Football Game Notes -- Terps At Duke
10/21/2002 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 21, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Terps at Duke Game Notes in PDF Format
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The Game
-- The University of Maryland football team hits the road for the second time this season as it will head to Durham, N.C., to take on the Blue Devils of Duke University Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. for the game which can be heard locally on the Terrapin Sports Network (no television).
-- Maryland (5-2, 1-1 ACC) enters Saturday's contest riding a four-game win streak after posting its second consecutive impressive performance in a row. After beating West Virginia handily two weeks ago in Morgantown, the Terps used a huge second half to hand Georgia Tech a 34-10 defeat in front of a national television audience last Thursday.
-- Last week's win marked the first time in the series history between the two schools that Maryland had won two in a row and it did so behind 28 second-half points and a 212-yard, three-touchdown rushing performance by senior Chris Downs.
-- The Terps are once again getting attention from the pollsters and are inching closer to reappearing in the national rankings after falling out after week one. This week, Maryland ranks an unofficial 31st in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll (32 votes) and received votes in the Associated Press poll for the first time since the preseason.
-- Duke enters this weekend's game with a 2-6 overall record (0-4 ACC) after a tough 24-22 loss last Saturday to undefeated NC State in Raleigh. The Blue Devils entered the season with the nation's longest losing streak (23 games) but have broken that string and been impressive in several losses as well as their two wins, most notably allowing an average of just 121.8 rushing yards per game to their opposition.
-- The Duke game marks the start of a string of five conference games for Maryland in which it will be the road team four times. The Terrapins are 4-1 all-time on the road under Ralph Friedgen and are looking for their fourth-straight win at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Series Notes
-- Saturday's game marks the 46th meeting between the Terrapins and Blue Devils. The series began in 1932 and Maryland owns a 27-18 advantage in the all-time series.
-- When looking at the all-time ledger between the two schools, a line can almost be drawn between the 1972 and 1973 seasons. From the start of the series until 1972, Duke held a 14-3 advantage in the series and at one point rattled off wins in 11 of 12 meetings. From 1973 on, Maryland has been in control of the series for the most part, winning 24 of 28. The Terps' best run went from '73 to '88 as they won 15 in a row.
-- Maryland is 8-3 in the last 11 versus Duke with two of the three losses to the Blue Devils coming at home.
-- Last year, the Terrapins jumped on the Blue Devils early and never looked back. Maryland scored 21 points in the first and second quarters and moved to 7-0 on the season in an eventual 59-17 win. In the win, the Terps amassed 697 yards, 34 first downs and punted just once -- on the game's final play. Shaun Hill had a career game, passing for 325 yards and rushing for 105 while becoming just the third quarterback in ACC history to gain over 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game.
-- The last Duke victory in the series was one of the toughest in the last few years for Maryland. In 1999, the Terrapins were 5-2 and feeling good about their bowl chances when the 1-6 Blue Devils came to town. The end result was a 404-yard passing day from Spencer Romine and a 25-22 win that was the first of four consecutive losses to end the season and the end of any postseason dreams for Maryland.
-- Last year's huge margin of victory (42) over Duke was surprisingly somewhat of an abhorration in the recent series between the two teams. Since 1986, the Terrapins had not beaten the Blue Devils by more than 17 points, despite owning a 12-4 record over that span.
DownsTown
-- Senior Chris Downs began the 2002 season as a player who had earned the respect of his coaches for his hard work, but little more in terms of playing time at tailback as he entered this season with four career carries. That respect -- which was one of the main reasons noted when his mentors named him the starter in week two -- is now something shared by the opponents he has run through in the last six weeks.
-- In the win over Georgia Tech, Downs was the offensive star as he woke up the Terrapin offense in the second half with a combination of hard-nosed running and breakaway speed. After the Terps were only able to post 33 rushing yards in the first half, Downs came out and ran for 54 yards on the first possession of the second half and it was all downhill from there. The senior rushed 19 times for 183 yards and three TDs in the second half (26 for a career-high 212 yards overall), boosting the Terps from a 6-3 halftime lead to an ultimate 34-10 victory.
