1-0 Terrapins Venture To Morgantown
9/11/2000 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 11, 2000
Maryland at West Virginia News Release in PDF Format
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Timely passing, a pair of touchdown runs by LaMont Jordan (Forestville, Md.), six sacks by a rejuvenated defensive line and a single-game punting record all were key elements in the Maryland Terrapins' season-opening victory over Temple last Saturday. In front of its largest home crowd since 1995 -- 46,950 -- Maryland upended Temple 17-10 despite the Terps' inability to get Jordan untracked in the first game of his 2000 Heisman Trophy campaign.
Maryland, 1-0 and a winner over Big East Conference opponents in each of its last three meetings, travels to West Virginia this week to continue a 37-game series which has been continuous since 1980. Last season, Maryland ended a three-year losing skid by beating the Mountaineers 33-0 at Byrd Stadium. The last time the two teams met in Morgantown, however, WVU coasted to a 42-20 win in 1998. On Saturday, in a game televised nationally on ESPN2, the Terrapins hope for their first road win over West Virginia since a 24-13 win in 1994.
Against the Owls, Jordan danced his way to 62 yards on 22 carries despite spending much of the evening facing Temple lineman in his own backfield. He scored on runs of 2 and 7 yards to account for both Maryland touchdowns, but the story of the game was a big-play defense and the record punting of sophomore Brooks Barnard (Arnold, Md.).
The Terps' defense recorded more sacks against Temple, 6, than in any game since 1995 when Maryland sacked NC State eight times. And when the game was on the line, senior co-captain and free safety Shawn Forte (Poughkeepskie) returned an interception 45 yards to set up a clinching 41-yard field goal by Brian Kopka (Hollywood, Fla.).
Combined with two Kopka kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and Barnard's long-distance punting, Temple was forced to begin 10 of its 14 possessions from inside its own 25-yard line.
Barnard, a freshman walk-on in 1999, blasted long punts of 66, 52, 51 and 85 yards. In all, his six kicks averaged 53.8 yards to better the existing Maryland single-game mark of 52.7, set in 1993 by Scott Milanovich. The 85-yarder, three yards shy of the Terps' longest punt in history (set in 1956), helped the Terps out of a jam from their own 15-yard line -- carrying nearly 70 yards in the air and rolling into the Temple end zone. None of Barnard's punts were returned -- two were downed inside the 20 and two fell for touchbacks.
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 is just 29 yards shy of the Maryland career rushing mark.
-- After leading the country in rushing over last year's final six games, he is 1,314 yards from becoming the ACC's all-time rushing leader.
-- A season of just 100 yards better than last season will result in a top 10 finish among the NCAA's all-time rushing leaders.
Records
Maryland is 1-0 after its 17-10 win over Temple. West Virginia is 1-0 following a 34-14 win a week earlier over Boston College. The Mountaineers were idle last week.
Rankings
Maryland received two votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll on Sunday, Sept. 10 to mark the third week in 2000 the Terps have appeared in the voting.
Two Terp opponents are ranked in this week's national college football polls: Florida State (#2 AP, #2 ESPN/USA Today) and Clemson (#16, #16). Georgia Tech and West Virginia received votes in both polls. NC State joined the Terps in receiving ESPN/USA Today votes.
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 11-23 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.
Vanderlinden is 1-2 against Don Nehlen and West Virginia.
West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen
West Virginia boss Don Nehlen (Bowling Green `57) is the fifth-winningest active coach in the country with a career mark of 196-123-8 in his 30th season overall. He was the head coach for nine seasons at Bowling Green before assisting at Michigan for three years and taking over the reins at West Virginia in 1980. He is 143-88-4 in his 21st year with the Mountaineers. He was the 1988 national coach of the year, and is responsible for guiding the Mountaineers to 12 bowl games. He has been a part of 15 major college bowl games, and served as president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1997.
Nehlen is 11-9 against the Terps, facing Maryland in every season of an active annual streak between the schools which dates to Nehlen's first season as head coach. He is 14-14 at WVU against teams from the ACC.
Next Games
The Terps return to Byrd Stadium for back-to-back home games with Middle Tennessee State (Sept. 23, 6 p.m.) and Florida State (Sept. 28, 8 p.m.). The FSU game marks the Terps' Atlantic Coast Conference opener in a Thursday night game televised live on ESPN.
West Virginia ends a season-opening three-game homestand next week by hosting Big East rival Miami.
Gameday at Byrd / Promotions
Maryland welcomes a national television audience when defending national champion Florida State invades Byrd Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 28.
Homecoming is slated for the Wake Forest game on Oct. 21. It also is the Terps' annual Letterwinners' Day as past athletes from all sports are welcomed into the stadium and onto the field.
Against NC State on Nov. 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 152-97-1 (.610) 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.
