Dylan Lonergan threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns as Rutgers rallied to hand Maryland its 12th straight Big Ten loss, 37-30, on Saturday in College Park, Md.
KJ Duff caught nine passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and Clay Thevenin carried 17 times for 109 yards and a touchdown, adding another through the air for Rutgers (2-4, 1-2 Big Ten), which rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit.
Lonergan completed 23 of 35 passes with one interception as the Scarlet Knights secured their first conference win since beating Maryland at home in November of last season.
Malik Washington completed 19 of 38 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns without an interception for Maryland (2-5, 0-4), which hasn’t won a Big Ten game since beating Wisconsin in its conference opener last season.
After trailing 23-13 at halftime, Rutgers reeled off 24 straight points, starting with a 25-yard field goal by Dane Pizzaro.
Rutgers tied it at 23-all as Thevenin caught a 19-yard touchdown pass on a wheel route with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Thevenin’s second touchdown, on a 7-yard run on the final play of the third quarter, capped a 53-yard drive and put the Scarlet Knights up 30-23.
On Rutgers’ next possession, Antwan Raymond capped a 64-yard drive with a 2-yard scoring run to make it 37-23 with 4:03 left in the game.
Maryland answered with a 95-yard drive, cutting the deficit to 37-30 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Washington to DeJuan Williams.
The Terps had one last chance to tie, regaining possession with 1:52 left and driving to the Rutgers 11 before turning the ball over on downs.
In the first quarter, both teams scored on their second possession thanks to spectacular one-handed catches.
Preston Howard made Maryland’s catch, a 25-yarder that set up Damon Hall Jr.’s 1-yard touchdown run and put the Terps up 7-0.
Duff provided the equalizer, keeping one foot inbounds for a 15-yard touchdown catch to finish a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Maryland took the lead after capitalizing on an interception by Jamare Glasker that gave it possession at the Rutgers 49. Six plays later, Washington threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Dorain Fleming to give the Terps a 14-7 lead.
Rutgers answered with a 75-yard drive, scoring on a 9-yard pass from Lonergan to Duff. Trey Reddick blocked the extra-point attempt, and Glasker scooped up the ball at the Rutgers 16 and returned it to the end zone for a two-point defensive conversion that put Maryland up 16-13.
The Terps increased their lead to 23-13 as wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. (six receptions, 104 yards) scored on a 16-yard run after taking a reverse handoff.