-- The 212-yard effort by Downs against Georgia Tech was the 12th-best single-game rushing performance in Maryland history.
-- Downs has found the end zone at least once in each of the six games he has played at tailback this season. In fact, he now has five more touchdowns this year than he had career carries coming into this season. LaMont Jordan (1999) was the last Terrapin to score at least one TD in six straight games.
-- On 91 rushing attempts this season, Downs is averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He has also averaged no fewer than 4.2 yards per carry in any outing this year.
-- Though his per-game average reflects his having played in seven games this year, Downs did not see action as a running back against Notre Dame (only special teams). Therefore, if his per-game average was only a reflection of the games he actually carried the ball, Downs would be averaging exactly 100 yards per game.
-- With 147 yards rushing against Wofford, Downs became the first Terp tailback to go over the 100-yard mark in the previous 12 games.
Three-For-One
-- With the hiring of Ralph Friedgen and Friedgen's ensuing hires of offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe and defensive coordinator Gary Blackney prior to the 2001 season, the Terrapins got the equivalent of three head coaches atop one coaching staff. Though Friedgen is in just his second season as a head coach, Taaffe (Montreal Alouettes and The Citadel) and Blackney (Bowling Green) each bring head coaching experience to the table.
-- Taaffe and Blackney were able to maintain success virtually everywhere they had been as head coaches. 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).
-- Now in their second seasons at Maryland, the trio comprises one of the most experienced triumvirates in college football. With their 85 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.
A Wealth of Experience
-- The coaching experience does not end on the Terrapin coaching staff with Coach Friedgen and his coordinators. The Maryland staff overall possesses a combined total of 206 years of full-time experience at either the collegiate or pro levels.
-- That total includes five coaches (excluding Friedgen, Taaffe and Blackney) who have been at it for 18 years or more, and the 206 years means an average of almost 21 years of experience per coach on the 2002 staff.
Odds & Ends -- Georgia Tech
-- The win over Georgia Tech marked the first time in the history of the all-time series between the two schools that Maryland has won two consecutive games.
-- The Terrapins came alive in the third quarter against the Jackets. At the half, Maryland had been outgained by a 241-140 margin with Tech outgaining it 149-33 on the ground. In the third quarter, the Terps outgained the Yellow Jackets 209-46 overall and 123-5 on the ground.
-- After rushing for 33 yards in the entire first half, the Terrapins opened the second half with a drive of 76 yards keyed by 54 rushing yards by Chris Downs. Downs capped the drive with his seventh rushing touchdown of the year, a 15-yarder that came on his fifth carry of the drive.
-- In the third quarter alone, Downs had 14 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
-- Senior WR Scooter Monroe had a career-high in receptions (five) and yards (106). The 100-yard receiving day was the first by a Terrapin since Jason Hatala had three receptions for 129 yards vs. Duke on October 4, 1997. The drought lasted a span of 58 games.
-- Before the performance by Downs and Monroe, the last time the Terps had a 100-yard rusher and receiver in the same game was on September 23, 1995, when Jermaine Lewis hauled in 205 yards receiving and Buddy Rodgers rushed for 103 yards in the 41-28 win over Duke.
-- Scott McBrien finished the evening 11-of-19 for 198 yards with no TDs or interceptions. It marked the fourth straight game that McBrien has gone without an interception. The junior left the game at the end of the third quarter after being poked in the eye, but returned with just over eight minutes remaining in the fourth.
-- The Terrapins started a season-low six seniors and a season-high seven sophomores against the Rambling Wreck.
Defense Stepping Up
-- In its win over West Virginia, the Maryland defense held the nation's No. 1 rushing offense 159 yards below its season average of 345.5 yards per outing. Though the effort was impressive, it should have come as no surprise as it is a trend the Terps have maintained nearly all year.
-- In all but one game this year (Akron), the Terrapin defense has held its opposition at or below its season average. On the whole, the Terps have held their foes to 96.2 yards per game less on the ground than their average coming into the game and only one game (Akron) saw a team post more than its average. (Note: Notre Dame was not included because it was the season's first game, however, the 130 yards Maryland held the Irish to is 40 yards shy of its current per game average.)
