Maryland Football Heads to #5 Clemson
10/9/2000 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 9, 2000
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
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The University of Maryland football team will go back on the road this week - continuing its search for its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory - as it will face the fifth-ranked Clemson Tigers in Clemson, S.C. The Terps are coming off of a tough 31-23 loss at Virginia in a game where they fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter and nearly fought to overcome their largest first-quarter deficit since 1987 by outscoring the home team 23-10 the rest of the way.
Maryland will head to Death Valley with a 2-3 record (0-2, ACC), while the Tigers are off to their first 6-0 start (4-0, ACC) since 1987 and solidly entrenched in the national title hunt with Florida State still on the schedule.
It was announced Sunday that the game will be televised to a national television audience on espn2 at 6:00 p.m. EDT, and broadcast locally by WTEM (980 AM) and WBAL (1090 AM).
After narrowly missing beating Virginia for the first time since 1991, the Terrapins will now try to beat Clemson for the first time since `92 and attempt to beat a ranked team for the first time in a decade.
Despite missing some of the Virginia game with an injury and ultimately playing out the final quarter hurt, LaMont Jordan (Forestville, Md.) still was able to continue his assault on the ACC and Maryland record books.
With 76 yards rushing on 20 carries, the senior passed NC State's Tremayne Stephens and moved into 12th on the ACC career rushing chart. He is now just 88 yards from cracking the conference's all-time top 10 and 998 yards from the ACC's top spot.
Most encouraging of everything to come from the game at Charlottesville may have been the contributions of the defense. Despite giving up 485 yards (most of which came in the first half), the "D" stepped up to give the Terps a chance to win as it forced a number of timely Cavalier turnovers in the second half and gave the offense the ball in good field position.
The Jordan Watch
LaMont Jordan, a unanimous preseason first team All-American in preview magazines nationwide, rushed for a school-record 1,632 yards as a junior and against West Virginia this season officially became the leading rusher in school history. He trails only TCU's Ladainian Tomlinson among active NCAA career rushing leaders.
-- After leading the country in rushing over last year's final six games, he is 998 yards from becoming the ACC's all-time rushing leader.
Terp Coach Ron Vanderlinden
Terrapin head coach Ron Vanderlinden (Albion College `78) is in his fourth season at Maryland, guiding the re-shaping efforts from a run-and-shoot offense to a power run game and more balanced, physical attack. After helping rebuild struggling programs at Colorado (1983-91) and Northwestern (1992-96), Vanderlinden is 12-26 as a college head coach. He was named the Terps' field boss in December of 1996.
Vanderlinden, 44, arrived in College Park after a five-year stint as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator under Gary Barnett at Northwestern where the Wildcats won a pair of Big Ten championships and made a 1996 Rose Bowl appearance. As defensive line coach in nine seasons under Bill McCartney at CU, the Buffaloes won the 1990 national championship, three Big Eight titles, and six bowl games.
Counting two years at Michigan, Vanderlinden has coaching experience in 10 major bowl games.
Vanderlinden's teams at Maryland have been characterized by vast improvements made to the rushing game and the overall defense. In 1998, Maryland was the sixth-most improved rushing team in America, and among the top 15 most improved teams in the country in total, scoring and pass defense. Last season, the Terps completed a "worst-to-first" ascent among ACC rushing leaders, climbing to a league-best 231.4 yards per game after ranking ninth in 1997.
Clemson Coach Tommy Bowden
In just three-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach, Tommy Bowden (West Virginia, `77) has established himself as one of the premier coaches in America. He has a career record of 29-10 and is now 12-6 in his second year at Clemson.
Bowden came to Clemson a year ago after leading Tulane to a 17-4 record in two seasons and an undefeated one in 1998. In fact, the second season seems to be the charm for Bowden as he is now 16-0 in his second season with a program, whether it be Clemson or Tulane. Clemson went 6-6 in his first year.
The son of Florida State legend Bobby Bowden, Tommy began his coaching career in 1978 as a defensive backs coach under his father. Since, he has had stints as an assistant at Auburn (`80, `92-96), Florida State again (`81-83), Duke (`84-86), Alabama (`87-89) and Kentucky (`90) before taking over at Tulane.
Next Games
The Terrapins return home next weekend for their 62nd annual Homecoming celebration. Wake Forest will be the opponent for a game also designated as Letterwinners Day.
Clemson will head to the site of the Terrapins' last game - Charlottesville, Va. - to take on the Virginia Cavaliers. Gameday at Byrd / Promotions
Maryland's next home game will be Homecoming which is slated for October 21 as the Terrapins will take on Wake Forest. That game also marks the Terps' annual Letterwinners' Day as past athletes from all sports are welcomed into the stadium and onto the field.
Against NC State on November 4, the University of Maryland campus community hosts Family Weekend with the Terps' football game scheduled as its centerpiece.
Byrd Turns 50!
Byrd Stadium celebrates its 50th birthday as home of the Maryland Terrapins in 2000. Constructed in 1950 at a cost of $1 million, Byrd Stadium first opened on Sept. 30, 1950 when Maryland defeated in-state rival Navy 35-21 in the dedication game before a school-record crowd of 43,386 fans.
Byrd has since undergone a series of major facelifts, three of which occurred in the 1990s and resulted in its present form.
Situated at the foot of the campus' North Hill, the stadium is named for Dr. H.C. "Curley" Byrd, a multi-sport athlete as an undergraduate who later became head football coach and eventually served as university president. Beginning its 51st season, Maryland has posted an all-time record of 154-98-1 (.609) in games at Byrd Stadium.
Ticket Information
Individual game tickets for home games may be purchased locally at any Ticketmaster outlet or by visiting the Maryland ticket office at Cole Field House. Tickets also may be purchased online at www.Ticketmaster.com.
Call 800-462-TERP for questions, or to order by phone.
