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Maryland Football: Why a Rutgers rivalry trophy makes sense

By Chris Bengel

Nov 28, 2015; Piscataway, NJ, USA; The SRutgers Scarlet Knight rides past the stadium before the start of the NCAA football game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Maryland Terrapins at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Piscataway, NJ, USA; The SRutgers Scarlet Knight rides past the stadium before the start of the NCAA football game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Maryland Terrapins at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Maryland football program is still relatively new to the Big Ten conference.

The Terrapins already have a rivalry going with Penn State and that has produced two very exciting games during its first two years. However, the same can be said with Rutgers.

No matter what side you’re on, you can’t say that the first two conference games between the two schools haven’t been exciting.

Maryland blew a 35-17 halftime lead during the 2014 meeting and Rutgers returned the favor in 2015 when the Scarlet Knights blew a 31-13 halftime lead.

Maryland and Rutgers oftentimes find themselves battling it out for some of the same recruits. With new blood in both programs with Chris Ash and D.J. Durkin calling the shots, that’s likely going to continue.

While it’s not a border war, Maryland and New Jersey are within a fairly short driving distance of one another. If you’ve been to a game between these two teams over the past two seasons, it’s evident that there’s a strong amount of visiting fans.

These matchups usually take place in the season finale and rivalry games do typically happen towards the end of the season.

Even when neither team is having a very good season, a trophy means that there’s something to play for regardless of record.

There should be plenty of hype surrounding the 2017 meeting because it’s scheduled to be played at Yankee Stadium. If that draws the fans, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities to see a future contest played at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

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The close proximity, recruiting angle, and fact that the games are competitive are all things that point to having a rivalry trophy being a good idea. While the Scarlet Knights haven’t exactly had a stellar program in recent years, they would still always have something to play for if there was a rivalry trophy involved.

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