PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Not many people saw this one coming.

On the road, as 18-point underdogs and against a top-10 team, it didn’t look good. Before the game Saturday, jokes ran amuck in the press box and everyone had already perused the record books to find out that the Terps’ last three-game losing streak was in 2004.

When Jordan Steffy got drilled near the end of the first half, the snide remarks got louder and the Terps’ chances looked even bleaker. Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel threw two touchdown passes in 46 seconds before halftime, and the collapse seemed imminent.

Then, the Terps showed something new.

The defense buckled down, receivers started making plays, and backup quarterback Chris Turner put on a brilliant performance to lead the team to one of its most important upset wins in recent memory.

LaQuan Williams, whose phenomenal diving catch on a third-and-long should have made SportCenter’s Top 10, put it best.

“It gave us our mojo back.”

Mojo isn’t exactly the word I would have chosen, but I love it. For the purposes of this column, I’ll call it character. With all the factors stacked up against the team, it would have been easy, and predictable, to roll over and succumb to the shirts of Rutgers fans which read, “Nobody fears the turtle.”

But “Sunshine,” as he’s lovingly referred to by his teammates because of his West Coast roots, didn’t roll over so easily. Turner showed perhaps more poise than anyone. He impressed everyone, from myself, to the broadcasters, to his teammates, who hoisted him on their shoulders when the final gun sounded.

Turner’s only other appearance this year came against Villanova, when he completed four of his six pass attempts but also tossed two interceptions. Several players have told me Turner is a capable signal-caller, but I’ve stubbornly held my ground. I didn’t think he could carry the Terps, especially against Rutgers.

Wrong again.

“I take my hat off to that guy,” said running back Keon Lattimore, who had an impressive game in his own right. “Young guy came in at the heat of the moment and he was ready. He did what he was supposed to do … He showed true character and a lot of heart. That’s what we need – that’s the character of the team.”

Well put, K-Latt, and I couldn’t agree more. Turner’s performance Saturday was just one of a host of gutsy showings that propelled the Terps to a well-deserved victory. In addition to Sunshine’s 149-yard day, rock-solid tailbacks Lance Ball and Lattimore carried the ball a combined 46 times and helped the Terps amass more than 37 minutes of possession time.

On the defensive side, linebacker Erin Henderson and cornerback Kevin Barnes headlined a solid unit that held a Heisman Trophy candidate to less than 100 yards. Rutgers superstar Ray Rice didn’t look like his usual self, and for that, defensive coordinator Chris Cosh and his boys should be commended.

So the bottom line is that everyone gets a share of the praise for the upset; some for the role players, some for the defense and some for the coaching. The Terps got a great game from a multitude of players just one week after a gut-wrenching loss. I don’t mean to be redundant, but that, ladies and gentlemen, is a sign of character.

“It was a tremendous win and a tremendous display of character by our players,” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “I told them, ‘You’ve kind of run the gamut in two weeks, you’ve been as down as you could possibly be, you’ve been as high as you possibly could be. Now which do you like best? Are you going to be willing to work towards this?’ We have a chance to be a very good football team, but it takes work, it takes effort and it takes focus – doing things the right way.”

Friedgen had his team playing the right way against a top-10 foe, and Lattimore agreed that 3-2 is a satisfactory record after the first five games, especially looking back on the opponents. Now, as the ACC schedule looms large, the Terps know what it takes to win.

You guessed it – character.

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