Oct. 22, 2001

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

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The Game
- The University of Maryland football team seeks an 8-0 start and a firmer grip on its lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference as it heads to Tallahassee, Fla., for a key game with the Florida State University Seminoles. Kickoff for the game at Doak Campbell Stadium, which will be televised on ABC, is set for 3:38 p.m.
- Maryland continues its undefeated run under first-year head coach Ralph Friedgen after defeating Duke, 59-17, in the team's most impressive offensive performance of the season. The Terps racked up 59 points, 697 yards of offense and did not punt until the final play of the game against the Blue Devils while moving to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the ACC. The Terps are now one of just eight remaining undefeated teams in Division I-A.
- The Terrapins are ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today polls. The national ranking marks the Terps' fourth week in the Top 25, Maryland's first since 1995, and its highest ranking since being ranked seventh in week one of the 1985 season. The last time the Terps finished the season in the Top 25 was 1985 when they finished 18th and went to the Cherry Bowl.
- Florida State (#19 Associated Press/# 18 ESPN/USA Today) enters this weekend's game with a 4-2 record (3-1 ACC) and is coming off of an impressive 43-7 win at Virginia after falling to Miami the week before. The Seminoles have not lost three games since 1986 and have won at least a share of the ACC crown in each of the nine seasons they have been a part of the conference.
- This week, the Terps are attempting match the start of the 1978 team. In that year, the Jerry Claiborne-led Terrapins opened the season with eight straight wins and worked their way to a No. 5 ranking in the Associated Press poll. More importantly, the Terrapins are seeking their first ACC championship since 1985, a year when Bobby Ross and offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen helped the Terps to 9-3 mark overall and a perfect 6-0 conference record.

Series Notes
- Saturday's game marks the 12th meeting between the Terrapins and Seminoles. The series began in 1966 and Florida State has won all 11 games in the series.
- Florida State has been in control of the series, with the Terps coming no closer than 14 points. That effort came in 1998 when the Terrapin defense held the Noles in check, allowing just one touchdown, but Sebastian Janikowski booted a school-record tying five field goals and FSU recorded a safety for a 24-10 win.
- Maryland's main problem against the Seminoles has been offense as the Terps have been unable to post no more than 21 points in any game in the series and are averaging 14.3 points per game against FSU.
- Last season's 59-7 Florida State win was the largest margin of victory in the series and Maryland's most lopsided defeat of 2000.
- Not only has Maryland never played Florida State with a ranking higher than the Seminoles -- as it is this week -- but the Terps have never squared off with FSU with a national ranking next to their name.
- Only once (1966) has Florida State taken on Maryland with more than one loss to its name and this year marks the first time that the Terrapins have the better record between the two teams.
- Should Maryland win at Tallahassee, the Terrapins would become just the fourth ACC team to defeat the Noles since they joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. In addition, they would become the first conference team to beat FSU at home and would mark the Nole's second loss to any team in Tallahassee in the last 56 games.

Busting Out of their Shells
- The Duke game was an offensive performance like none the Terrapins have seen in years. Along the way, Maryland posted some of its most impressive numbers ever.
- The Terps ran 90 offensive plays and posted 697 total yards of offense against the Blue Devils. The yardage total is the second most in Terp history (802 vs. Virginia, 1975) and 11th most in ACC history.
- Despite racking up near record numbers, the Terrapins still maintained a balanced offensive approach (as it has all year) by rushing for 362 yards and passing for 335. In fact, of their 34 first downs, 17 were via rush and 17 were via pass. On the season, Maryland is averaging 230.9 yards on the ground and 211.1 through the air.
- The Terps notched 34 first downs against Duke, one shy of the school record of 35 (set twice -- against UVa in '75 and against Clemson in 1984).
- The Terrapins' 42 first-half points against the Blue Devils were their most since one of the most memorable games in school history. The last time that total was posted was 1984 when Frank Reich led what was then the greatest comeback in NCAA history when the Terps scored 42 second-half points and beat Miami, 42-40, after the Hurricanes had taken a 31-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
- Maryland did not punt until the game's final play. Had the Terps not punted, it would have marked just the second time in school history, the first being the 1975 game versus Virginia.

