OTB Staff Predictions: Rutgers At Maryland

David Anderson: Last year heading to the season finale, Maryland hadn't won a B1G game and hit the road riding an 8 game losing streak with nothing to play for. Of course their offense magically woke up from down 24-3 @RU and led them to a victory creating a momentum they kept through early this season. I'll take a repeat of the team with nothing to play for spoiling a bowl bid for the home side! In the last 3 weeks RU has shockingly outscored Maryland 27-13, so I’m saying there’s a chance! Rutgers 6, Maryland 3.

Bob Cancro: I was about to ask why we have to do this? But reading Dave’s comments above, I’m suddenly excited for this game (yes, I’m off my meds). I went to the 2014 game that was the craziest turnaround I had ever seen. Truly, Rutgers has nothing to play for this week except pride and an opportunity to give the seniors a victory. Truly, Rutgers has shown little to prove they can muster a win. But we can’t see character, and I’m hoping (and believing) that it is there in abundance. Maryland in the last few weeks was on the receiving end of what Rutgers faced earlier: pummelings from the B1G East. Maybe.... Rutgers 13 Maryland 7

Aaron Breitman: Maryland isn’t a particularly good football team, but unfortunately Rutgers has proven to be worse. While we have seen much better performances from Rutgers against some of the non-elite teams of the conference, the offense has taken another step back with the injuries that Gio is dealing with. I’m not confident he will be significantly healthier for this game and he has proven to be far less effective when he lacks mobility. That really is the key in why I don’t see Rutgers winning this game. I’d love to see this team and the seniors go out on a high note, but I think unless Rutgers can run all over Maryland, it won’t even be that close. I know Maryland is dealing with injuries as well, so this game really could go either way. Sadly, I still think Rutgers falls short to end the season, as the Terps find enough to pull out a win to gain bowl eligibility. Maryland 27 Rutgers 14

Cara Sanfilippo: I wish I could say that I had the optimism of Bob and David in Rutgers pulling out a win. The seniors deserve to go out on a high note. I do think that the defense will play the game close, but I have seen nothing that makes me think that the offense will be able to put (any) significant points on the board. Unless Gio and the offense see a return to the performance against Minnesota and other mid-tier B!G teams earlier this year, which is unlikely given injuries, Maryland will likely pull out a victory given their home field advantage. The momentum is all in the Terps favor However, I would love to be proven wrong, and given a Thanksgiving blessing of the electric comeback win of 2014. Maryland 24 Rutgers 14

Matthew Pisani: I have not done my game preview yet so my score prediction may be slightly different from now till then. Anyway, this has been ugly. Watching each and every game I feel like throwing up. My parents are exclaiming what the hell is wrong with this team, my brother does not understand how this can happen four times in a season. I do not get it either and I believe no one at Rutgers really knows how either. This is a game against a program that entered the conference the same time we did and has a young and brand new head coach like we do. Maryland started off 4-0, we started off 2-2. Fair to say neither team has been playing very good of late. This could be a shootout like previous years or an absolute sleeper. I cannot predict a Rutgers win anymore. A silly Penn State fan tweeted my prediction at me last week saying “sorry for your loss.” Like I really thought logically we would win? I said it was a stupid gut feeling, and someone needs to have faith, right? This one is different. No more stupid fans trolling our boards like football is the only sport Rutgers brings to the Big Ten. We kill it in wrestling and soccer and compete well elsewhere. Did anyone notice the 5-0 basketball team...Anyway, back to football. This game will be a stinker. Maryland 13 Rutgers 6

Jim Hoffman: I went back to review my predictions for the season, and overall, I wasn’t too bad. I was 7-4 this year, and four of the seven I almost exactly picked the final score. So, now Maryland...I’m going on history here. I think Maryland is the stronger program right now, but for the first two games in this series, the visiting team came from way behind and won out. So, I’m calling for a three-peat here. Rutgers will fall behind early, and will find a way to gut it out and come back for a thrilling victory to give them a positive ending to a difficult season. Rutgers 36 Maryland 34

Dave White: Another game that I think Rutgers could win, but won’t. The defense should have enough to contain Maryland at least for a little while, but Rutgers’ offense is so bad right now that the three and outs will—as usual—wear down the defense’s lack of depth. This one may keep you watching for 3 quarters instead of a half, though. Maryland 28 Rutgers 3

Bill Tharp: On paper this is a game that not only should be close, but should be winnable as well. Maryland at least looked tough last week against Nebraska only losing 28-7, whereas Rutgers is in the midst of a 9 game losing streak, including back to back losses by a combined score of 88-0. If Rutgers has any chance to win this game, they need to establish control on the offensive line, sustaining drives and avoiding constant three and outs. The defense is solid, but when 90% of their game (that's what it feels like, no official stat there) is spent on the field, they have no chance. If Rutgers can run the ball, they really do have a chance to win this game. Unfortunately, it's hard to see that happening as of now. Maryland 14 Rutgers 0

RutgersNation86: I think this is a game Rutgers can absolutely win and avenge last year’s loss, despite being large underdogs. Despite what the statistics show, the defense has played well, they have just been on the field way too long. The Scarlet Knight’s offensive struggles are well documented, but Maryland has had struggles of their own. I am calling for Rutgers to dig deep pulling off the upset and sending off the seniors they way they deserve. Rutgers 24 Maryland 21

Griffin Whitmer: Rutgers should be able to win this game and there is no doubt that the seniors will give it their all in their last game in a Rutgers uniform. Maryland is one game from bowl eligibility and Rutgers should aim to spoil that. There is no doubt that not many Rutgers fans are excited for this game and definitely not many Maryland fans will show up. However, if history is any indication, this game will be high scoring and electric. Rutgers 35 Maryland 34