Rutgers rallies past Maryland 37-30, survives late fourth-down scare
Rutgers overturned a 10-point halftime deficit at SECU Stadium and held on after a reviewed Maryland pass was ruled incomplete.
Rutgers beat Maryland 37-30 at SECU Stadium in College Park on October 17, 2026, rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit and surviving a late fourth-down pass. The result gave the Scarlet Knights their second win of the season and their first in Big Ten play.
How Rutgers overturned Maryland’s halftime lead
Maryland led 23-13 at halftime after Chris Durr Jr. scored on a 16-yard run with 58 seconds left in the half, The Knight Report reported. Rutgers then scored 24 unanswered points, turning that deficit into a 37-23 lead with 4:03 remaining.
Running back Clay Thevenin carried 17 times for 109 yards and scored twice, once on a run and once on a reception, according to The Knight Report. His 19-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Dylan Lonergan tied the game at 23 with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Lonergan completed 23 of 35 passes for three touchdowns, both reports said. Receiver KJ Duff made a one-handed touchdown catch in the first quarter, getting a foot down in the end zone despite close coverage, according to the Asbury Park Press account republished by Yahoo Sports.
Rutgers also lost ground on a kicking play. After a nine-yard Lonergan touchdown pass to Duff in the second quarter, Maryland blocked the extra-point attempt and returned it for two points to take a 16-13 lead. A later 47-yard Rutgers field-goal attempt went wide left before halftime, The Knight Report reported.
The fourth-down call that sealed the Rutgers win
Maryland cut Rutgers’ lead to 37-30 late in the fourth quarter and drove to the Scarlet Knights’ 11-yard line. On fourth-and-two, Malik Washington threw to Dorian Fleming, but Fleming was ruled out of bounds because his toe landed beyond the sideline. The call stood after review, according to the Asbury Park Press.
The finish followed a second half in which Rutgers had taken control before Maryland threatened again on its final possessions. Rutgers’ offense totaled 442 yards, according to the Asbury Park Press, while the late defensive stand preserved a win that had appeared comfortable when the Scarlet Knights led by 14.
Rutgers was next scheduled to travel to face Northwestern at New Ryan Field, with kickoff listed for noon Eastern time, The Knight Report reported. The Maryland result ended Rutgers’ wait for a conference win this season after earlier losses to UMass and Boston College.
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Sources and context
- Rutgers football holds off Maryland for win | Instant analysisAsbury Park Press (republished by Yahoo Sports)
- Rutgers Football holds on for victory over MarylandThe Knight Report / On3
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.