Rutgers’ 17 pass attempts vs. Maryland, ranked

Maryland football’s easy win over Rutgers was made even easier by a Scarlet Knights passing performance that will go down as an all-time stinker.

True freshman QB Artur Sitkowski threw 16 passes on the day, and senior Giovanni Rescigno threw one. Rutgers finished with two completions, eight yards passing, five interceptions and zero touchdowns. For Maryland, it was a bright spot as the perils of a Big Ten schedule loom. So let’s rank each of the Scarlet Knights’ attempts to complete a pass on Saturday.

(It should be noted here by any Maryland website writing about this game that Maryland in fact only threw for 85 yards on 20 attempts against Rutgers, and is far from immune to criticism. This is a hypocritical exercise, but let’s ignore that and have fun, shall we?)

1. (Q2. 10:45) Sitkowski completes to Raheem Blackshear for a 4-yard gain.

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2. (Q1, 7:29) Sitkowski hits Eddie Lewis for a 4-yard gain on third-and-8.

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3. (Q2, 14:29) Sitkowski throws incomplete to Bo Melton, who was set to receive a screen and let the ball go right through his hands.

4. (Q3, 9:00) Sitkowski hits Travis Vokolek right in the chest, but it’s dropped.

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5. (Q3, 14:07) Sitkowski’s third-and-8 pass isn’t hauled in, forcing a punt.

6. (Q2, 4:09) Sitkowski’s pass to TE Daevon Robinson is dropped and/or broken up.

7. (Q1, 10:53) Sitkowski throws behind Melton for an incompletion.

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8. (Q1, 7:24) Sitkowski overthrows Melton on a deep ball.

9. (Q2, 4:02) Sitkowski’s pass is nearly intercepted by Antoine Brooks, but falls incomplete.

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10. (Q2, 4:02) Sitkowski underthrows Eddie Lewis badly on third down.

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11. (Q3, 14:11) Sitkowski throws to a confused receiver in the middle of the field, and it falls incomplete.

12. (Q3, 8:56) Sitkowski, facing pressure, underthrows a receiver behind the line of scrimmage.

13. (Q2, 2:51) Sitkowski’s throw is tipped by Antoine Brooks, and Byron Cowart comes down with the interception.

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14. (Q3, 8:51) Sitkowski’s pass is intercepted by Tino Ellis, who outdueled the intended target for a jump ball and returned the pick 44 yards to the Rutgers 11-yard line.

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15. (Q2, 14:25) Sitkowski is intercepted by Darnell Savage, who was able to play the part of the receiver more than the Rutgers player who was vying for the ball.

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16. (Q3, 5:39) Sitkowski targets a receiver fairly deep to his left, and Savage picks it again.

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17. (Q4, 13:47) After nine straight runs, Rutgers’ first pass attempt of this drive is picked off by Tre Watson.

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That’s Rescigno’s first attempt of the day, and it’s Rutgers’ last. The Scarlet Knights’ scoring drive in the fourth quarter came as the result of a 13-play, 62-yard drive that did not feature a single throw.