The Terps were crippled by dropped passes, penalties and questionable decisions that contributed to a 31-17 loss to Rutgers.

What little margin for error the fading Maryland football team had remaining in its quest for bowl eligibility vanished during a 31-17 loss to visiting Rutgers on Saturday night after the Terrapins wilted down the stretch, adding more misery to a season on the verge of becoming unsalvageable.

The running back has played in a bowl game every season and said that the opportunity to earn bowl eligibility has Maryland extra motivated over the next three weeks. Senior linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, the leader of a Terps defense that’s allowed more than 30 points in four of their last five games, holds the same sentiment.

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland − Rutgers football last week snapped a four-game skid with a win over Minnesota, and today the Scarlet Knights will look to keep that momentum going when they play the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Greg Schiano's team would clinch bowl eligibility if it can beat the Terps for its sixth win of the season.

Rutgers will be back in the postseason and has two games to improve where it ends up playing its bowl game. A midseason, four-game losing streak shifted expectations some, but the Scarlet Knights can successful cross off a preseason goal after clinching their sixth win and achieving bowl eligibility in the process Saturday when Rutgers defeated Maryland,