PISCATAWAY -- His voice was so hoarse that it sounded like Patrick Hobbs had spent the previous four hours screaming -- which, given how the final minutes of the latest Rutgers football victory had unfolded, is a safe bet.

The athletic director was standing in a quiet hallway inside the Hale Center after the Scarlet Knights defeated Maryland 31-24 for their third Big Ten victory this season. He was trying to put into words the transformation that has taken place in the past 35 days for this football program.

Rutgers lost 56-0 to Ohio State on this same field on Sept. 30 and, given the key injuries it suffered that night, seemed destined for a one-win season. If that happened, Hobbs would have faced the most unenviable decision: Double down on head coach Chris Ash despite mounting impatience from the fan base or cut bait from the man he hired entirely.

The month that has followed has made that decision easy. The Maryland victory is the third for the Scarlet Knights in four Big Ten games, tangible proof that this program -- after losing 16 in a row in conference play -- is finally heading in the right direction.

"It shows people what we're building here," Hobbs told NJ Advance Media. "It's a lot of hard work, it takes effort by everyone, it takes commitment from the university, and we're just going to keeping building. That's the word we always use. Building great programs take thousands of little successes and today was a big success."

That means it's not a matter of if, but when, that Hobbs gives the head coach he picked just days into his own tenure a contract extension. He didn't want to address that decision specifically on Saturday night, but he knows his success as AD will be tied to Ash's success as coach.

And he is more than comfortable with that.

"My intention is to keep this guy here a long time," Hobbs said.

The right move is a two-year extension, with the announcement timed for the maximum benefit for recruiting. Coaches need that long-term stability when they head into the living rooms of high school players, and it's a commitment that Rutgers was wise enough to make 15 years ago with another young coach.

In 2002, former AD Bob Mulcahy gave head coach Greg Schiano a two-year extension after a 1-10 finish in his second season, a controversial decision at the time. "I believe he will (earn it) and circumstances will prove why I did it," Mulcahy said then, and it turned out to be his second best decision in Piscataway -- after hiring Schiano in the first place.

Hobbs doesn't have to sweat the blowback from giving Ash a similar deal. The Scarlet Knights needed to show progress in their second season, something they've accomplished by mostly eliminating the noncompetitive games from a year ago and doubling their win total.

The 2016 Rutgers team would have folded in the second half against Maryland when the referees botched the call on a crucial fourth-and-one play, calling the defense offsides when, clearly, Maryland's tight end had moved first. The call gave the Terrapins, up four, a first down at the Rutgers 16-yard line.

But this defense held the Terrapins to a field goal and never allowed Maryland to score again. The players seemed to feed off the adversity and the fury from the 34,000 booing fans, and the two drives to tie the game and take the lead were among the team's best of the season.

"That might have made us collapse earlier in the year, to be honest," Ash said. "That was a big call. The fact that we were able to hold it together and overcome it and hold them to a field goal was huge."

It took a gut-churning defensive stand in the final minute to preserve the victory, and that it was defensive back Isaiah Wharton batting down a final Maryland pass in the end zone was only fitting. This decimated Rutgers secondary lost another safety on Saturday when K.J. Gray left the game with what appeared to be a concussion.

Ash already has moved two wide receivers over to the defense, and still, the Scarlet Knights keep finding away. This was the most important victory for Ash as a head coach, and it comes just days after what might become his most important recruiting victory to date: Four-star quarterback Artur Sitkowski, an Old Bridge native, flipping his commitment from Miami.

"The only downside (to the turnaround) is that I'm not going to be here the next two or three years," senior guard Dorian Miller said. "I'm jealous. You're seeing a team maturing before your eyes."

Ash has cleaned up the mess that predecessor Kyle Flood left behind, with Rutgers fortunate to dodge serious NCAA penalties. He weathered the 2-10 first season and held together a first recruiting class that, presumably, will become the core of this team going forward.

Now, his team is learning how to win close games. It is far from a finished product, with a trip to Penn State in a week likely to expose its many flaws, but the players are buying into what this coaching staff is preaching. The culture is changing in Piscataway.

That means it is a matter of when, not if, that Rutgers reaffirms its commitment to Chris Ash. A month ago, that contract extension looked like it was going to be a hard sell. Is it any wonder, then, that Patrick Hobbs was smiling wider than anyone on Saturday night?

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.