New-Look Terps
- The Terrapins entered 2001 knowing that they would have a new look with a different helmet and uniforms, a new coaching staff and a new tailback (to replace LaMont Jordan). What they couldn't have known was just how different this year's team would be from those in the recent past.
- With its seventh win in the bag, Maryland has guaranteed its first winning season since 1995, has already won more games overall and in conference than it did all of last year, and has won its most games since 1985.
- With Maryland's win over Duke, it posted five wins in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time since 1985. That year, Maryland went 6-0, won the ACC and beat Syracuse in the Cherry Bowl.
- The Terrapins' win over Georgia Tech was their first over a ranked opponent in 34 games. The last time Maryland had beaten a ranked foe was in 1990, when it beat then No. 8 Virginia to earn a berth in the Independence Bowl, the team's last bowl appearance.
- The Terps have won multiple road games in the conference for just the third time since 1987. Should they win one of their remaining two ACC road games, they would match the total of the 1985 team, the last to win three. No Maryland team has ever won four, which is still a possibility for this year's team.
- Maryland currently leads the ACC in scoring offense (36.0 ppg) and scoring defense (15.0 ppg allowed). The last time the Terps finished a season leading the conference in scoring was 1985 and the last time they finished the year leading it in scoring defense was 1976.

Unprecedented Debut
- Ralph Friedgen's 7-0 start in his first year as a head coach at Maryland is the best in the 109-year history of the University of Maryland football program. With last week's win over Duke, Friedgen passed legendary Maryland coach H.C. "Curley" Byrd who opened his coaching career in College Park with six consecutive wins. Byrd accomplished the feat in 1911 (when he took the team over with two games remaining) and 1912.
- With a Maryland win this weekend, Friedgen will own the all-time ACC record for consecutive wins by a first-year coach in the conference as he would best Duke's Fred Goldsmith whose team started 7-0 in 1994 (the Blue Devils finished 8-4 that year).

Three-For-One
- With the hiring of Ralph Friedgen and Friedgen's ensuing hires of offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe and defensive coordinator Gary Blackney, the Terrapins got the equivalent of three head coaches atop one coaching staff. Though Friedgen is in his first stint as a head coach, Taaffe was most recently the head coach of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes while Blackney spent 10 successful years (1991-2000) as Bowling Green's head coach .
- Taaffe and Blackney have been able to maintain success virtually everywhere they have been. While in Montreal, Taaffe guided the Alouettes to a combined 25-14 record (two seasons) and an appearance in the 2000 Grey Cup. In 1999 and 2000, he was named the CFL's Coach of the Year, making him only the second coach to earn such an honor in back-to-back seasons (Marv Levy the first in 1974) and the first ever to do so in his first two campaigns. In addition, he is the winningest coach in The Citadel's history.
- Blackney was able to achieve in his own right as a head coach at Bowling Green. In 10 successful seasons, Blackney won 60 games (third most in school history), was the only coach in school history to win a bowl game (his Falcons won the 1991 California Raisin Bowl and the 1992 Las Vegas Bowl) and was the only coach to win more than 10 games in back-to-back seasons (11 in 1991, 10 in 1992).
- Though they are new to Maryland, the trio comprises one of the most experienced triumvirates in college football. With their 83 years of combined, full-time experience at the college and/or pro levels, Friedgen, Taaffe and Blackney are the fifth-most experienced trio in Division I-A. Below is a list of the company they keep:

	Rk.	School	Yrs.	Staff (Pos./Yrs. of Experience)
	1	Penn St.	101	J. Paterno (HC/52), F. Ganter (OC/28), T. Bradley (DC/21)
	2	Florida St.	89	B. Bowden (HC/41), J. Bowden (OC/14), M. Andrews (DC/34)
	3	Mississippi St.	86	J. Sherrill (HC/31), S. Woods (OC/13), J.L. Dunn (DC/29)
	4	Air Force	83	F. DeBerry (HC/33), C. Petersen (OC/13), R. Bell (DC/39)
	5	Maryland	82	R. Friedgen (HC/28), C. Taaffe (OC/23), G. Blackney (DC/31)
	Note: Totals reflect years coaching prior to the 2001 season. 

