Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
TagsBY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
COLLEGE PARK, MD. — The Rutgers defense has a motto they try to follow, "Great defenses score."
Consider them a great defense Saturday night.
In what was a game with a deceiving final outcome, the Scarlet Knights' defense was the difference maker in Rutgers' 34-13 victory at Maryland. The unit came up with five takeaways, and stifled the Terrapins attack.
Still it almost wasn't enough.
The Terrapins did their best to play the gracious host to Rutgers, giving them gift after gift and repeated opportunities to take home a victory over the woeful Terps. But the Knights couldn't take advantage on offense so it was up to the defense to lend them a hand. Twice.
For the first time under Greg Schiano, Rutgers scored two defensive touchdowns. One on the first play of the game, the second the game's deciding play.
With 2:59 left in the third quarter Maryland native Joe Lefeged blitzed up the middle, sacked quarterback Chris Turner and simultaneously forced a fumble. George Johnson recovered the live ball in the end zone to give Rutgers a 17-13 lead, one they wouldn't relent."Just pretty exciting to know that our defense can step it up when it gets pretty tight, we saw that we were able to get our turnovers, doing what we did in practice," Johnson said of the defense and its ability to provide points. "Coach was telling us that we have to fight and scratch for it and that's what we did."
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM RUTGERS'
VICTORY OVER MARYLAND
But then Johnson went to recite that familiar phrase that drives him and the rest of his unit.
"It feels good because we know that great defenses have to score on defense," Johnson said. "We're trying to find ways to get turnovers and score on defense."
Joe Martinek added two long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, one for insurance and another meaningless one to pad the final score, capping a day he rushed for 147 yards.
Still, the late fireworks from the offense couldn't mask what had been a day dominated by the defense.
"Certainly the defense played extremely well today," Schiano said.
The first score occurred on the game's first play from scrimmage. Antonio Lowery picked off Turner on the left hashmark and returned it 36-yards for a touchdown, giving Rutgers an early 7-0 lead.
Devin McCourty and Billy Anderson also came up with interceptions off of Turner, part of three he had on the day.
"It was wonderful," Lowery said, after a day when he registered a team high eight tackles. That's what great teams, great defenses are made of. Go out there and do what your coaches tell you to."
Along with harassing Turner all day, Rutgers also bottled up the Terps' rushing attack. Maryland rushed for just 28 yards on 24 carries, just 1.2 yards per carry. To Schiano, that proved to be the most vital statistics of the day.
"When you can hold somebody to 28 yards rushing, that to me is the game," said Schiano. "I know people talk about the scores and the takeaways, 28 yards rushing is a very telling stat to me."
RELATED:
RUTGERS 34, MARYLAND 13 — BOXSCORE
Rutgers Lefeged shows Maryland he's one that got away
Follow Mike Vorkunov on Twitter for more Rutgers football news at Mike_Vorkunov