-- The Terps' impressive work has not come against weak competition, either, as two of its most impressive outings have occurred against two of the nation's top rushing teams.
-- West Virginia averaged 345.5 rushing yards per game coming into its game against the Terps, had the nation's leading rusher in Avon Cobourne and was coming in on the heels of a game which saw it run for 536 yards. Maryland held WVU 159 yards below its average and Cobourne 36 yards below his average even with him carrying the ball 30 times and having a 43-yard run mixed in.
-- Florida State was the nation's No. 3 rushing offense coming into the Maryland game, averaging 318 yards per game largely behind Greg Jones, who was then the nation's eighth-leading rusher at 143 yards per game. The Terrapins held the 'Noles to 169 yards (149 below their average) and Jones to 106 (37 below his average), with Jones gaining most of his yardage late in the game (54 yards on 16 carries heading into the fourth quarter).
More On The Defense
-- Through games of October 19, Gary Blackney's unit has allowed just 15.9 points per game, 12th-best nationally and tops in the ACC. The Terps' pass defense ranks 43rd nationally, allowing an average of 199.9 yards per game.
-- The Terps have been toughest to score on this year at the start of each half, yielding just 16 and 20 points in the first and third quarters, respectively.
-- In the last four games, Maryland has allowed just four touchdowns and opponents have scored an average of only 9.5 points per game. In fact, the Terrapins' 34 points against Georgia Tech were just four shy of what the defense has allowed in the last four outings combined.
Big Play E.J.
-- Senior All-American and 2002 Butkus Award semifinalist E.J. Henderson burst onto the national scene last season and -- despite an offseason of worries about his back -- has returned to the form that had him rated by many publications as the nation's best defensive player in 2002.
-- Seven games into the season, Henderson has continually improved and looks like the E.J. of old, a relief to the Terps considering he had back surgery on April 8 and missed all of spring practice. Henderson had a team-high tying 10 tackles (eight solo), against Georgia Tech, the sixth time in seven games this year he has been in double digits for tackles. He also had two TFLs in the Terp win.
-- With his sack against Wofford (9/28), Henderson set the Maryland career record for tackles for loss with his 46th. That total broke the mark of 45 set by former teammate Aaron Thompson (1998-2001). He now has 48.5 for his career.
-- The 2001 ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Henderson has led the Terrapins in tackles in each of the past two seasons and leads the Terps again in '02. In 2000, he notched 109 tackles despite missing a game-and-a-half due to injury before posting an ACC-leading 150 tackles last season. This year, Henderson tops the Terps' charts and is third in the ACC with 83 tackles.
-- Henderson has led Maryland in tackling in all but three games the last two years (16 of 19 games).
-- Seven games into the season, the '01 Butkus finalist has posted 381 career tackles. He currently stands eighth on the Maryland career charts and now needs two to move into seventh.
-- Henderson has averaged 13.1 tackles per game (288 total) in his last 22 games dating back to the 2000 season.
-- In his two-plus years as the starter at Maryland, Henderson has notched double-digits in tackles 22 times. Dating back to his sophomore season, Henderson has finished with double-digit tackle performances in 19 of the last 22 games. On five occasions he has had 17 tackles or more.
Perry Injury Lingers
-- Less than 10 days before their opener against Notre Dame, the Terps learned that they would be without their top returning offensive player from a year ago, junior tailback and 2001 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Bruce Perry. Perry has now missed the season's first seven games and his status for the Duke game is undetermined as of October 21.
-- On Tuesday, August 20, Perry suffered a third-degree tear of his left groin (adductor longus) muscle. The injury took place during warmups prior to a scrimmage as Perry's foot was stepped on by an offensive lineman and as he made an effort to pull his leg free, he felt a "pop."
-- Perry entered the '02 season as the lone returning finalist from last year's Doak Walker Award. He ran for 1,242 yards as a sophomore last year, his first as the Terps' starter. In addition, he finished ninth in the nation in all-purpose yards with an average of 156.2 yards per outing.
Watch Out
-- When last year began, the Terps' lone mention on any "watch lists" for national awards was punter Brooks Barnard. By season's end, the team had Barnard as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, E.J. Henderson as a finalist for the Butkus Award, Bruce Perry a finalist for the Doak Walker Award and Melvin Fowler a finalist for the Rimington Trophy.
