Saturday, September 29, 2007

Maryland upsets Rutgers

By Greg Wiley
The Phanatic Magazine

Keon Lattimore and Leon Ball combined to run for 214 yards and three touchdowns as the Maryland Terrapins went to Rutgers Stadium and defeated the 10th-ranked Scarlet Knights, 34-24.

Lattimore totaled 124 yards and a score on the ground and Ball added 90 yards and two touchdowns for the Terps (3-2), who scored 13 straight second-half points to go-ahead for good and come away with the upset.

Chris Turner filled in for injured starter Jordan Steffy in the second half and completed 14-of-20 passes for 149 yards for Maryland, which ended a two- game slide. Steffy played the first half before leaving after taking a hit to the head on the final drive of the second quarter. He ended 4-of-8 passing for 70 yards with a touchdown.

Ray Rice ran for 97 yards and a touchdown for Rutgers (3-1), which lost for the first time in four games this season. Mike Teel completed 25-of-44 passes for 310 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for the Scarlet Knights, who had a chance to escape with the win only to come up empty in the final minutes.

Trailing by 10 points, 27-17, Rutgers got back into the game by answering a Maryland TD drive with one of its own. Teel marched his team 77 yards on 11 plays with Rice capping the possession with a one-yard TD burst with 4:41 to play.

Maryland then turned the ball over on downs with 2:34 left, but Rutgers failed to move the ball, going four-and-out from its own 21-yard-line with Teel getting sacked at the 14 on the final play.

On the next snap, Ball ran in to again increase the Terps' lead to 10 points, 34-24.

Tiquan Underwood had eight catches for 101 yards with a score for the Scarlet Knights, who had a 10-game home winning streak halted.

Rutgers started the scoring when Jeremy Ito connected on a 29-yard field goal 4:03 into the game.

Maryland eventually took the lead when Ball capped a five-play, 80-yard drive that bridged the first and second quarter with a 19-yard TD run.

Then, after holding the Rutgers offense, Steffy connected with Darrius Heyward-Bey on a 15-yard TD pass to increase the lead to 14-3.

Heyward-Bey ended with five catches for 59 yards.

However, Rutgers rallied over the final minutes of the half. First, Teel hit Tim Brown with a 20-yard touchdown pass with 52 seconds left and then after a three-and-out by the Terps, Teel hit Underwood with a seven-yard scoring pass to send the Scarlet Knights into halftime with a 17-14 edge.

Obi Egekeze missed a pair of field goal attempts in the half, first from 51 yards out and the second from 39 yards, but he did hit field goals from 26 yards and 37 yards in the third quarter to put Maryland in front, 20-17 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

The Terps, who made the QB switch to Turner to start the second half, then went ahead 27-17 in the fourth quarter. Lattimore ended a nine-play, 58- yard drive with a two-yard TD burst. The key play of the drive was a 27-yard completion from Turner to LaQuan Williams on 3rd-and-12 that brought the ball down to the Rutgers two-yard-line.

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