Football Game Notes -- Terps At Virginia

Nov. 18, 2002

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The Game

The University of Maryland football team hits the road for the final time in 2002 and in search of its ninth-straight win as it heads to Charlottesville, Va., to take on regional rival Virginia in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup with bowl implications. Kickoff on Saturday is set for 5:31 p.m. (EST), and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 while being broadcast locally on the Terrapin Sports Network.

Maryland (9-2, 5-1 ACC) heads to Charlottesville as one of the hottest teams in the country after pushing its current win streak to eight with an impressive 30-12 win at Clemson last weekend. The win was the Terrapins' first at Death Valley since 1985 and gave the Terps the longest streak (8) since Jerry Claiborne's Terps ran off 12-straight wins in the 1977-78 seasons.

The win over the Tigers leaves the Terps in sole possession of second place in the ACC standings and moved them up a spot in each of the two major polls. Maryland heads into this weekend's game ranked No. 18 in both the ESPN/USA Today and the Associated Press polls, marking its third straight week in the Top 25. Virginia received votes in both polls this week.

The Cavaliers await the Terrapins after coming away with a big win at home last week as it handed NC State a 14-9 loss. The win snapped a two-game losing streak and turns this week's game into an important one in regards to the ACC's bowl picture.

The winner of this weekend's game will put itself in prime position for at least a second-place finish in the conference and potentially a New Year's bowl game. For Maryland, a win would most likely earn the Terps a spot in the Gator Bowl while giving them a shot at a share of the ACC championship, which will hinge on the NC State/Florida State game that takes place at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. For the 'Hoos, a win would give it the tiebreaker edge with the Terrapins if the two teams finished with an identical 6-2 ACC record, making it a possible choice of the Gator Bowl.

The Virginia game is final game in a string of five conference matchups for Maryland in which it will have been the road team four times. After the victory at Clemson, the Terrapins are now 7-1 in road games under Ralph Friedgen while posting an 11-1 record at Byrd Stadium during his tenure.

Heading into the UVa game, Maryland has won six straight games on the road, something it had last accomplished in the 1977-78 seasons. With a win against the Cavaliers this week, the Terps will carry the longest win streak since the team ran off 12 straight from 1975-77.

Series Notes

Saturday's game marks the 67th meeting between the Terrapins and Cavaliers, the most between Maryland and any other school in the Terps' 109-year history. The two schools have met every season since 1957.

Maryland leads the all-time series -- which began in 1919 -- by a 38-26-2 margin. The series has only been recently made close by Virginia. Prior to 1988, the Terrapins held a 35-15-2 advantage.

Since 1969, the series has been basically feast or famine for one team or the other. From 1969-87, the Terrapins held an 18-1 advantage in the series and at one point ran off 16 wins in a row, the longest streak in the series. From 1988 to the present, the series has gone almost exclusively to the Cavs as they are 11-3 in that span, though the Terps took last year's meeting.

Maryland is seeking its first win in Charlottesville since 1990. The 35-30 victory that year was a notable one as it marked the last time the Terrapins have beaten a team ranked as high as the Cavs were at the time (No. 8). The Terps scored 28 second-half points to shock the Sugar Bowl-bound 'Hoos and close out the season bowl eligible at 6-5. Maryland ultimately went to the Independence Bowl, its last postseason appearance before last year's Orange Bowl. The lone current Terp with ties to the 1990 team is inside linebackers coach Rod Sharpless who was a receivers coach in College Park at the time.

A win this year would also mark the first time since 1991 that the Terps have won consecutive games in the series.

Last season, the Terrapins broke a string of nine straight losses to Virginia with a 41-21 win, a victory that moved Maryland to 5-0 on the season and what was then its best start in 23 years. In the win, the Terps allowed a 24-7 lead to be cut to three in the third quarter before scoring 17 unanswered points in the fourth to win going away. Bruce Perry was the offensive star, rushing for 143 yards and a TD while catching a career-high eight passes for 51 yards.

The Maryland offensive line has held Virginia without a sack in each of the last three meetings between the two schools.

Friedgen Moving Up The Charts

Ralph Friedgen opened his career as a head coach by setting one Maryland coaching record after another and while this season started like many of those had prior to his arrival, the second-year mentor is once again working his magic in College Park.

With his next win this season, Friedgen will break the ACC record for wins by an ACC coach in his second year with his 20th. With that next win, he will break the mark of Clemson's Ken Hatfield (1990-91) who posted a 19-4-1 record. Friedgen currently owns the best mark by a second-year mentor with his 19-4 record and now needs one win to ensure he will break Hatfield's mark.

