Kyle Monangai returns with 2 touchdowns as Rutgers humbles Maryland

COLLEGE PARK — Maryland’s hopes for a fourth-straight bowl appearance are on life support after Saturday night, as Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis threw for two touchdowns and Kyle Monangai rushed for two more as the Scarlet Knights beat the Terrapins 31-17.

“We were able to move the ball, but just could not finish drives, and we’re not scoring enough points,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said.

Back home for the first time in a month, the loss snaps a three-game Terrapins winning streak against the Scarlet Knights (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten), who are now bowl-eligible themselves. Losers of five of their last six, Maryland (4-6, 1-6) must now win its final two games — at home next week against Iowa and then at top-five ranked Penn State — to return to the postseason.

“I wouldn’t call it disappointing, but I would say that, you know, our back’s against the ropes now,” linebacker Kellan Wyatt said. “We need these.”

Kaliakmanis threw for 238 yards and Monangai, in his first action since leaving Rutgers’ Oct. 25 game with USC with an injury, rushed for 97 yards on 25 carries.

“They’re a veteran group. Our guys didn’t make enough plays. Those guys executed their game playing to a T,” Locksley said. “They shrunk the game. They got, I think had it close to 100 yards rushing - No. 5 made it back out there today - and they made clutch plays when they needed to make them.”

Rutgers didn’t have a play greater than 16 yards in the first three quarters, but Maryland’s defense was unable to get off the field on third and fourth down throughout. The Scarlet Knights converted 6-of-14 on third and all three tries on fourth and scored on five straight drives bridging the first and second halves, save for a kneel down before halftime.

“It’s our job to get off the field on third down, and we weren’t and haven’t been able to do it, and it’s come back to hurt us in critical situations,” Locksley said.

Add to that an off night for the Big Ten’s best passing offense, and the recipe for a loss was baked in early.

“There were a lot of lot of plays we left out there on the field,” Locksley said, “and at least on offense and defense, we had some explosives that we didn’t hit on early that we need to be able to make.”

Terrapins quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. completed 32 of 55 passes for 335 yards - most of which were in a fourth-quarter push that yielded no points - and a touchdown to Tai Felton.

“We’ve got to be able to hit the open guys at times, that we didn’t do that today,” Locksley said. “And I think anybody that knows him knows he’ll hold himself accountable for those type of plays.”

Felton also tallied six catches for 61 yards. His first reception converted a fourth down on UMD’s first drive and gave him 81 on the season, breaking DJ Moore’s single-season program mark from 2017. The Fairfax County native also eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving on his touchdown reception to become only the fifth Maryland player to reach that mark.

“To sit here with four wins and had opportunities [for more] in some games, I’m sure he’d give up some of those yardages and some of those catches to add a few more wins,” Locksley said.

A quick-moving, light-in-activity first quarter did see Maryland briefly reestablish the run. Running back Roman Hemby carried the ball eight times for 48 yards as he hammered the A gap to success. He’d finish with 76 in the half, but only 11 after halftime for a total of 85 on 15 carries.

“It’s just the ebbs and flows of how the game went,” Hemby said on his lack of second-half carries. “We were making some plays in the air, and we kept going to it. And that’s what football is about. When the run game is there, we run. When the pass game is there, we pass. And we just were a little unlucky there.”

Kicker Jack Howes missed the first opportunity to put points on the board from 44 yards away. He’d adjust and connect on his second try on the Terrapins’ next drive, a season-long 48-yard field goal, for the 3-0 lead and only points of the first quarter.

Rutgers found their mojo in the second, embarking on a 17-play, 8-plus minute drive that featured four third-down conversions and one on fourth to keep the clock moving.

“They kept themselves in those manageable third downs,” Locksley said, “and then when we did win the second down to where they had the long situations, we couldn’t get off the field.”

Two of the third-down successes were on identical middle crossing routes from Kaliakmanis to Ian Strong, and both on third-and-7. The latter of which was near the back of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown and a 7-3 Scarlet Knights lead.

Maryland answered right back, with Edwards finding Kaden Prather on a 16-yard catch-and-run to move the Terrapins to midfield. Hemby added 24 yards on the ground on the drive, which was capped by an Edwards corner fade to Felton for a score.

The 12-yard touchdown was Felton’s sixth of the season and 15th of his career, moving him into sole possession of fifth place all-time for receiving touchdowns in program history and the Terrapins back out to a 10-7 lead.

On the first play of the ensuing Rutgers drive, Maryland safety Jalen Huskey was flagged for a horse-collar tackle after a 21-yard completion, setting the Scarlet Knights up inside the UMD 40. Eight plays later, Monangai plowed in from the 2 and another Rutgers lead, 14-10.

After missing another “middle eight” opportunity with a turnover on downs in the final minute before halftime, Maryland opened the second half with determination.

It only took eight plays for the Terrapins to find the end zone, keyed by a 28-yard completion to Prather and another for 32 yards out of the backfield to Hemby that he nearly took to the house, just getting tripped up at the 2. Two plays later, he capped the drive with the 22nd rushing touchdown of his career as Maryland regained the lead 17-14. Hemby wouldn’t rush the ball again until Maryland’s final play of the game, a meaningless 2-yard carry as time expired.

“When you start dealing with where you are in the game, it’s hard sometimes to continue to feature and hand the ball off when we’ve got to score enough points,” Locksley said. “And we knew with what Rutgers was doing to shrink the game and use up the play clock that it was going to be important for us to - every drive was really important in the second half.”

But the Terrapins, as they did all night, couldn’t get off the field on defense in late-down situations. Rutgers converted a fourth down in the red zone, then Monangai hit the gap untouched for a 6-yard TD, his second of the night, to cap an 11-play drive and retake the lead 21-17.

“They had a couple long drives this game, and it was all on us. Man, it wasn’t anything that we’ve seen on tape from them that we didn’t see in the game,” Wyatt said. “They were pretty consistent on what they were doing, and I give it to them, and they were locked in today.”

After a Maryland three-and-out on the next drive, the proverbial dagger came on the first play of the fourth quarter. Kaliakmanis delivered a beautifully placed ball from 32 yards away right into Miller’s pocket at the goal line for another touchdown and 28-17 lead that Maryland would not overcome.

“It’s very disappointing, just because we we go to practice every day, and we work really hard to fine tune those details,” Hemby said, “and we don’t get it done on Saturdays necessarily.”