-- This season, those who vote did not take any chances as Barnard is again on the Guy list; Henderson is the only returnee among Butkus finalists and was recently named to the list of 11 semifinalists; and offensive lineman Todd Wike is on the watch list for the Outland and Lombardi trophies. (Bruce Perry was the lone returnee from last year's group of Doak Walker finalists, but will fall shy of a return due to his groin injury prior to this year).
Lean On Seniority
-- Despite the fact that this year will be the last for several big names on the Terrapin roster, the team is one that will not need to do a significant amount of replacing next year.
-- Though people will ask at season's end how the Terps will replace players like E.J. Henderson, Todd Wike and Brooks Barnard, a closer look shows that there will not be a lot of turnover between this season and next. Amazingly, this year's team features a total of only 11 seniors, with just seven figuring as starters on the latest depth chart.
-- The lack of seniority will be particularly helpful on defense next year when only three players who see significant playing time -- Henderson, Durrand Roundtree and Ty Stewart -- will be lost to graduation, leaving nine returning starters.
McBrien Steps Up
-- Junior signal caller Scott McBrien has come on the last four games and appears to be headed in the right direction after a huge win as the Terps get into the heart of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule.
-- Against West Virginia, McBrien led four scoring drives in the first quarter alone, the first of which he capped with a 21-yard option keeper that fooled the entire Mountaineer defense. All told, he finished the quarter 4-of-5 for 95 yards and one TD through the air while rushing three times for 21 yards and a TD on the ground.
-- In just over 14 quarters of work the last four weeks, McBrien has completed 44-of-75 passes for 788 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
-- McBrien has also looked more comfortable running with the football in recent weeks, a requirement in Ralph Friedgen and Charlie Taaffe's offense.
-- McBrien's quarterback rating for the past four games has been 167.8. For the season, he has a 133.81 rating, 39th-best in the NCAA.
Bootin' Barnard
-- Senior All-ACC punter and Ray Guy Award hopeful Brooks Barnard thought his punting was not up to snuff in 2001. Despite those feelings, Barnard ranked seventh nationally and first in the ACC with a 44.6-yard punting average. As the 2002 season progresses, it appears that he may have been right as he has only gotten better and better.
-- Barnard opened the 2002 season kicking off of a bad left ankle (his plant foot) after one of his teammates was pushed into him at practice two days before the Notre Dame game. He has since begun to return to form and now ranks first in the ACC and ninth nationally with a 44.1-yard average.
-- On a wet turf in the Georgia Tech game, Barnard posted one of his best efforts of the season punting four times for a 49.5-yard average, including three punts over 50 yards and one which was downed inside the 10. Another punt was placed perfectly to be downed inside the five, but one of his teammates was unable to avoid sliding into the end zone after covering the loose ball.
-- Barnard kicked twice for a 56.5-yard average against Wofford with one kick sailing 60 yards and one landing inside the 20.
-- Against Florida State, Barnard averaged 47.5 yards on six punts with four kicks traveling over 50 yards and one going out of bounds inside the one-yard line.
-- Of Barnard's 23 punts this year, five have been downed inside the 20 (five inside the 20 and two inside the 10) and 10 have traveled 50 yards or further.
-- Barnard has finished each of the last two seasons ranked in the top 10 in the nation. Last year, he finished seventh with a 44.6-yard average while the year before, he finished fourth with a school-record 44.7-yard average. After starting slow this season, he now ranks ninth in the NCAA.
-- As impressive as any of Barnard's punting stats may be the numbers he has posted in the weight room. In offseason testing, he benched 400 pounds, cleaned 286 and was timed at 4.65 in the 40-yard dash.
Frosh Josh Chips In
-- This season began with the likelihood of true freshman Josh Allen redshirting, but with an improved grasp of the offense showing in practice, Allen's talent made his playing in 2002 inevitable.
