Positives for the Terps were few and far between Saturday night.
Maryland football suffered yet another deflating loss Saturday, this time to Rutgers, 31-17, at SECU Stadium.
The Terps struggled to get anything going all night, losing to the Scarlet Knights for the first time since 2020. They must now beat Iowa and No. 4 Penn State in their final regular season games to salvage bowl eligibility.
Here’s how their position groups graded out.
Quarterback
Billy Edwards Jr. hasn’t looked like the player he was early in the season as of late. That trend continued against Rutgers.
His statline — 32-of-55 passing for 335 yards, a touchdown and an interception — wasn’t awful. But it only looks that way because Edwards threw for 181 yards in the fourth quarter, once Rutgers was already up two scores. He looked uncomfortable and unconfident throughout the first three frames.
Edwards missed on an array of potentially game-changing throws — including a wide-open Tai Felton on Maryland’s first drive that could have gone for a touchdown and a drive in the third quarter where he missed two easy first-down throws.
Grade: C-
Running back
Roman Hemby had his best game of the 2024 campaign. He finished with 87 rushing yards on 16 carries and five catches for 59 yards, recording his second-most total yards in a game this year.
But this was Hemby’s best performance because his highest-yardage game this year — 165 against Indiana — was vaulted by a 75-yard untouched rushing touchdown. Hemby was hyper-efficient against the Scarlet Knights, with all but one of his touches going for positive yards.
Nolan Ray was largely a nonfactor, with two carries and three catches for 13 total yards.
Grade: B+
Wide receiver
Kaden Prather’s five catches for 76 yards would have looked better with better quarterback play. He was wide open on multiple chunk plays that Edwards failed to convert. But Prather wasn’t fully without blame, as he couldn’t come up with multiple accurate deep touchdown shots — including a potential 30-yard score in the first quarter that slipped through his hands.
Tai Felton failed to create much separation, and like Prather, wasn’t always on the same page as his quarterback. But he still finished with six catches for 61 yards, and set the Maryland single-season receptions record previously held by D.J. Moore. Felton also eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season, becoming just the fourth Terp ever to do so.
Octavian Smith Jr. was the only other Maryland receiver with a catch — he had three for 26 yards. Shaleak Knotts was targeted once.
Grade: B
Tight end
Dylan Wade was a surprising bright spot for the Terps. The sophomore had his best statline of the season, racking up 92 yards on seven catches — both team-highs Saturday — and dominating with the ball in his hands. His biggest moment came in the fourth quarter, when he caught a drag route and scampered for a 44-yard gain.
Preston Howard was quiet, with three catches for 15 yards. It was the fourth consecutive game he was held under five receptions, as the redshirt sophomore continues to have a relatively disappointing season.
Grade: B+
Offensive line
Starting left tackle Andre Roye Jr. missed the contest with an injury. But his presence wouldn’t have changed much in yet another lackluster performance by the unit.
Hemby’s big game wasn’t a product of the line opening up big holes. He was forced to create most of his production by himself — 74% of his yards came after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. And in the passing game, Edwards had very little time to operate against a Rutgers pass rush that’s one of the Big Ten’s worst.
The Terps cycled through three left guards — Isaac Bunyan, freshman Tamarus Walker and usual starting center Josh Kaltenberger — with consistent issues coming from that position in particular. Freshman Michael Hershey slotted in at center.
Grade: D
Defensive line
Maryland’s defensive line did very little to contribute to a potential win against Rutgers.
They struggled to create any pressure — with zero sacks and zero quarterback hits — and were frequently caved in run defense, allowing five runs of at least 10 yards. Taizse Johnson was the only Terp to record a tackle for loss.
Grade: C-
Linebacker
While not performing particularly well, Maryland’s linebacker core was its best defensive unit Saturday night.
Sophomore Daniel Wingate had the biggest flashes, leading the team with seven tackles (five solo) and two tackles for loss. Caleb Wheatland had five total tackles and was sound in coverage — Rutgers tight ends did not record a catch. But the big holes Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai had to run through were at least partially due to poor linebacker gap discipline.
Grade: B-
Secondary
The issues that have plagued Maryland’s secondary all season were as prevalent as ever against Rutgers.
Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and the Scarlet Knights had their way with the deep ball, connecting on them seemingly at will. One hundred fifteen of Kaliakmanis’ 238 yards came on passing plays of at least 15 yards.
But it is worth mentioning that Kevis Thomas and freshman La’Khi Roland — who got the starting nod — made beautiful plays on go balls to break up potential touchdowns.
Grade: C
Special teams
Kicker Jack Howes continues to struggle. He made one of his two attempts and is now 3-of-8 from kicks at least 40 yards out this season.
Surprisingly — given Maryland’s low-point total — punter Bryce McFerson didn’t get a ton of run for Maryland. He only punted once, and it went for 40 yards.
The Terps did not have a kick or punt return.
Grade: C+
Coaching
There were two main coaching gaffes Saturday that potentially cost Maryland points.
The first one came seconds before halftime with the Terps facing fourth-and-5. Head coach Michael Locksley had the chance to kick a 58-yard field goal, throw a Hail Mary or try to pick up five yards as quickly as possible and have time for one more play. Instead, Tai Felton caught a pass short of the sticks and Maryland turned the ball over on downs.
And on the game’s final play — with the Terps out of timeouts and 20 seconds left — Edwards handed off to Hemby for a 2-yard gain. The clock drained and the game ended with Maryland losing by two scores. Scoring on that drive wouldn’t have mattered either way, but it still cost the Terps points.
Grade: D+