Maryland Heads To Rutgers With A Bowl Berth On The Line

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — While neither Maryland nor Rutgers person played a postseason crippled successful a while, the 2 Big Ten Conference schools are going to get a sensation of 1 Saturday.

Scarlet Knights (5-6, 2-6 Big Ten) and Terrapins (5-6, 2-6) volition play for vessel eligibility erstwhile they conscionable successful the regular-season finale.

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The victor volition determination to .500 and tin look guardant to the postseason. The loser volition look guardant to adjacent season.

Maryland has not played successful a vessel crippled since 2016, erstwhile it was successful the Quick Lane Bowl. The Scarlet Knights past went successful 2014, coincidently successful different Quick Lane game.

The Terps and Rutgers person had akin seasons. Maryland opened 4-0 and past mislaid six of 7 aft moving into Big Ten powers Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan.

“We’re inactive chasing that sixth victory, and we’re retired of time,” Maryland manager Michael Locksley said. “I told our squad it’s similar being successful a wild-card playoff game. It’s triumph oregon spell home. For us, arsenic we talked astir taking the adjacent measurement arsenic a program, evidently 1 of the archetypal ‘next steps’ is becoming a bowl-eligible team, to wherever that becomes our standard.”

Rutgers started 3-0 successful Greg Schiano’s 2nd play backmost successful charge, but it besides could not grip the large boys successful the league.

Schiano told his squad to absorption connected Saturday and not marque the mistake of looking for the prize.

“If that’s your focus, you’re astir apt not going to get your desired result,” helium said. “Our absorption has to beryllium connected our mentation for Maryland arsenic it is each week for the 11 erstwhile games and truly fastener successful and present with what we telephone bombs, much bombs going disconnected connected the sides. That absorption is adjacent much important”

Three things to ticker connected Saturday.

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RECORD WATCH

Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa has already acceptable the school’s single-season grounds for completions. He’s besides 216 yards passing down Scott Milanovich’s grounds of 3,499 yards passing from 1993. Tagovailoa has thrown for 21 touchdowns this season, 5 down the people acceptable by Milanovich, besides successful that 1993 season.

NEWEST MEMBERS

Rutgers and Maryland played their archetypal play successful the Big Ten successful 2014, and they some had winning records wide that year. This is the archetypal clip since past that some teams volition decorativeness with astatine slightest 5 victories.

Rutgers won the past gathering 27-24 successful overtime.

“They bash a batch of things connected offense, similar a batch of motions, shifts,” Maryland antiaircraft backmost Jakorian Bennett said. “They conscionable effort to get america to alteration our defence and worldly similar that.”

DOES NOT BODE WELL. OR DOES IT?

Rutgers has mislaid its past 18 consecutive location games against Big Ten opponents, including 3 this play against Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

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The past Scarlet Knights’ location triumph against a Big Ten squad was successful 2017 — against Maryland.