Rutgers' 31-24 win over Maryland is evidence of a changing culture

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – There is suddenly a familiar feeling swirling through the Rutgers fan base as the Scarlet Knights have now won three of their last four games. This afternoon, Rutgers and Maryland went back forth, although the Scarlet Knights were able to notch one more score in a 31-24 win.

The Rutgers offense lived by the run all game long, but in the end it was a 23-yard touchdown reception by tailback Gus Edwards that made the difference.

The score gave Rutgers a 31-24 lead with 7:25 left to play in regulation.

“It was a play that we work on a lot in practice. Me and Gio [Rescigno] were on the same page and he just made a great pass,” Edwards said after the game. “…It was a great call by the coaches.”

Edwards powered the offense with 109 rushing yards on 21 carries. That was his fourth career 100-yard game and his first as a Scarlet Knight.

“I didn’t pay much attention to that during the game,” said Edwards, a grad transfer from Miami. “But when I found out at the end, I was real happy about that.”

Edwards was key on that touchdown drive that gave Rutgers the lead, but the offensive line could tell that it had Maryland on the ropes even before that score.

“They weren’t tapping out, but you could read body language,” said starting left guard Dorian Miller. “We were able to really run the ball essentially every play.”

But the win was not yet cemented as the Rutgers defense would have to make one more stand.

Things got a little close for comfort when Maryland scored on what appeared to be a game-tying, 15-yard touchdown pass with 1:08 left to play.

“It’s a familiar feeling,” Miller said. “They are driving down, they score. I am thinking, ‘what if they go for two?’ The air comes out of the stadium. All the energy is gone and I know how that feels. It is almost like PTSD. You remember when it happened.”

But today, none of that happened.

A holding penalty negated that score and the crowd remained energized while the defense held Marylandf on downs

However, there was an earlier moment in the game that showed how much things are changing in Piscataway.

A Rutgers punt hit Isaiah Wharton midway through the third quarter and that resulted in a Maryland recovery on the RU 41-yard line. Eight plays later, Maryland connected on a field goal to take a 24-17 lead.

“The team is different,” Miller said. “Guys were super positive; keeping [Wharton] up, lifting him up. They were there for him. I think that is just a credit to this team and the change and buy-in those guys have.”

That would lead to 14 unanswered points and a victory that pushed Rutgers to 4-5 on the season.

“This was a big game for us. It's one that we needed and they worked really hard and we knew it was going to be hard,” head coach Chris Ash said. “It was going to be a four quarter game. We were going to have to make plays at the end on either side, or in either phase, and we did that and came out with the victory. The team just never quit. Keep fighting and keep getting better and they keep believing in each other and that's why we won the game.”

The win also made the season a whole lot more interesting as Rutgers is two wins a way from being bowl eligible.

Up next are road contests at Penn State and Indiana followed by a home season finale against Michigan State.

“I don't even want to talk about that,” Ash said of bowl possibilities. “I don’t want to hear about that. I'm worried about letting our players celebrate this victory. We've got a huge game next week. We go play a really good team next Saturday in a really tough environment, a team that just obliterated us last year. We've got to worry about getting better. That's our focus. That's been our focus. And I know fans and media want to talk about that stuff.

“We are not talking about that one bit here. It's about celebrate this one, show up tomorrow, reset our focus and just try to keep getting better.”