With the Terps' win over North Carolina, Friedgen became the first coach in Maryland history to win 17 games in his first two years at the helm. Now with an 19-4 record, his win total bests that of 16 set by Bobby Ross in his first two years (1982-83) with the Terps. Friedgen was an assistant coach under Ross during that time at Maryland.

A look ahead shows that not only can Friedgen join the ranks of the top second-year coaches in ACC history this week, he can also find his way into the Top 10 of the coaches with three years under their belt. With his 20th win, he will tie Duke's Steve Spurrier (1987-89) and NC State's Dick Sheridan (1986-88) who each won 20 in their first three years at the helm. Should Maryland win out and win its bowl game, Friedgen will tie the three-year win total of Clemson's Tommy Bowden (1999-2002) with 22.

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. Below is a list of the company they keep:

Rk. School Yrs. Staff (Pos./Yrs. of Experience)
1 Penn St. 104 J. Paterno (HC/53), F. Ganter (OC/29), T. Bradley (DC/22)
2 Florida St. 92 B. Bowden (HC/42), J. Bowden (OC/15), M. Andrews (DC/35)
3 Mississippi St. 89 J. Sherrill (HC/32), S. Woods (OC/14), J.L. Dunn (DC/30)
4 Air Force 86 F. DeBerry (HC/34), C. Petersen (OC/14), R. Bell (DC/40)
5 Maryland 85 R. Friedgen (HC/29), C. Taaffe (OC/24), G. Blackney (DC/32)

Note: Totals reflect years coaching prior to the 2002 season.

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.

TouchDowns

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 this season.

Last weekend, Downs led the Terps in rushing for the seventh time this season as he rushed 20 times for 101 yards in the Terps' win over Clemson. Downs averaged 5.1 yards per carry on the day and hit the century mark for the fourth time this year.

With five more yards, Downs will become the seventh Maryland back ever to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. At 995 yards, he currently leads the ACC in rushing yards despite not having touched the ball in the season opener against Notre Dame.

Downs has rushed for 13 touchdowns this year, nine more TDs than he had carries coming into this season. He has found paydirt in all but two games (Duke, NC State) in which he has carried the ball this season, and his touchdown total ranks sixth on the Maryland single-season list. With three more, he will tie the school record set by LaMont Jordan in 1999.

Downs went for 157 yards on 19 carries while rushing for four touchdowns against North Carolina, a feat accomplished only three other times in Maryland history (Bob Shemonski, 5 vs. Va. Tech (1950); LaMont Jordan, 4 vs. Clemson (1999); and Charlie Wysocki, 4 vs. UVa (1981).

Against Georgia Tech, Downs woke up a sluggish Terrapin offense in the second half by rushing 19 times for 183 yards and three TDs (26 for a career-high 212 yards, overall), boosting the Terps from a 6-3 halftime lead to an eventual 34-10 victory.

The 212-yard effort by Downs against Georgia Tech was the 12th-best single-game rushing performance in Maryland history.

With 147 yards rushing against Wofford, Downs became the first Terp tailback to go over the 100-yard mark in what was a span of 12 games.

On 163 rushing attempts this season, Downs is averaging 6.1 yards per carry (best among the ACC's top 10 backs) and 90.5 yards per game (best among active ACC players).

One For The Record Books

Steve Suter's 77-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter of the North Carolina game was his fourth of the season, tying the NCAA record. He ties the single-season mark shared by eight other players:

2002 -- Derek Abney (Kentucky)
2000 -- Santana Moss (Miami, Fla.)
1998 -- David Allen (Kansas State)
1997 -- Quinton Spotwood (Syracuse)
1997 -- Pinker Keck (Cincinnati)
1987 -- James Henry (Southern Mississippi)
1971 -- Cliff Branch (Colorado)
1971 -- Golden Richards (Brigham Young)
For more on Suter and his efforts at UNC, see pg. 7 of this release.

Turtle Whacks -- Clemson

With its 30-12 win over Clemson, the Terrapins continued to close the gap in the all-time series between the two schools. Clemson now leads, 27-22-2.

The win at Death Valley was Maryland's first since 1985 -- a 16-year drought -- and the Terps have now won two straight in the series for the first time since 1984-85.

Maryland's 30 points in the Tigers' "den" were more points than it has scored in the last seven meetings at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Since 1989, the Terps had averaged just 4.4 points per game at Clemson.

Nick Novak's missed PAT in the first quarter was the first of his career that was not due to a block and it broke a string of 73 straight successful attempts.

Scott McBrien threw for a career-high tying three touchdowns and ran for another in the win.

The Terps did not allow a touchdown in the game, the first time it has held Clemson out of the end zone since 1979. It was the second time this year that Maryland has held an opponent without a TD, and both were South Carolina schools (Wofford).

