Rapid reaction: Maryland's offense too much for Rutgers as Terps clinch bowl berth
Maryland is returning to the postseason.
Taulia Tagovailoa and the Maryland offense proved to be too much for Rutgers’ defense in Piscataway, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. The Terrapins coasted to a 40-16 lead to improve to 6-6 on the season and punch their ticket to a bowl game.
It will be Maryland’s first trip to a bowl game since a Quick Lane Bowl appearance in 2016. Mike Locksley will be headed to the postseason as a head coach.
Maryland got off to a hot start Saturday, scoring on its first two possessions thanks to a pair of Tagovailoa passes. The Terps jumped out to a 13-2 lead on touchdown catches from Corey Dyches and Brian Cobbs. A blocked PAT returned to the end zone after the Terrapins’ second score netted Rutgers the 2 points.
Rutgers could’ve used that as a spark, but it didn’t work. Instead, the Scarlet Knights stalled at the Maryland 3-yard line, a huge missed opportunities to draw within a possession.
At the end of the half, Maryland was able to score its third touchdown of the game, a 10-yard run from Tagovailoa to make the score 20-2 at halftime.
By the time the first two quarters came to a close, Tagovailoa owned the Maryland single-season record for passing yardage. But he didn’t slow down there. The Maryland quarterback threw 1 more touchdown pass in the second half and the Terps added a pair of end zone visits from Tayon Fleet-Davis to punctuate the win.
Tagovailoa ended the day completing 21-of-30 passes for 312 yards with 3 touchdowns and no picks. Rakim Jarrett had 7 receptions for 111 yards to lead the team while Dyches had a team-best 2 touchdown grabs.
Fleet-Davis ended the game with a masterful performance on the ground, rushing for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 carries.
Maryland ended the game with 579 yards of total offense in the win and didn’t have a single turnover in the contest. Rutgers’ offense was better in the second half, but still totaled just 337 yards and converted only 2-of-11 attempts on third down.
The Terrapins now await to hear where they’ll play this postseason.