Football Game Notes -- Maryland vs. Eastern Michigan
9/3/2001 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 3, 2001
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
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The Game
- The University of Maryland football team looks to continue its winning ways this Saturday when it hosts Eastern Michigan University in the second of three straight home games to start the 2001 season and the opening of the Ralph Friedgen era in College Park. Kickoff for the game is set for 6:05 p.m. at Byrd Stadium.
- Maryland started off its 109th season of college football in impressive fashion, handing conference foe North Carolina a 23-7 defeat in front of a split-national television audience and 44,080 fans at Byrd Stadium. The Terps used a strong defense, solid rushing attack, field position and a turnover-free performance to move to 1-0 overall and in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
- Eastern Michigan also opened 2001 with a victory as it bested Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State, 16-12, at home in Ypsilanti, Mich. The win came after the Eagles converted a fourth quarter 4th-and-10 situation then scored the winning touchdown -- a five-yard run by C.R. Roberson -- with 1:47 left.
- This week's game marks the second in a three-game homestand for the Terps to open the season. It is also one of seven home games, the most Maryland has played in the modern era. The three home games to open the season is also a first for the Terps in the modern era.
A Notable Victory For Friedgen
- With the Terps' win in the season opener versus North Carolina, Ralph Friedgen became the first Maryland coach since Tom Nugent in 1959 to open his Terrapin coaching tenure with a victory.
- Friedgen also became the first Maryland coach ever to win his ACC opener in his first year as head coach. The last time a Terrapin coach won a conference opener in his first season was in 1947 when the Jim Tatum-led Terps defeated South Carolina in a Southern Conference opener.
- Friedgen also became the first Terrapin letterman since Bob Ward in 1967 to win a game as Maryland's head football coach.
Series Notes
- Saturday's game marks the first-ever meeting between Maryland and Eastern Michigan.
- The EMU game is the sixth ever for the Terrapins against a current Mid-American Conference school with Maryland posting a 3-2 record all-time versus the conference. The Terps' most recent MAC matchup was a 21-14 loss to Ohio in the 1997 season opener.
An Ironic Start
- There were many things anticipated of this year's Maryland/North Carolina game. As it turned out, there was no way to predict the outcome or the means by which it came. Among the improbabilities were the following:
- The Terps, led by noted offensive mastermind Ralph Friedgen, won their opener with defense. Aside from a 77-yard touchdown allowed on its first defensive play of the game, Maryland allowed a total of 199 yards and 41 on the ground (on 36 attempts). The Tar Heels were on the board after the game's first 1:48, but they did not score for the remaining 58:12.
- The vaunted UNC pass rushing attack, led by Julius Peppers, finished the game with three sacks (all by Peppers), one fewer than Maryland's defense, a group once considered a possible liability. In fact, Maryland's Aaron Thompson (2.5 sacks) nearly matched Peppers on his own.
- The Terrapins, who have been touted as needing to find a replacement to the departed LaMont Jordan, got their best offensive performance of the day from sophomore tailback Bruce Perry. Perry mixed shiftiness with hard running and second effort to finish the day with a career-high 116 yards on 21 carries (5.5 ypc).
On This Date
- The Terrapins have played three games in their history on September 8 and own a 2-1 record on the date. Of the three games, two (Syracuse and Villanova) were season openers. The ledger:
| Year | Result | Opponent | Site |
| 1990 | W, 14-10 | West Virginia | Morgantown, W. Va. |
| 1984 | L, 23-7 | Syracuse | College Park |
| 1979 | W, 24-20 | Villanova | College Park |
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 the 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 found success in his own right as Bowling Green's head coach. 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 82 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:
| Rank | School | Years | Staff (Pos./Yrs. of Experience) |
| 1 | Penn State | 101 | J. Paterno (HC/52), F. Ganter (OC/28), T. Bradley (DC/21) |
| 2 | Florida State | 89 | B. Bowden (HC/41), J. Bowden (OC/14), M. Andrews (DC/34) |
| 3 | Mississippi State | 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) |
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 reigns 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 Highlghts/Notes |
| Tommy Mont ('56-58) | 2-7-1 (2-2-1) | 11-18-1 | Beat No. 14 UNC in '57, had tall task of replacing Jim Tatum |
| 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 pro football 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 tied for 3rd in the conference |
| Jerry Claiborne ('72-81) | 5-5 (3-2-1) | 77-37-3 | Three ACC titles, 11-1 in '76, 2nd most wins in Terp history |
| Bobby Ross ('82-86) | 8-4 (5-1) | 39-19-1 | Three ACC titles, 24-5-1 all-time in ACC, 42-40 win at Miami in '84 |
| Joe Krivak ('87-91) | 4-7 (3-3) | 20-34-2 | Beat two ranked teams in '90, 1990 Independence Bowl |
| Mark Duffner ('92-96) | 3-8 (2-6) | 20-35 | 6-5 season in 1995, finished tied for fifth in ACC |
| R. Vanderlinden ('97-00) | 2-9 (1-7) | 15-29 | Beat UNC 45-7 to move to 5-2 in '99 (finished 5-6) |
| Ralph Friedgen ('01-) | 1-0 (1-0) | Same | Led Terps to opening day win over UNC |
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.