Derek Miller's one-yard touchdown reception gave the Terrapins an early lead and was the redshirt freshman's first career TD.

Maryland held the Tigers to 211 yards of total offense and 130 through the air. Both were amazing accomplishments considering CU had posted 1,014 yards of offense in the two games coming in with Charlie Whitehurst as the starter and averaged 349.5 passing in those games.

The Bottom Line

Though the Terrapins' yardage numbers on offense and defense continue to improve each week, none of their averages or national rankings would qualify as eye-popping. Where the team does impress, however, is where it matters most -- in scoring.

On offense, Maryland is averaging a robust 34.2 points per game, a total that ranks third in the ACC and 17th nationally.

The Terps have posted 376 points this season, and with two games remaining now need 15 more to break the single-season school record of 390 set last season.

On defense, the Terrapins are allowing just 14.8 points per game. That figure is tops in the conference (by over two points) and sixth-best nationally.

Only two schools (Kansas State and Oklahoma) can claim an offense and defense that both rank higher than the Terps in scoring offense and defense.

Terps Tough On Average

In its win over West Virginia earlier this year, 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 in nearly every game.

In all but one game this year (Akron), the Terrapin defense has held its opposition at or below its season average. As a group, Terp opponents are averaging 63 yards less than their average coming into the game. (Note: Notre Dame was not included because it was the season's first game, however, the 130 yards Maryland held the Irish to is 20 yards shy of their current per-game average).

Last weekend, the Terps held Clemson to 81 rushing yards, 49 below its season average. It marked the third time this season that Maryland has held an opponent under 100 yards on the ground.

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).

Defense Sixth Nationally

As mentioned previous, Gary Blackney's unit has allowed just 14.8 points per game this season, sixth-best nationally and tops in the ACC. In the last eight games, the Terp defense has been particularly good, yielding just 11.3 points per outing.

Maryland has gotten accustomed to being stingy when it comes to the scoreboard, something that is reflected in the fact that the Terps have held opponents scoreless in 23 quarters this season, third-most of any team in Division I-A football (Kansas State, 28; North Texas, 25).

In the last eight games, Maryland has allowed just 10 touchdowns.

The Terrapin defense ranks 24th nationally in pass efficiency defense as opposing QBs own a 106.75 rating.

Maryland ranks second in the ACC in total defense (333.4), opponent first downs (188) and sacks (29).

In The Zone

As a team, Maryland is the best in the ACC at getting it done in the red zone. The Terps are the conference's top-ranked team in the red zone on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

On offense, the Terrapins have scored 88.1 percent of the time they have crossed the opponent's 20-yard line, posting 29 TDs and eight field goals in 42 trips into the "zone."

On defense, Maryland has allowed its opposition points just 65.7 percent of the time once it enters the red zone, also best in the league. Four times this season, it has intercepted the opposition inside the 20.

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.

With two regular season games remaining in his illustrious career in College Park, Henderson has come on 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 -- recently named a finalist for the Butkus and Lombardi awards -- had 12 tackles (10 solo), a sack and five QB hurries in the Terrapins' win at Clemson.

Against NC State, Henderson stepped up and had a huge game, notching a team-high 16 tackles and two tackles for loss in the 24-21 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 56.5 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 fourth in the ACC with 125 tackles.

Henderson has led Maryland in tackling in all but four games the last two years (19 of 23 games).

Now 11 games into the season, the two-time Butkus finalist has posted 423 career tackles. He currently stands fourth on the Maryland career charts and now needs just one to move into the number three spot.

Henderson has averaged 13.1 tackles per game (340 total) in his last 26 games dating back to the 2000 season.

In his two-plus years as the starter at Maryland, Henderson has notched double-digits in tackles 24 times. Dating back to his sophomore season, Henderson has finished with double-digit tackle performances in 21 of the last 26 games. On five occasions he has had 17 tackles or more. His season high this year is 16, set twice (vs. Notre Dame and NC State).

Perry Making His Way Back

After missing each of the first seven games of this season recovering from a torn groin muscle suffered on August 20 and another after spraining his shoulder against Duke, 2001 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Bruce Perry has returned to the field and seems to be returning to form the last few games.

The Clemson game saw Perry looking the closest that he has this year to the Bruce of old as he rushed 17 times for 69 yards (4.1 avg.) while catching two passes for 18 yards.

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.

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 William Shime -- will be lost to graduation, leaving nine returning starters from opening day 2002.

McBrien 12th in NCAA

Junior signal caller Scott McBrien has come on the last seven games and has had the Terrapin offense improving as his comfort level with the system continues.

Last week against Clemson, McBrien uncharacteristically made mistakes in the passing game, throwing three interceptions. But the payoff was big for the Terps as the junior also threw three touchdowns and rushed for another in the win. For the night, McBrien finished 13-of-23 for 153 yards while rushing nine times for 67 yards.

