Recent News | Popular News | Subscribe

FACTS & STATS: Site: Byrd Stadium (48,055) -- College Park, Maryland. Television:ESPN360. Home Record: Rutgers 2-1, Maryland 0-0. Away Record: Rutgers 0-0, Maryland 0-0. Neutral Record: Rutgers 0-0, Maryland 0-0. Conference Record: Rutgers 0-0, Maryland 0-0. Series Record: Maryland leads, 6-3.

GAME NOTES: The Rutgers Scarlet Knights hit the road for the first time this season, as they invade College Park to tangle with the Maryland Terrapins in non-conference play at Byrd Stadium.

The Knights wrapped up a three-game homestand this past weekend, posting a 23-15 victory over Florida International in the first-ever meeting between the programs. It was a nice follow up for Rutgers, which beat Howard (45-7) after losing to Cincinnati (47-15) to open the season. The Knights are set to return home for two more games following this weekend, so the schedule is set up nicely for them.

As for Maryland, it has struggled at the onset of the season and has won just one of three games thus far. That lone win came over James Madison and the Terps needed overtime to defeat the FCS program. Last weekend, Maryland continued its four-game homestand with a heart-breaking 32-21 loss to Middle Tennessee on a last second field goal. The loss was certainly a tough one for the Terps, who will now try rebound against a Rutgers team they have gone 6-3 against all-time. The most recent meeting between the programs took place in 2007, a 34-24 triumph by Maryland.

The Knights were able to move the ball on FIU last weekend, racking up 394 total yards, and the offense also did a good job protecting the ball, committing no turnovers. The offense though, only accounted for one touchdown and that won't get the job done most of the time. Tailback Joe Martinek paced the ground game, which posted 160 yards, with 121 yards on 23 carries. It marked the first 100-yard rushing effort of Martinek's career, and he now leads Rutgers with 213 yards on the season. Freshman quarterback Tom Savage saw the most action out of the three gunslingers that played for the Knights and he completed 11-of-28 tosses for 185 yards. It wasn't the best outing for Savage, who has thrown three touchdowns thus far, but he was able to move the ball at times and more importantly he avoided mistakes. Tim Brown was the team's main target and he finished with four receptions for 131 yards. He now has 349 yards on the season, averaging a healthy 24.9 yards per catch.

Rutgers' defense looked sharp last weekend even though the unit surrendered a pair of late touchdowns that gave FIU a tiny bit of hope. Still, the unit held FIU to only 260 total yards, including only 42 on the ground, while recording five sacks and three takeaways. The defense even turned one of those miscues into points, as Ryan D'Imperio returned an interception 38 yards for a score. D'Imperio also had eight stops and a sack for Rutgers, which has eight sacks and seven takeaways after three games. Jonathan Freeny currently tops the roster with four sacks and that includes two in last weekend's win over FIU.

The Terps turned the ball over four times last weekend and those mishaps ended up being too much to overcome in a last-second loss to MT. Maryland had one pass picked and lost three fumbles, giving it eight turnovers on the year and negating the 446 total yards it had gained. Da'Rel Scott was accountable for two of the fumbles and that put a damper on his otherwise solid effort of 117 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Still, Scott is one of the more effective players for the Terps and he leads the team with 275 rushing yards behind a 6.4 yard per carry average. Quarterback Chris Turner was sacked four times and threw one pick, while completing 19-of-30 tosses for 288 yards. It was a decent effort from Turner, who has completed 62.2 percent of his tosses for 691 yards on the season. Torrey Smith has emerged as his main target with 14 catches and 274 receiving yards and he did most of his damage last weekend, pulling in five balls for 165 yards and a pair of scores.

Maryland has struggled on the defensive side of the ball and last weekend was no exception. The Terps, who are giving up 465.7 total ypg after three games, surrendered 438 yards to MT last weekend. Of those yards, 351 came through the air and that has been Maryland's issue, as the defense is allowing 266.0 passing ypg this season. The Terps did record their first three takeaways last weekend, to go with four sacks, but they also allowed MT to march 73 yards in the final 1:30 for the game-winning 19-yard field goal as time expired. Cameron Chism did his best to give Maryland a chance and he finished with 12 tackles and both picks.

Rutgers has a good defense, but issues at quarterback, while Maryland has a solid offense to go with a suspect defense. Go with the Knights, whose defense will make the biggest difference this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Rutgers 27, Maryland 17