Field Position
- One of the Terps' keys to success is that they won the battle of field position. Thanks to a relatively mistake-free offense and some spectacular punting by Brooks Barnard, Maryland's average drives almost started at their own 40-yard line (the 39-and-a-half) while North Carolina's average starting spot for the game was its own 22.
Ray Guy Candidate Brooks Barnard
- Junior All-America candidate and Ray Guy nominee Brooks Barnard didn't take long in picking up where he left off a year ago. Barnard was one of the primary keys to the Terps' success in getting prime field position against UNC as he averaged 50.4 yards on eight punts.
- The junior's average would have been better if he had not begun the day with an unsuccessful pooch punt that went just 27 yards. In the seven punts that ensued, however, Barnard booted punts of 53, 56, 55, 54, 51, 56 and 51 yards.
- Of Barnard's eight punts on the day, six were downed inside the 20 (four inside the 20 and two inside the 10).
- Barnard finished fourth nationally a year ago in punting average with a school-record 44.7-yard mark and is 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 bested the previous 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 had eight punts downed inside the 20. After one game in 2001, he has already had seven go further than 50 and six downed inside the 20.
Getting Defensive with UNC
- Maryland's strong defensive outing against North Carolina continued a recent trend in the series between the two schools. In each of the last three meetings, Maryland has held the Tar Heels to fewer than 13 points and in those three contests, UNC is actually averaging nine points per game.
- North Carolina has not gained 300 yards of total offense against Maryland since 1998.
- Though Maryland holds just a 2-1 advantage in those three contests, the average score since is 26-9 in Maryland's favor.
LaMont Who?
- Entering 2001, many will have their eyes in the Maryland backfield with the interest of seeing who will replace departed star LaMont Jordan. Jordan, a second-round selection of the NFL's New York Jets, finished his Terrapin career in 2000 as the team's all-time leading rusher with 4,147 yards and as the school's leader in all-purpose yards with 4,960.
- Against UNC, the Terrapin trio of Bruce Perry, Marc Riley and Jason Crawford answered that question in resounding fashion, helping the team rush for a combined 161 yards, the most since game eight of the 2000 season (172, vs. Duke)
- Perry showed glimpses that suggest he will garner a good hunk of the playing time as he both slashed and pounded his way to 116 yards on 21 carries (5.5 ypc). The 116-yard effort was the best of his career and his first time hitting the century mark. It was also the first 100-yard performance by a Terp back since Jordan ran for 101 last year against the Tar Heels.
- Riley had the Terrapins' lone rushing touchdown of the day -- a one-yard effort in the fourth -- and chipped in with 30 yards of his own.
- Crawford, the freshman from nearby Parkland High School, got in late but ran well (5 carries for 21 yards) and had coach Friedgen suggesting in post game interviews that his effort would warrant a longer look in coming weeks.
Fowler Anchors O-Line
- Senior honors candidate Melvin Fowler heads up an offensive line that will be a position to watch as the year progresses and in the future. Fowler, who was recently added to the "watch list" for the Lombardi Award (recognizes the top interior lineman in Division I-A), has now started 34 consecutive games at center and is the lone senior listed on the offensive line's two-deep heading into the EMU game.