Getting Defensive
- More than midway through the 2001 season, the Terrapin defense has established itself as a unit to be reckoned with. Though the personnel is not drastically different from a year ago, the results have been as Gary Blackney's unit has used a high-pressure, blitzing style that has left opponents with virtually no choice but to try to beat Maryland through the air. Thus far, the result has been a high volume of caused turnovers and seven wins in as many tries.
- Though Ralph Friedgen was not completely satisfied with the defensive effort against Duke, the results still looked good on paper. The Terps held the Blue Devils to 296 total yards (133 rush/163 pass) and forced four turnovers. The second half was Maryland's best as it allowed just 85 total yards and one touchdown to a team trying to come from behind.
- Georgia Tech has been the only team this season to throw for over 300 yards against the Terps (it happened five times a year ago), but the tradeoff was costly for the Jackets. Tech turned the ball over six times (including three George Godsey interceptions) and was held to 50 yards rushing, 72 yards less than their previous worst effort of this season and fewest since being held to 28 yards by North Carolina in 1997.
- In the Virginia game, Maryland gave up 345 total yards but held the Cavaliers to just 64 yards on the ground, over 70 yards below their season average coming in. The Terps were stingiest in the first half, giving up just one rushing yard to UVa.
- Against West Virginia, the Terps forced six turnovers (four interceptions and two fumbles). The four interceptions were the most by a Terrapin defense since they picked off the Mountaineers four times in a 33-0 rout in 1999.
- Maryland allowed just one touchdown through the air and went more than nine consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown before Wake Forest scored in the third quarter three weeks ago.
- The 124 yards of offense that the Terps held Eastern Michigan to were the fewest by a Maryland opponent since 1980 when the Terps held Virginia to a sum of 90 yards. The EMU game marked just the sixth time since 1980 that the Terrapins held an opponent under 200 yards of offense. All but one of those games (Wake Forest in '96) came prior to 1983.
- Last season opponents averaged 25.8 points per game against Maryland. This year, the Terps are holding opponents to 15 points per game, a total that ranks 10th in the NCAA Division I-A ranks.
- Terp opponents are averaging 2.8 yards per carry this season.
- Last year's unit allowed an average of 440 yards per game. This year's "D" is thus far yielding an average of 317.1 yards per contest and 100.4 per game on the ground (15th best nationally).

Maryland Coaches in Year One
- In the modern era of college football at Maryland (i.e. since 1950), there have been 11 different head coaches to take over the reins of the Terrapin program. By and large, those coaches have not had success in that inaugural campaign, but many have gone on to great heights as their careers in College Park progressed. Below is a look at the 10 coaches since 1950 who preceded Ralph Friedgen:

	Coach	1st Year (ACC)	Overall	Tenure Highlights/Notes
	Tommy Mont ('56-58)	2-7-1 (2-2-1)	11-18-1	Beat No. 14 UNC in '57
	Tom Nugent ('59-65)	5-5 (4-2)	36-34	Went 7-3 and beat No. 7 Syracuse in '61
	Lou Saban ('66)	4-6 (3-3)	Same	Returned to coaching pros after one year
	Bob Ward ('67-68)	0-9 (0-6)	2-17	Last Terrapin alum to serve as head coach
	Roy Lester ('69-71)	3-7 (3-3)	7-25	3-3 ACC record T3rd in the conference
	Jerry Claiborne ('72-81)	5-5 (3-2-1)	77-37-3	Three ACC titles, 2nd most wins at Md.
	Bobby Ross ('82-86)	8-4 (5-1)	39-19-1	Three ACC titles, 24-5-1 all-time in ACC
	Joe Krivak ('87-91)	4-7 (3-3)	20-34-2	1990 Independence Bowl
	Mark Duffner ('92-96)	3-8 (2-6)	20-35	6-5 season in '95, finished T5th in ACC
	Ron Vanderlinden ('97-00)	2-9 (1-7)	15-29	Beat UNC 45-7 to move to 5-2 in '99
	Ralph Friedgen ('01-)	7-0 (5-0)	Same	Best start ever by a Maryland coach

