Maryland football faced an uneasy situation to start the fourth quarter, trailing by four with Rutgers driving into its territory. Its defense, easily picked apart to that point, needed a stop.

Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis took a shotgun snap on first down with two wideouts to his right and found slot receiver Dymere Miller, who had a six-yard cushion at the line. Dymere Miller beat defensive back Glen Miller on a fade to the front pylon, where Kaliakmanis delivered a perfect ball for a 32-yard touchdown.

The Scarlet Knights hit explosive plays throughout Saturday night. It led to another dismal showing for the Terps’ defense in a 31-17 loss.

“We didn’t seem focused tonight defensively,” edge rusher Kellan Wyatt said.

During a stretch where Rutgers scored on five of six drives — a kneel down to end the first half was the lone one without points — it had big plays on four of the possessions.

The Scarlet Knights regained the lead before halftime behind a 21-yard pass that started the drive. It was the first long connection between Kaliakmanis and Dymere Miller.

[Maryland football falls 31-17 to Rutgers behind struggles from Billy Edwards Jr.]

The Rutgers receiver had yards of separation between him and any Terp when he caught an out route near Rutgers’ 45-yard line. A horse collar tackle from defensive back Jalen Huskey added another 15 yards to completely flip the field for Rutgers’ offense.

Freshman cornerback Judah Jenkins, in man coverage with Dymere Miller on the play, over-pursued the start of his route to the inside. It left the receiver wide open to Kaliakmanis’ left.

Dymere Miller’s route didn’t break until he was 10 yards downfield — meaning Kaliakmanis needed time to deliver the pass. A poor pass rush from Maryland provided that.

The Scarlet Knights had three big plays, two through the air and one on the ground, on their next drive — coming in a four-play sequence that moved the ball from Rutgers’ 35-yard line to Maryland’s 20-yard line. On the passes, soft coverage and poor pash rush gave Kaliakmanis easy throws.

“Everything was just on us,” Wyatt said. “That’s why explosive plays happen, because everybody’s not honed in on little details.”

Wyatt said the Terps need to find a connection between the front and back end of their defense to limit explosive plays. They’ve struggled with that throughout the season — the unit’s allowed 38 passes of at least 20 yards, the second-most in the Big Ten.

[Chasing bowl eligibility, Maryland football views every week as a playoff game]

But Maryland’s defensive struggles on Saturday weren’t limited to air. Rutgers’ 10 big plays were split evenly between the pass and the run. Kyle Monangai, one of five 1,000-yard rushers in the Big Ten this year, accounted for four of them.Monangai ran 70 yards down to the 1-yard line after poor tackling attempts by the Terps, but a holding penalty limited the play to only 16 yards.

All the flag did was let the Scarlet Knights take more time off the clock before Dymere Miller’s score. It was a multiple-possession game the rest of the way.

“At the end of the day it comes down to you got to make plays that had to be made,” coach Michael Locksley said. “Rutgers made enough of them and we did not.”

The loss has Maryland on the brink of missing out on a bowl game for the first time in four years. Its next opponent, Iowa, is tied for last in the country with the fewest passes of at least 20 yards this season.

If the Terps can’t stop a dull Hawkeyes passing offense that’s gone over 200 yards just once, the issue won’t be new. It’ll just be a lowlight.