- Of the 10 players listed on the depth chart for the EMU 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 two spots).
- Despite their youth, the line is not without experience as four starters (Fowler, Wike, Bryant, Crawford) return from a year ago.
- In game one, the Maryland O-line allowed just three sacks to the highly-touted North Carolina pass rush (UNC led the ACC in sacks a year ago).
Henderson Worth Watching
- Junior E.J. Henderson begins his third season as a Terrapin as a player the new coaches have raved about. The team leader in tackles in 2000 with 109 (despite missing a game-and-a-half due to injury), Henderson opened 2001 by notching 12 tackles, most among Terps against UNC.
- Henderson finished seventh in the ACC in tackles a year ago and is third among those returning in 2001. A viable All-American candidate, Henderson averaged 13.8 tackles per game (55 total) in the four games after his injury last year including 18 in the finale versus Georgia Tech.
- In his two-plus years at Maryland, Henderson has now notched double-digits in tackles eight times.
- Henderson currently has a streak of five straight games (dating back to last year) with double digit tackle performances and in those contests, he is averaging 13.4 stops per game.
- Henderson was the only Terrapin to play all 63 defensive snaps against UNC (LB Mike Whaley, CB Tony Okanlawon and S Randall Jones each played 62 snaps).
Thompson on Butkus List
- Senior linebacker Aaron Thompson is one of 69 players (and one of five ACC players) who have been named to the "watch list" for the 2001 Butkus Award which recognizes Division I-A's top linebacker.
- Thompson enters the Eastern Michigan game having started all 34 games of his career at Maryland.
- With four tackles for loss against UNC, Thompson now has 39 for his career. That total moves him to the top of the Maryland career list (which began being tracked in 1974). Thompson broke the school record of 37 held by Charles Johnson (1976-78).
- In addition, Thompson needs just 30 TFL yards to become the school's all-time leader.
- The Baltimore native's 17 TFLs in 1999 rank tied for third on the Terps' single-season charts.
- With 1.5 more sacks, 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.
- In 11 games of 2000, Thompson finished fifth on the team in tackles with 81, was second in sacks with 6.5 and added nine TFLs.
Gary Starts
- Just over a week after being airlifted from practice to the hospital, senior wideout Guilian Gary resumed playing and actually started the game against UNC. The Horseheads, N.Y., native suffered a spinal injury at practice on Tuesday, August 21, and was airlifted to a shock & trauma center in Baltimore where he was ultimately evaluated and diagnosed with a neck sprain.
- Gary, Maryland's leading receiver the past two seasons, enters 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. He had two receptions for 26 yards in the opener.
- With his two receptions against UNC, Gary has now caught at least one pass in each of the last 12 games.
- 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 fifth on the school's career list with 483 return yards.
Local Ties
- Maryland has one player who calls the state of Michigan home as senior Matt Murphy (TE) is from New Haven (New Haven HS). Recently departed and current Carolina Panther DT Kris Jenkins is a native of Ypsilanti.
- Eastern Michigan does not have any players from the state of Maryland, however, linebackers coach John Dignan was a graduate assistant at Maryland in 1999 and director of football operations Bruce Gregory graduated from Western Maryland College and was a wide receivers coach under Gary Blackney at Bowling Green.
In The Zone
- The Terps are perfect thus far in 2001 in the red zone both offensively and defensively.
- Against UNC, Maryland was in the red zone three times and on all three occasions, the Terps scored touchdowns.
- North Carolina made it into Maryland's red zone just once and came away empty.
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 marks 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.
Consecutive Starts
- Several Terrapins currently own significant streaks of consecutive starts. By number of starts: C Melvin Fowler - 34, OLB Aaron Thompson - 34, OG Todd Wike - 22, CB Tony Okanlawon - 15, and LB Mike Whaley - 12.
- Terps not listed above who have started the most games overall (not consecutive) include: OT Matt Crawford - 21, NT Charles Hill - 16, and LB E.J. Henderson - 13.
- Several Terrapins started for the first time in their collegiate careers last Saturday. That group includes: OT C.J. Brooks, TB Bruce Perry, FB James Lynch, WR Jafar Williams, DT C.J. Feldheim and LB Leon Joe.
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).
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 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.