Perry Sixth in the NCAA
- This season began with Maryland having a situation at tailback that could best be described as a big question mark. Sophomore Bruce Perry was joined by senior Marc Riley and freshman Jason Crawford in a backfield that started '01 touted as a possible three-headed rushing attack. After seven games, that three-pronged attack has been replaced by a single back who is working his way into mention for national honors recognition.
- Perry ran just 13 times but gained 79 yards and added a touchdown against Duke (6.1 ypc) while catching a team-high six passes for 62 yards.
- Perry opened this season with five straight 100-yard games and is currently sixth in the nation and first in the ACC in rushing yards per game (135.6 ypg) after leading the nation for three weeks (from after the Wake Forest game to after the Virginia game).
- Perry's 949 yards are third most nationally, trailing only Tulane's Mewelde Moore's (1,020) and Boston College's William Green (969).
- In games one through three this year, Perry actually eclipsed the 100-yard mark by the half.
- The Philadelphia, Pa., native's 276-yard effort against Wake Forest was the second-best single game total in Maryland history and the sixth-best in Atlantic Coast Conference lore.
- The 276 yards were also the most ever against the Demon Deacons, besting the 237-yard effort of South Carolina's George Rogers in 1978.
- With three TDs against Eastern Michigan, Perry became just the 13th player in school history to find the end zone three times in one game via the run.

Rising Star
- Sophomore Bruce Perry is doing his best to help Terp faithful forget about departed star and all-time rushing leader LaMont Jordan. Below are a few comparisons between Perry's sophomore campaign and Jordan's Maryland record-setting season of 1999:

		Perry '01	Jordan '99
	Yards per game	145.0*	148.4*
	Yards thru 7 games	949	855
	Rush TDs thru 7 games 	8	13
	Receptions/Yards thru 7 games	25/200	16/192
	Yards Per Carry	6.2*	6.1*
	(*averages  for Jordan is for the season, Perry through 7 games)

Man in the Middle
- Junior E.J. Henderson is quickly becoming a player to watch on a defense that has been nothing short of outstanding in 2001. The team leader in tackles in 2000 with 109 (despite missing a game-and-a-half due to injury), Henderson has opened 2001 by leading the Terps in tackles in six of seven games.
- Henderson currently leads Maryland in tackles (90) and tackles for loss (18). He is currently on pace to post 141 tackles this season.
- With 18 TFLs, Henderson has already moved into a tie for second on the Maryland single season list (Charles Johnson, 1978). He now needs just seven to break the record of 24 set by the legendary Randy White in 1974.
- Twice this season, Henderson has tied his career high for tackles with 18 (the last time being against Georgia Tech). In that contest, he also added four tackles for loss and a sack.
- In his two-plus years at Maryland, Henderson has notched double-digits in tackles 12 times.
- Dating back to last year, Henderson has finished with double-digit tackle performances in nine of the last 11 games.
- Henderson finished seventh in the ACC in tackles a year ago and is third among those who returned in 2001. A viable All-American candidate, Henderson has averaged 13.2 tackles per game (145 total) in his last 11 games dating back to last year.

The Word is Out
- E.J. Henderson began this season as he finished the last -- with Maryland faithful feeling he was one of the top linebackers and best-kept secrets in the nation. Judging by the national recognition Henderson has gotten in recent weeks, the secret no longer exists.
- Last week, Henderson was named one of 12 semifinalists for this year's Butkus Award which recognizes the top linebacker in the nation.
- After earning national defensive player of the week honors for his play against Georgia Tech, Henderson was added to the Bronko Nagurski Award watch list. The Nagurski Award recognizes the top defensive player -- regardless of position -- in the nation.

On This Date
- The Terrapins have played 14 games in their history on October 27 and have fared well with a record of 9-3-2 on the date. The ledger:

	Year	Result	Opponent
	1990	L, 10-34	at North Carolina
	1984	W, 43-7	at Duke
	1979	W, 27-0	at Duke
	1973	W, 30-10	Duke
	1962	W, 13-11	North Carolina
	1956	L, 7-34	at Tennessee
	1951	W, 27-0	at Louisiana State
	1945	T, 13-13	at West Virginia
	1934	W, 21-0	Florida
	1928	T, 0-0	at Virginia Military
	1923	W, 14-0	North Carolina
	1917	W, 29-13	Wake Forest
	1914	W, 10-0	St. John's (Annapolis)
	1894	L, 6-22	St. John's (Annapolis)

Hill Fuels Offensive Attack

- Though his numbers for the season are not eye-popping, there is no questioning that senior Shaun Hill is the leader of the Terrapin offense.
- Seven games in, the Parsons, Kansas, native is a key component in an offense that has helped lead to seven impressive wins. With Hill under center, the Terps have committed just eight turnovers (two others have occurred after Hill has left the game).
- After six games of "solid and steady," Hill was the key component of one of the best offensive displays in team history against Duke.
- Hill did not have his best game against Georgia Tech (20-of-39, 210 yds., 2 int.), but he was able to move the Terrapin offense when it mattered most. With 1:18 left in regulation, he completed 4-of-6 passes for 51 yards to move Maryland into range for Nick Novak's game-tying 46-yard field goal as time expired.
- In 10 games as a Maryland starter (dating back to last year), Hill has a record of 8-2 and orchestrated the biggest win of 2000 when he came off the bench against NC State a year ago.

