Rutgers' Season Ends After Loss to Maryland

PISCATAWAY, NJ - It would be a true winner-take-all game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Maryland Terrapins; two long-time rivals competing for a bowl berth.

Despite the struggles against conference opponents this year, which saw several ugly losses, Rutgers was finally playing in a truly meaningful game, something they haven't done since Kyle Flood's departure or during Chris Ash's entire tenure. Even if the counting stats look ugly, Greg Schiano deserves significant credit for putting the Scarlet Knights in position to earn a bowl berth in just his second year back.

Rutgers and Maryland had similar stories this year. They both won three games against non-conference opponents on their way to start the season undefeated (Rutgers started 3-0, Maryland 4-0). But both teams would struggle immensely when they entered the Big Ten gauntlet of the schedule, and ultimately entered the final game with identical 5-6 records.

There was one key difference, however: Maryland had made more progress in their rebuild than Rutgers has. And it showed on Saturday.

The Terrapins blew out the Scarlet Knights, 40-16, punching their ticket to a bowl game while leaving Rutgers empty-handed. Maryland seemed to pull out a big play every time they needed one, while Rutgers never did.

Although the Terrapins outgained the Scarlet Knights in total yards 575 to 337, the real stat that tells the story is the third and fourth down efficiency of each team. Rutgers was an abysmal 2-for-11 on third down; they would go for it four times on fourth down and didn't convert a single one. In stark contrast, Maryland went 9-for-15 on third down and converted their only fourth down attempt.

The game may have ended as a blowout, but Rutgers had several opportunities to get back in the game. They would fail each time, while Maryland took advantage of the late-game opportunities they had to put the game away. Considering the stakes of this game, these clutch moments mattered more than ever.

Rutgers' leading passer was backup QB Evan Simon, who went 7-for-14 for 86 yards. He would replace Noah Vedral in the second half to bring life to a immensely struggling offense. Vedral was playing in the biggest game of his college career; unfortunately, he was awful. The senior went 8-for-15 for 56 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. As he completes his college career, it's obvious that Vedral was not the answer for Rutgers' offense.

Fortunately, the run game emerged in the second half to get Rutgers back in the game temporarily. They totaled an impressive 164 yards on the ground, with Isaih Pacheco leading the way with 80. Bo Melton added 36 rushing yards to go with his 48 receiving yards.

However, 164 rushing yards seems rather insignificant when your opponent adds 99 more yards than that. Maryland ran wild with 263 rushing yards, with Tayon Fleet-Davis having a huge game with 152 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries. Colby McDonald had 99 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, the younger brother of former Alabama phenom and current Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa, stepped up to the occasion by going 21-for-30 with 312 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, no interceptions, 16 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown.

Maryland started the game with the ball and marched 75 yards in nine plays to take a quick 7-0 lead. Taulia Tagovailoa converted a 3rd-and-9 with a 20-yard pass to Brian Cobbs, and after converting another third down later in the drive, he found Corey Dyches for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Rutgers was forced to punt on their first drive, and Maryland again drove down the field, going 85 yards in six plays. Fleet-Davis started the drive with a 30-yard run, and Tagovailoa finished it with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Cobbs.

But the PAT looked like a momentum-changing play for the Scarlet Knights. Ifyeani Maijeh blocked Joseph Petrino's kick and Kessawn Abraham returned it all the way to the other end zone. The score was 13-2 instead of 14-0 with Rutgers getting the ball.

It appeared that the Scarlet Knights were motivated by the block, as Vedral led the team inside the Maryland 10-yard line. The big plays were a 30-yard completion to Bo Melton and a two-yard run by Pacheco on 3rd-and-1. But the momentum swung right back to Maryland when Rutgers suffered from a recurring issue all day: fourth down conversions. Aaron Young was unable to find the end zone on the first three plays with goal-to-go, and on fourth down, Vedral's pass to Melton was incomplete.

Rutgers was able to force a three-and-out and get the ball with decent field position at their own 37-yard line. But just as they entered Maryland territory, Vedral's pass would be tipped by a defender and intercepted by Jakorian Bennett.

The next three drives ended in punts, and Rutgers would then move the ball to the Maryland 39-yard line on a 31-yard pass from Swiss army knife Johnny Langan to Shameen Jones. But facing 4th-and-7 at the 36-yard line, Greg Schiano chose to roll the dice and attempt another fourth down conversion. Again, Rutgers came up empty as Vedral's pass to Jones fell incomplete.

Maryland's ensuing drive saw a tired Rutgers defense humiliate themselves on third down twice. On 3rd-and-7 at the Maryland 39, they gave up a 20-yard pass to Carlos Carriere. An intentional grounding penalty on Tagovailoa and an incomplete pass on the next play brought up 3rd-and-20, but in embarrassing fashion, the defense allowed Tagovailoa to hook up with Rakim Jarrett for 26 yards and a fresh set of downs. After a 15-yard run by McDonald, Tagovailoa finished the drive himself with a 10-yard touchdown run.

