Athan Kaliakmanis threw four touchdown passes and Antwan Raymond rushed for a career-high 240 yards as Rutgers topped Maryland 35-20 on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.
Kaliakmanis’ four touchdown passes matched his career high as Rutgers (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) got a step closer to gaining bowl eligibility for the third straight year.
Ian Strong caught three of the scoring passes to become the first Scarlet Knights player to accomplish the feat in 10 years. Strong finished with 88 yards on five receptions.
Raymond served as Rutgers’ workhorse, rushing 41 times. His 5-yard touchdown run with 4:10 left sealed the victory.
Kaliakmanis completed 13 of 20 passes for 229 yards and two interceptions.
To qualify for a bowl berth, Rutgers needs a win Nov. 22 at Ohio State or Nov. 29 at home against Penn State.
The Scarlet Knights damaged the postseason hopes of the Terrapins (4-5, 1-5) by handing them their fifth straight defeat.
Malik Washington rushed for a career-high 164 yards on just eight carries, but passed for a career-low 98 yards. The freshman completed 15 of 28 passes with one touchdown and one interception.
Maryland, which entered with the fewest rushing yards per game (93.3) in the Big Ten, had a season-high 305 yards on the ground.
Washington gave Maryland the lead just 37 seconds into the game when he faked a handoff on a misdirection play and sprinted into the clear, running 73 yards untouched to the end zone.
Rutgers answered with touchdown passes from Kaliakmanis on three straight drives as the lead see-sawed in the second quarter.
DT Sheffield made the first touchdown grab after going in motion and getting open in the flat on a play of 9 yards to tie it 7-7.
After Sean O’Haire kicked a 27-yard field goal for Maryland, Kaliakmanis scrambled out of the pocket and threw to a wide-open Strong for a 45-yard touchdown that made it 14-10 with 4:14 remaining in the first half.
Maryland needed just three snaps to respond. Kaleb Webb caught a pass at the goal line and got his foot inbounds for a 21-yard touchdown catch, giving the lead back to the Terrapins.
Kaliakmanis answered again, finding Strong in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass that gave Rutgers the lead for good, 21-17, 34 seconds before the half.
On the opening possession of the second half, Kaliakmanis threw a 49-yard pass to KJ Duff on third-and-13 and followed with a 13-yard scoring pass to Strong for a 28-17 advantage.
– Field Level Media