Fowler Anchors O-Line
- Senior honors candidate Melvin Fowler heads up an offensive line that has become a unit to watch as the season has progressed as well as in the future. Fowler, who was named to this season's "watch list" for the Lombardi Award (recognizing the top interior lineman in Division I-A), has now started 40 consecutive games at center and is the lone senior listed on the offensive line's two-deep heading into the Florida State game.
- Of the 10 players listed on the depth chart for the Duke game, only three (Fowler and juniors Todd Wike and Matt Crawford) are not underclassmen. All told, the breakdown includes one senior, two juniors, three sophomores and three redshirt freshmen (Kyle Schmitt backs up at multiple spots).
- Despite its youth, the line is not without experience as four starters (Fowler, Wike, Bryant, Crawford) return from a year ago.
- Through seven games, the Maryland O-line has allowed just 12 sacks and has helped the Terps churn out an average of 230.9 rushing yards per game, ninth-best in the nation.

Gary Coming on
- Senior wideout Guilian Gary began this season with uncertainty as a week before the Terps' first game, he suffered a spinal injury in practice that had him airlifted from the practice fields with his football future in question. Seven games into the season, the Horseheads, N.Y., native has returned at full strength and has been one of Maryland's offensive leaders.
- Gary has led or tied for the team lead in receiving in five of seven games this season. Against Duke, Gary finished with four catches for 53 yards.
- With his four receptions against the Blue Devils, Gary has now caught at least one pass in each of the last 18 games.
- Gary, Maryland's leading receiver the past two seasons, entered 2001 with a chance to both crack the school's top 10 for receptions and become the first Terrapin since All-American Gary Collins (1959-61) to lead the team in three consecutive seasons.
- With his four catches last week, Gary moved into 11th on the Terp career charts with 96 receptions. He is also now 11th on the all-time yardage list with 1,298, moving ahead of Vernon Joines ('85-88).
- In addition to his receiving skills, Gary is also one of the top punt returners in school history. Last season, he became the first Terp to lead his team in punt return yards for three straight years. He currently ranks third on the school's career list with 537 return yards.

"A.T." = All-Time TFL Leader
- Senior linebacker Aaron Thompson -- who started the season as one of just five ACC players on the 2001 Butkus Award "watch list" -- has continued his solid play this year and is a viable All-ACC candidate.
- Thompson enters the FSU game having started all 40 games of his career at Maryland.
- Through seven games, Thompson is tied for second on the team in sacks (3.0) and is third in TFLs (8).
- With four tackles for loss in the UNC game, Thompson moved to the top of the Maryland career list (which began being tracked in 1974) with 39. He broke the school record of 37 held by Charles Johnson (1976-78) and now has 43 for his career.
- In addition, Thompson now needs just 19 TFL yards to become the school's all-time leader.
- With one more sack, Thompson will move into the career top 10 at Maryland. Should he match his total of 6.5 sacks from a year ago, Thompson would move into sole possession of the number eight spot.
- The Baltimore native's 17 TFLs in 1999 rank tied for third on the Terps' single-season charts.

Bootin' Barnard
- Junior All-America candidate and Ray Guy nominee Brooks Barnard has picked up where he left off a year ago, ranking 10th nationally and first in the ACC with a 44.5 yard punting average.
- Of Barnard's 36 punts on the year, 10 have been downed inside the 20 (eight inside the 20 and two inside the 10) and 12 have been 50 yards or further.
- Barnard was one of the primary keys to the Terps' success in owning prime field position in the season opener against UNC as he averaged 50.4 yards on eight punts.
- Barnard finished fourth nationally a year ago in punting average with a school-record 44.7-yard mark and was the second-leading punter among the nation's returnees, trailing only Minnesota's Preston Gruening who led the nation with a 45.2-yard average a year ago.
- Barnard's 44.7-yard average last season bested the previous Maryland mark of 43.8, set by Scott Milanovich in 1993. For his efforts, Barnard was named an honorable mention All-ACC selection as well as an honorable mention All-American by the Football News.
- In 2000, Barnard had a total of 13 punts that traveled further than 50 yards and eight punts downed inside the 20. After seven games in 2001, he has already had 12 go further than 50 and 10 downed inside the 20.