-- Against West Virginia, Allen had the first 100-yard rushing day of his career, gaining 116 yards on 16 carries and adding a pair of touchdowns. He became the first Terp true freshman to rush for over 100 yards since QB Randall Jones ran for 115 against Duke on November 14, 1998. In three games of work, Allen has rushed 40 times for a robust 266 yards and five touchdowns.
-- Allen is averaging 5.9 yards per carry this season and has scored five TDs in the four games he has played.
Living In Allen/Downs
-- In the past month, Maryland has gotten a shot in the arm from the running of senior Chris Downs and freshman Josh Allen.
-- The duo has gotten better each week and has been outstanding since the Florida State game. Following the game with the Seminoles, Maryland averaged 94.0 yards per game, a total that ranked 100th nationally and last in the ACC. This week, the Terps average 172.4 yards per game which moves them to 39th nationally and fourth in the conference.
-- Since the Florida State game, the Terps have averaged 231.3 rushing yards per game and have had a back go over 100 yards three times.
Nick the Kick
-- Nick Novak came on midway through last season to help shore up the Terrapins' kicking game and help Maryland -- with the aid of punter Brooks Barnard -- stake a claim to having one of the best kicking tandems in the country.
-- Starting with his game-tying kick at Georgia Tech a year ago, Novak has made 23 of his last 27 field goal attempts, with three of the misses coming from further than 50 yards and four of his successful attempts being longer than 50.
-- Novak came full circle against Georgia Tech this past week, opening the game the same way he closed the last he played against the Jackets with a pair of field goals (35, 27).
-- In the West Virginia game, Novak showed a powerful leg, successfully hitting from 37 and 46 yards while driving 5-of-9 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
-- Novak has made four of eight for his career from 50 yards or further (and 3-for-4 this season).
-- Novak set the school record for PATs in a season in 2001 with his 41st at NC State and fell just one field goal shy of tying that single-season record (17 - Dan Plocki ('88), Jess Atkinson ('84).
-- The sophomore has made 56 straight PATs and nine straight field goals of 50 yards or less (his lone miss in his last 10 came from 57 yards).
-- With 1.71 field goals per game, Novak now ranks second in the ACC and fifth nationally.
Homeboys
-- In his first signing day with the Terps (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 1997, 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 (next page):
Md./D.C./No. Va. '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 Players on Roster 23 34 39 46 49 54 Opening-Day Starters 6 5 7 12 10 14
Coaching Connections
-- Ralph Friedgen is not the only 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.
Tough Losses
-- Maryland's four losses in the last two years have come at the hands of the stiffest of competition.
-- FSU was ranked 19th last year and fifth this year when the Terps took it on. Florida was the fifth-ranked team in the nation when it faced Maryland in the Orange Bowl in 2001 and Notre Dame -- although unranked at the start of the season -- is now undefeated and ranked ninth in both polls.
Starks Manning the Trenches
-- Sophomore defensive tackle Randy Starks has continued his improvement after a strong true freshman campaign a year ago and now is shaping up as one of the better defensive linemen in the conference.
-- Last week, Starks posted four tackles, forced a fumble and had two QB hurries.
-- Against West Virginia, the 6-4, 302-pound tackle from Waldorf had probably his best game as a Terrapin, notching 12 tackles (nine solo) and three sacks (minus 15).
-- Through seven games this year, Starks has posted some eye-popping numbers for an interior defensive lineman. He is third on the team in tackles with 51, second in TFLs (7.0) and first in sacks (5.0).
-- Starks' tackle total is tops in the ACC among defensive tackles (second among defensive linemen overall) and his five sacks is tied for fourth on the league charts.
Iron Terps
-- For the second consecutive season, Maryland boasted record strength numbers and again posted its highest number of student-athletes earning "Iron Terp" status. In preseason strength and conditioning testing this year, the Terrapins again 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, six Terrapins set 11 records in disciplines at their respective positions, but the star in the weightroom was again DE Durrand Roundtree.
-- Roundtree, a senior from Baltimore, did not break his records of a year ago, but still posted amazing numbers. Among them: an 826 strength index (700 is considered high), a 490-pound bench, a 720-pound squat and a 35-inch vertical jump.