Rutgers went three-and-out on their next drive, and Maryland looked poised to blow the game open before halftime, as a 25-yard completion to Jarrett put the ball at the 1-yard line. But Rutgers' defense would hold strong and forced the Terrapins back thanks to a sack by Avery Young. What followed was a strange clock stoppage by the referees that drew Schiano's ire, but ended up being a blessing in disguise for the Scarlet Knights. With Tagovailoa tackled in bounds on third down, the Terrapins rushed the field goal unit onto the field with less than 10 seconds left in the half. The referees stopped the game clock with five seconds left, causing Schiano to argue, but Maryland still rushed the snap and Petrino shanked a 32-yard field goal attempt.

With the defensive stand, Rutgers now had momentum again, especially as they got the ball to start the second half. Looking to spark the offense further, Schiano replaced Vedral with Evan Simon, although Vedral participated in the huddle to help guide the freshman backup. Simon led the Scarlet Knights on an 8-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, featuring a 23-yard run by Pacheco. Langan would finish the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-goal; unfortunately this would be the last third down Rutgers would convert in the game.

Maryland struck right back with a 6-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that featured a 43-yard run by Fleet-Davis on the first play and a 16-yard pass to Jarrett on 3rd-and-7. Tagovailoa capped the drive with a 11-yard touchdown pass to Dyches, but Petrino continued his awful game by missing the extra point, giving Rutgers hope again.

Bo Melton returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards, sparking a 5-play, 37-yard touchdown drive for the Scarlet Knights. A 12-yard run by Melton was immediately followed by a 11-yard run by Pacheco, and Aaron Young finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Suddenly, Rutgers was only down by 10 with plenty of time left in the third quarter.

A comeback seemed even more possible when the defense forced a three-and-out, and Rutgers proceeded to move to the Maryland 44. However, the drive stalled there and the team faced 4th-and-3. Schiano decided to go for it yet again, but the Scarlet Knights were turned away again when Simon threw an incomplete pass intended for Joshua Youngblood.

The momentum was back in Maryland's favor, and a pair of third down conversions didn't help at all. Facing 3rd-and-5 at the Rutgers 38, Fleet-Davis recorded a 23-yard completion. Then, facing 3rd-and-8 at the 13, Fleet-Davis struck again with a 13-yard touchdown run, and with Maryland back up by 17, they appeared to have control of the game again.

Rutgers made another attempt to get back in the game, as Simon completed a 20-yard pass to Melton and then a huge 33-yard pass to Isaiah Washington to move the ball inside the Maryland 10. But three plays later, Rutgers faced 4th-and-goal at the one-yard line.

Take a wild guess what happened.

After ANOTHER infuriating failure on fourth down, Maryland put the game completely out of reach with a 9-play, 98-yard touchdown drive. McDonald got the Terrapins out of danger with a 41-yard run on the first play of the drive, and Fleet-Davis continued to be a major thorn in Rutgers' side after his 19-yard run on a 3rd-and-5 moved the ball to the Rutgers 2. He waltzed into the end zone on the next play, and the game was all but over.

Rutgers went three-and-out on their next drive, and Maryland ran out the remaining five minutes and 22 seconds of the 2021 Rutgers Scarlet Knights' football season.

Final Thoughts on the Season

This game was an immense disappointment considering the stakes. With a chance to earn the program's first bowl berth since 2014, Rutgers was outplayed by a near-equal team in nearly every area of the game. It was very obvious that after this game, the Scarlet Knights weren't deserving of a bowl berth in the first place.

By far the biggest problem for the Scarlet Knights this season was the offense. Not only did Noah Vedral and co. run a sluggish, uninspired, ineffective, and outright boring offense compared to last year, but they wouldn't remain on the field to give the defense a breather after making a stop. While the amount of punts Rutgers had to make allowed Adam Korsak to shine bright enough to become a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, putting the opponent in consistently unfavorable field position would often be meaningless as they would drive down the field anyway. The entire season was put on the defense's shoulders, and when they would finally wear down from exhaustion, games that were decently close at halftime would be a blowout by the time the game ended. Although recruiting Gavin Wimsatt is a start for improving the offense next season, there is clearly a lot of work to do.

Regardless of the bitter disappointment of the season's end, this season overall was what the program needed: an improvement over the previous one. While three of the team's five wins were against non-conference opponents, an argument could very well be made that the Scarlet Knights lose all three of those games if Chris Ash is the head coach. Before Greg Schiano started his second stint, Rutgers was one of the absolute worst Division 1 football teams in the country. In just his second season back, Rutgers was one game away from becoming bowl eligible (although beating a bad team in Northwestern would have significantly helped matters). From 2016 to 2019, Rutgers won nine games total. Schiano has already won eight games over 2020 and 2021. That in itself is a drastic improvement.

Ultimately, with a five win season, the bar is now set for the Scarlet Knights next season. The goal next year is to become bowl eligible. This isn't a position most Rutgers fans would think they'd be in this soon, but the time to compete has officially arrived. Hopefully a great recruiting class could add the pieces the team needs to start playing in bowl games.

Next season is not only time to compete or to make the Big Ten proud: it will also be the time to make Rutgers proud.

Chop on.