Local Ties
- Maryland has one player who calls the Sunshine State home. Safety Rod Littles, a key reserve on the Terp defense, is a native of Gainesville (Gainesville HS).
- The Seminoles have one player from the state of Maryland. Standout sophomore defensive end Darnell Dockett is a native of Burtonsville (Paint Branch HS).

Opportunistic Terps
- After forcing 18 turnovers in the last four games, Maryland now ranks second in the nation with a +2.14 turnover margin average.
- The Terps' success has come in their ability to hang onto the ball as much as anything else. The team has gained 25 turnovers (eight fumbles, 17 interceptions) and has lost only 10 (four fumbles, six interceptions).
- Maryland's 17 interceptions are five more than its total from the entire 2000 season.

In The Zone
- The Terps have been solid thus far in 2001 in the red zone both offensively and defensively.
- Through seven games, Maryland is 29-of-39 (74.4%) in the red zone with 24 touchdowns. The 10 stumbles have been four missed field goals, three loss of downs, two interceptions and one fumble.
- Opponents have made it into Maryland's red zone just 17 times this season and have come away with seven TDs and four field goals (11-of-17 overall).
- When the Terps have been in the red zone this year, they have scored touchdowns 57 percent of the time. Opponents have scored TDs 44 percent of the time against them.

Coaching Connections
- Ralph Friedgen is not the only new member of the Terrapin coaching staff with ties to College Park, though this is his fourth stint at Maryland (player from 1965-68, graduate assistant from 1969-72, offensive coordinator/offensive line coach from 1982-86 and the present stint).
- Inside linebackers coach Rod Sharpless played linebacker at Maryland from 1972-74, was an outside linebackers coach from 1977-80 and a wide receivers coach for the Terps in '90 and '91. Defensive line coach Dave Sollazzo was a graduate assistant for the Terrapins in 1984 and defensive line coach in '86-87.
- Sollazzo is also one of several coaches with a connection to another institution -- The Citadel. Sollazzo played for (1974-76) and helped coach (1989-98) the Bulldogs, while Friedgen coached there from 1973-79, Charlie Taaffe was a head coach there from 1987-96 and outside linebackers coach Al Seamonson served there from 1987-99.

Homeboys
- On national signing day, 2001, Ralph Friedgen said that in addition to landing some of the top recruits nationally, one of his goals was to make sure that all of the best players in the state of Maryland stayed in state and became Terps.
- Over the course of the past five years, the Maryland-D.C.-Northern Virginia recruiting area has been tapped more successfully in each ensuing year. In 1993, just 23 players on the Maryland roster hailed from either Maryland, D.C. or Northern Virginia, with six of those serving as opening-game starters. Since that time, however, numbers in both categories have risen steadily. Below is a look at the trend:

	Md./D.C./No. Va.	'97	'98	'99	'00	'01
	Players on the Roster	23	34	39	46	49
	Opening-Day Starters	6	5	7	12	10

Anniversary of Perfection
- The start of this football season marked the end of 50 years since the only season of perfection at the University of Maryland. The 1951 Terps went 10-0 and defeated top-ranked Tennessee, 28-13, in the Sugar Bowl.
- Led by All-Americans Bob Ward and Ray Krouse, brothers Ed and Dick Modzelewski and QB Jack Scarbath, the Terrapins ran through the entire '51 campaign allowing more than seven points only three times and ultimately sharing the Southern Conference championship with VMI before defeating the Vols to close the season.
- In '51, national champions were anointed prior to the bowl season, thus, Tennessee was that season's national champ while the Terps ranked third.
- The 1951 team was honored at halftime of this year's Duke game.

Consecutive Starts
- Several Terrapins currently own significant streaks of consecutive starts. By number of starts: C Melvin Fowler - 40, OLB Aaron Thompson - 40, OG Todd Wike - 28, CB Tony Okanlawon - 21, and LB Mike Whaley - 18.
- Terps not listed above who have started the most games overall (not consecutive) include: OT Matt Crawford - 27, NT Charles Hill - 22, and LB E.J. Henderson - 18.

