This Saturday, the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers come to College Park, to face a shaken Maryland program.

This will be a rematch of the September 29, 2007 game, when the Terps won at Rutgers 34-24.

In that game, a young Chris Turner came off the bench in place of an injured Jordan Steffy, and completed 14 passes in 20 attempts to gain the win over a Rutgers team ranked 10th in the country.

This year, Rutgers is not ranked, but will enter Saturday at 2-1. When I interviewed College Football Analyst Phil Steele this summer, he spoke about Rutgers being his favorite to win the Big East Conference.

Winning the conference took a hit, when Rutgers was demolished 45-17 to conference-foe Cincinnati at-home in Week 1. Cincinnati was helped by 3 Rutgers turnover, but were able to produce 564 yards of total-offense on their own.

In the past two-weeks, Rutgers has rebounded with wins over Howard, and Florida International.

The news out of Rutgers is that their offensive-line has had trouble protecting (sound familiar?) their Freshman QB Tom Savage.

Savage has been sacked 7 times in the first three games, including 4 times against Florida International.

After a combined 25 carries, and 92 yards in the first-two games, Sophomore RB Joe Martinek broke-out against Florida International with 23 carries and 121 yards.

Their leading receiver, is 5’8 Senior Tim Brown, who has 14 receptions, for 349 yards.

After needing over-time to beat James Madison, and losing last-week to Middle Tennessee, most people will not expect the Terps to win Saturday.

To me, this game reminds me of just last year, when the Terps lost at Middle Tennessee, and came-home to beat Cal the following Saturday.

I expect the Terps to come to life a bit, and pull out a victory. This will be Savage’s first road-game as a College QB, and that bodes well for Maryland.In some-ways, such a win would also be irritating. Irritating in the idea that beating a solid-Rutgers team, would give credence to the idea that the Terps were not mentally prepared the past two-weeks.

As the week progresses, check the injury reports to see if Left-Tackle Bruce Campbell will be able to return to the line-up for the Terps. For Rutgers, there is some doubt about Savage being able to play after being knocked out of the Florida International game upon taking a hit last Saturday.

Lost in the loss this past weekend, was the 165 reception yards by Torrey Smith. You would like to see him have similar results Saturday, and really become a consistent receiving weapon.

I was happy to see Redshirt Freshman WR Kerry Boykins get a couple of catches. Out of HS, he was a Top 150 overall player. If Boykins, or fellow RS Freshman WR Kevin Dorsey (a Top 80 overall player in his own right) could emerge as a 3rd-receiver behind Smith, and Cannon; that would really help the offense.

I think MD could have more success with Scott, and Meggett in the running-game, if they show a willingness to spread the field, and pull defenders out of the box.

At the end of the day, it does not matter how it occurs, but the Terps have to find a way to win. If they win, the finish the non-conference schedule at 2-2, and the total focus can turn to ACC play (and more specifically ACC Atlantic play) the following-week vs. Clemson at home.

If MD loses Saturday, it is hard to imagine the Terps finding a way to climb up off the proverbial mat.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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