- The team will be escorted by the Terrapin band and cheerleaders. The idea is similar to that of the famous "Grove" at Ole Miss where fans temporarily leave their tailgating sessions to cheer their team on as it heads into battle.
Scouting the Eagles
- Eastern Michigan makes its first-ever trip to College Park with a 1-0 record after defeating Southeast Missouri State last weekend, 16-12.
- EMU defeated SE Missouri State but had their problems along the way with the Division I-AA foe.
- The two teams were back and fourth for much of the contest and SEMO actually held a 12-9 lead late in the fourth, but freshman back C.R. Roberson capped an 11-play, 65 yard drive with a five-yard plunge at 1:47 in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
- The Eagles used a balanced attack in their opener, rushing for 159 yards (101 by Roberson) and passing for 191.
- EMU posted a 3-8 record a year ago while going 2-5 in MAC play. Despite their struggles, the Eagles finished the season strong, beating conference foes Central Michigan and Northern Illinois before closing out with a loss to a tough Western Michigan team on the road.
- The Eagles lost top offensive performers Walter Church (238-399, 2,326 yds., 11 TD) and John White (155 car., 561 yds., 6 TD) to graduation and look to replace the duo with Troy Edwards (QB) and RB Ashantti Watson (85 car., 353 yds., 4 TD in '00).
- Defensive most valuable player Kenny Philpot (108 tackles, 15 TFL, 4 sacks) returns for his senior season at linebacker. The Eagles will look to improve on a 2000 performance that saw them allow an average of 31.8 points per game and hold only two opponents below 25 for the season.
Coach Jeff Woodruff
- Jeff Woodruff is in his second year as the head coach at Eastern Michigan. In this, his first head coaching job at the collegiate level, Woodruff has posted a record of 4-8.
- Woodruff came to Ypsilanti after spending two seasons as the running backs coach at Arizona, but that is not where he gained his most notoriety. From 1984-94, Woodruff coached at the University of Washington where he went from a QB coach ('84-91) to offensive coordinator ('92-94).
- While a coordinator in Seattle, Woodruff helped lead Don James' Huskies to the 1992 Rose Bowl and was part of the 1991 team that won in Pasadena and was ultimately crowned national champions.
- A native of Ravenna, Ohio, the 44-year old Woodruff is a 1979 graduate of Kent State where he was named his football team's top scholar-athlete as a senior.
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.
- Heading into 2001, the Terrapins are 157-103-1 within the friendly confines of Byrd (capacity 48,055).
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.
From Coach Friedgen
-(On meaning of the opening win)
"This is one game. We have another test this week. Our guys have to understand it's a short walk from the penthouse to the outhouse. We've got to go back to work, I don't care who we're playing, you have to prepare to win. It's a job, and that's the approach I'm going to take. I'm not even worried about any other game except this next game. I'm going to be on our players as hard this week as I was last week. I'm going to get them to focus on one game at a time. And if they do that, we'll have a good season. But we can't put the cart before the horse. It's just like [North Carolina's] first play of the game, they go 77 yards for a touchdown. There's a lot of plays to be played yet, well, there's a lot of games to be played yet...We have to be a blue-collar team that comes out, punches the clock every day, goes to work, and gets better. That's what we have to do - get better every week. Then someday maybe we'll wake up and be pretty darn good."
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(On Bruce Perry's performance)
"I thought Bruce played a very, very good football game. I thought he ran exceptionally hard and used some great vision. He made some cuts that were instinctive, and I loved the toughness with which he played. I think he earned a starting spot. We'll continue to play other tailbacks, though. Marc Riley will play, and I hope to get Jason Crawford more work. I like to keep a guy fresh. I think there are some other kids who need to play a little bit more."
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(On the offense overall)
"We're just not clicking. We're just off on some things - our timing and some of our assignments aren't right. We have to go back and look at our mistakes and find out why we are making them...Whatever the deal is, we have to clean it up. I think our kids will learn from this game and have a better understanding of things. Some of the line situations, we weren't actually putting them in the right protection. We have to be a lot firmer and a lot tougher at the line of scrimmage. I think there are a lot of things that are very correctable. I'm looking for us to be better [in this week's game] on offense. The positive thing about our offense was we had a power running game. Usually that is tough to get in your first game."