Iron Terps
- As a team, Maryland had its strongest offseason in recent history, literally. In preseason strength and conditioning testing this year, the Terrapins set four team strength records.
- This year's Terps set team records for strength index, power clean, squat and bench press, improving on the previous all-time team highs that had been established since such records have been kept (started in 1983).
- Individually, eight Terrapins set records in disciplines at their respective positions, but none were more impressive than DE Durrand Roundtree.
- Roundtree, a junior from Baltimore, set the all-time record for strength index with an incredible 844 (700 is considered high), and set D-line records in the bench (490), squat (760) and vertical jump (36.5 inches).

Scouting The Seminoles
- Floirda State enters this weekend's game with a 4-2 record (3-1 ACC) after a strong 34-7 win at Virginia last week.
- The Seminoles are in the midst of what would be considered a down year by their standards, but few teams nationally could claim the same about a similar year. The Noles are ranked 19th in the latest Associated Press poll and 18th in the ESPN/USA Today poll after posting top five finishes in a record 14-straight seasons.
- FSU has averaged 35.2 points per game this year and 419.2 yards of offense per game. The quarter to watch out for the Seminoles this year has been the second as they have outscored their foes by a 94-14 margin.
- Chris Rix has been the team's offensive leader this year. The redshirt freshman QB is second in the ACC in total offense with 240.5 yards per game while he has posted an efficiency rating of 143.3.
- Florida States' defense has been stout this year, allowing an average of 297.8 yards per game. Their numbers against the run (104.2 ypg) and pass (193.7 ypg) both rank third in the conference.
- One area that the Seminoles are not up to their normal standards has been in rushing the passer and in penalties. Through six games, the Noles are second to last in the league in sacks (10) and last in penalties (64-551).

FSU's Bobby Bowden
- Bobby Bowden is in his 26th year at Florida State, a program he has molded into a perennial powerhouse in college football. In his time in Tallahassee, he has posted a 246-57-4 record while his career record stands at 319-89-4.
- Bowden has the second most wins of any active coach (behind only Joe Paterno) and with his team's win against Virginia, he tied coaching legend Glenn "Pop" Warner for the third most wins of any coach in history.
- In addition to his spot on the all-time wins list, Bowden has also posted the second most wins ever in bowl games as his teams have gone 17-6-1 in the postseason.
- Bowden's Tribe have been the best team in college football the last eight years, advancing to the national championship five times (including three straight) and winning the national title twice (1993 and 1999).
- The Florida State job was Bowden's third as a head coach. The Samford graduate got his start at his alma mater (1959-62) before moving on to West Virginia (1970-75) where he took the Mountaineers to a pair of bowl games and posted just one losing season.

Byrd Stadium
- Now in its 52nd year of operation, Byrd Stadium continues to serve as the home of the Terps. Opened on September 30, 1950, and constructed for a sum of $1 milliion, Byrd was named after Dr. H.C. "Curley" Byrd, a multi-sport star at Maryland who later became the school's head football coach and ultimately its president.
- The Terrapins are 161-99-1 within the friendly confines of Byrd (capacity 48,055).

Holliday in Music Man
- Long-time "Voice of the Terrapins" Johnny Holliday wraps up a successful stint in "Music Man" at the new, state-of-the-art Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the Maryland campus. Holliday, who has been both the radio voice of Maryland football and basketball as well as involved in the theatre program at Maryland for 23 years, plays the lead in the show that has sold out every performance since opening October 17th. The curtains close on Music Man on Sunday, October 28.

Terp Alley
- In an effort to restore some tradition on gameday in College Park, the football staff has come up with something that will likely become tradition outside of Byrd Stadium.
- For every football home game in 2001, the entire football team will make its first appearance at "Terp Alley." The team will be dropped off at the circle at the top of Field House Drive (between the football press box and Ludwig Field) approximately two hours before kickoff and it will be led through fans gathered along the street to the football complex by the Maryland band and cheerleaders.

Ticket Information
- Individual game tickets for Terp home games may be purchased locally at any Ticketmaster outlet or by visiting the Maryland ticket office at Cole Field House. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.
- For additional info or to order by phone, call (800) 462-TERP.