red-hot start to the season. His two lowest single-game completion percentages and passing yard totals of the season have come in his last two games, against Minnesota and Oregon. Edwards needs to get back into form if Maryland is to have any shot at squeaking out bowl eligibility.
3. Tai Felton record watch. Felton has been the brightest spot of Maryland’s otherwise-underwhelming campaign. He needs just one catch to break Maryland’s single-season receptions record — 80, set by D.J. Moore in 2017. Sitting at 979 receiving yards this season, Felton is 21 yards away from becoming the Terps’ fourth-ever 1,000-yard receiver and needs 261 yards to break Maryland’s single-season receiving yards record.