Super Suter
-- Just past the season's midpoint, one thing has become apparent in regard to Maryland's special teams -- sophomore Steve Suter brings excitement to the return game that the Terps haven't seen since the likes of standout Jermaine Lewis.
-- As a team last season, Maryland had just one play (Bruce Perry's 80-yard TD vs. Wake Forest) of 80 yards or more. This year, Suter alone has already had three plays go further than 80 yards.
-- With one more punt return for a score, Suter will have more than any player in Maryland history. He joins Bob Smith (1973) as the only player to return more than one for a touchdown in a season.
-- With six games remaining, Suter already ranks third on the Maryland single-season list for punt return yards with 378 and has returned punts for 212 more yards than the Terps did as a team all of last year.
-- Suter has also shown that the spark he gives the Terps will not be limited to returns this year. Against Wofford, Suter caught his second touchdown of the season, a 10-yarder from Scott McBrien. In the second quarter of the Eastern Michigan game, Suter scored on a 91-yard strike from McBrien. The effort was the second-longest passing touchdown in Maryland history (longest was Ed Bolton (92 yards) vs. South Carolina in 1949).
-- Against Notre Dame, Suter tried to get Maryland started as he returned the first ball he touched 51 yards. Against Akron a week later, he returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown, giving the Terps a 21-7 lead at the start of the second quarter.
-- Suter's punt return for a touchdown against Akron was the first by a Terrapin since Lewis went 66 yards versus NC State in 1995.
-- Suter enters this week ranked 13th nationally in kickoff returns (26.8 ypr) and 31st in punt returns (13.0 ypr). Those totals rank first and second in the ACC, respectively.
Newcomer Invasion
-- The Terrapins have had a significant number of newcomers contribute already this season, including several freshmen who have played significant roles.
-- Seven games in, a total of 22 players have seen action for the first time as Terps (four juniors, two sophomores, nine redshirt freshmen and seven true freshmen).
-- The seven true freshmen seeing action are two more than the Terps had play all of last year.
Local Ties
-- The Terrapins have two players who call the state of North Carolina home as redshirt freshman OG Russell Bonham is from Winston-Salem (Carver HS) and true frosh William Kershaw is from Raeford (Hoke County HS).
-- Terp inside linebackers coach Rod Sharpless is a native of Jacksonville, N.C., and served on the same coaching staff as Duke's Denny Creehan while at Rutgers.
-- Terp wide receivers coach James Franklin set seven school records as a quarterback under Duke QB coach Jim Pry, who was the offensive coordinator at East Stroudsburg during Franklin's playing days. Special teams coach Ray Rychleski also coached with Pry at East Stroudsburg.
-- Backup Duke linebacker Giuseppe Aguano is the cousin of Maryland WR Sal Aragona.
-- The Blue Devils have four players who call the Old Line State home as TE Paul Campitelli (Dunkirk), FB Mike Dowling (Baltimore), S Alex Green (Hyattsville) and TB Malcolm Ruff (Baltimore) are all from Maryland.
Grid & Hardwood Harmony
-- Last year marked the first time in University of Maryland history that the school's football and basketball teams were both ranked in the nation's top six during the same week.
-- The Terrapins, ranked at No. 6 heading into the Orange Bowl, were joined by the basketball Terps who -- at the same time -- had been ranked second nationally. In the end, the basketball Terrapins went on to claim the national title while its football brethren were ACC champs.
Scouting The Blue Devils
-- Duke heads into its game with Maryland with a 2-6 record (0-4 ACC) and vastly improved over teams of its recent past.
-- Last week against NC State, the Blue Devils fell 24-22 at Raleigh, but pushed the undefeated Wolfpack to the brink in the process. Down 24-15, the Blue Devils scored on a 40-yard Adam Smith touchdown pass with 16 seconds left. They then recovered the ensuing onside kick at the NCSU 49 but were unable to move the ball from there and ultimately had a 65-yard field goal attempt by Brent Garber fall short.
-- Duke's strong point this year has been its rush defense. Through eight games, it is allowing an average of just 121.8 yards per game, second-best in the ACC and 30th-best nationally.
-- The defense has been led this season by DE Shawn Johnson and LB Ryan Fowler. Johnson is second in the ACC in sacks with seven while posting 47 tackles. Fowler is the team's leading tackler with 72, seventh-best in the league.
-- The Blue Devils' problems this year have come in the scoring department. On offense, the team ranks 103rd nationally, averaging 20.1 points per contest, while on defense, it is allowing 29.3 points per game, eighth-best in the ACC.
-- On offense, Alex Wade is the team's rushing leader and third in the ACC with 89 yards per game. Quarterback Adam Smith has completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 1,309 yards, seven TDs and just two interceptions.
Duke Coach Carl Franks
-- Carl Franks is in his fourth season at the helm of the Duke football program. Midway through 2002, he holds a 5-35 record as a Blue Devil.
-- Franks came to Duke in 1999 after nine seasons at the University of Florida where he held several different posts including assistant offensive coordinator and running backs coach from 1995-98.
-- In his nine seasons in Gainesville, Florida went to eight bowl games and won the 1996 national championship by way of a 52-20 win over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.
-- The current stint is Franks' second at Duke as a coach. His first was, like the Florida job, under coach Steve Spurrier during the most successful run in recent Duke history. Franks was a wide receivers/tight ends coach from 1987-89, a period in which the Blue Devils got better each season and ultimately earned a co-championship in the ACC in 1989 along with a berth in the All-American Bowl.
-- A 1983 graduate of Duke, Franks was an Academic All-ACC performer in 1982 and three-year letterman who played running back and tight end.
Transportation Throwbacks
-- This weekend's Duke trip will mark the first time this season that the Terrapins will board a plane to make their way to a game.
-- Maryland has played at two sites away from Byrd Stadium this season, traveling by train to the Kickoff Classic (Newark, N.J.) against Notre Dame and by bus for the October 5th game against WVU.
New-Look Terps ... Again
-- Terrapins of 2001 had a new head coach, a new look to their uniform and helmet and in the end, a whole new way of playing football compared to recent years. Though the hope is that the brand of football will remain the same under the coach who is back for year two, the Terrapins' uniforms are seeing a change -- again.
-- This year, the Terps' helmets remain the same as a year ago but the uniforms are a new look designed for Maryland by Nike. The uniforms were created with the past in mind even though the look is modern; the stripes on the shoulders are reminiscent of Terp uniforms of the '50s and '60s.
Building For The Future
-- When the Terrapins take the field at Byrd Stadium this year, there will be many changes to the stadium that has been home to the Terps since 1950. Some will be apparent as soon as one sets foot in the stadium and others would only be noticeable to the men who wear the Maryland colors on game day.
-- The most glaring change at Byrd Stadium rests above Gossett Team House in the form of a brand new, state-of-the-art video scoreboard. The new board features a high-resolution screen that is 21-feet tall by 28-feet wide and is capable of displaying in excess of 281 trillion colors.
-- In addition to the bright visible new video board, it may go overlooked by some that expansion has taken place on the building below it, the Gossett Football Team House. Thus far, the coaches' offices have been refurbished as have meeting rooms and the equipment room.
-- Other phases that await completion will include the addition of a new academics support and career development unit; a new multi-purpose room that will feature a kitchen and dining facilities; a new team meeting auditorium; and an expanded entrance and lobby area.
The Graduates
-- Maryland has four players who earned their bachelor's degree before they even set foot on the field this season.
-- Linebacker E.J. Henderson and offensive linemen Todd Wike and Matt Crawford all earned their degrees and are working toward additional degrees. All three earned their degrees this past spring, with Henderson and Crawford receiving bachelor's in criminology and criminal justice while Wike earned his degree in philosophy.
-- Finally, after applying to graduate next spring and not knowing he already had enough credits, offensive lineman Ed Tyler learned last week that he has earned his degree in economics -- after just three years at Maryland.
-- From the membership has its benefits file: Ralph Friedgen lets players line up to eat by grade point average and after questioning Henderson for heading up to the front of the line last week, that line is now led by Terrapin graduates. (Henderson had responded that he thought graduation was the pinnacle anyway so "shouldn't (he) be allowed to go first?").
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 Comcast Center. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.
-- For additional info or to order by phone, call (800) 462-TERP.