Against Duke, McBrien had one of his best games as a collegian, completing 16-of-21 attempts for 264 yards with two TDs and one interception. McBrien posted career highs for completions (16), yardage (264) and completion percentage (.762) in the win while rushing for a touchdown.

Against his former school, 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.

Over the course of the Terps' eight-game win streak, McBrien has completed 89-of-148 passes (60 percent) for 1,525 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.

McBrien's quarterback rating for the past eight games has been 165.81. For the season, he has a 143.73 rating, 12th-best in the NCAA.

McBrien ranks second in the ACC in total offense (192.3 ypg).

Bootin' Barnard

Senior All-ACC punter and All-American hopeful Brooks Barnard is at it again in 2002, leading the ACC and ranking near the top of the NCAA charts in punting while serving as a weapon in the field position wars for Maryland this season.

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 16th nationally with a 42.8-yard average.

Against Clemson, Barnard averaged 41.7 yards per kick on three attempts while hitting one 50 yards.

On a wet turf in the Georgia Tech game, Barnard posted one of his best efforts of the season as he punted 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 43 punts this year, nine have been downed inside the 20 (three inside the 10) and 12 (28 percent) 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.

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.

Ground Turtle

In the past eight games, Maryland has been virtually unstoppable running with the football. The Terps originally got a shot in the arm out of the play of senior Chris Downs and true freshman Josh Allen and, of late, have gotten an added boost from the return of junior Bruce Perry.

The Terrapin rushing attack has been outstanding since the Florida State game and has helped lead the offense to an average of 40.3 points per 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 203.0 yards per game which moves them to 25th nationally and third in the conference.

Since the Florida State game, the Terps have averaged 242.4 rushing yards per game and have had a back go over 100 yards five 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 27 of his last 31 field goal attempts, with three of the misses coming from further than 50 yards.

Against NC State, Novak broke his own record for PATs in a season with his 43rd (he now has 46). He is now also one field goal shy of tying the school record of 17 set by three players (most recently Dan Plocki in 1988).

Novak made the second game-winning kick of his career in the NC State game, a clutch 26-yarder with 34 seconds left to complete Maryland's comeback from a 14-point deficit.

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 five of eight for his career from 50 yards or further (and 4-of-5 this season).

The sophomore has made 12 straight field goals of 50 yards or less (his lone miss in his last 14 came from 57 yards).

With 1.45 field goals per game, Novak now ranks second in the ACC and 14th 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:

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 and Notre Dame -- although unranked at the start of the season -- is currently ranked eighth 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 had another outstanding game, notching six tackles (three solo), two TFLs and three QB hurries while batting down a pair of passes.

In the NC State game, Starks came up big, recording nine tackles, one tackle for loss, two pass breakups and four QB hurries while earning ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.

The knocked-down passes by Starks were among the biggest defensive plays of the game against NCSU. The first came on a 4th-and-4 play from the Maryland 35-yard line with the score tied at 21. Maryland took over on downs. The second came on a Philip Rivers' pass on a 3rd-and-7 situation with 3:41 remaining in game and the score tied 21-21. NC State was forced to punt.

Against West Virginia, Starks had what was then his best career game, notching 12 tackles (nine solo) and three sacks (minus 15).

Through 11 games this year, Starks has posted some eye-popping numbers for an interior defensive lineman. He is third on the team in tackles with 74, second in TFLs (10.0) and second in sacks (5.0).

Starks' tackle total is tops in the ACC among defensive tackles (second among defensive linemen overall).

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

This season, sophomore Steve Suter has brought an excitement to the return game the likes of which have never been seen at Maryland.

Last week at Clemson, Suter was again a major contributor, accounting for 137 all-purpose yards, including a 46-yard kickoff return.

Suter had a record-breaking day against UNC, returning four punts for 92 yards. In the process, he returned his fourth of the year for a touchdown (77 yards), tying the current NCAA Division I-A record for punt return TDs in a season. (Note: Heading into the game, UNC had allowed an ACC-low 3.6 yards per return.)

In addition, the Carroll County native has now totaled 639 yards worth of punt returns, most ever in a single-season in ACC history. Against UNC, he surpassed the record of 515 set by Georgia Tech's Kelley Rhino last year (Rhino set the record on 48 attempts; Suter did so on 39).

As a team this season, Maryland has had 12 touchdowns go for 60 yards or more. Half have been by Suter.

In the NC State game, Suter did it again, coming up with two of the biggest offensive plays of the game. He got the Terps on the board in the second quarter with a 64-yard TD run (first of his career) on an end around. Later in the game, he caught a 36-yard pass late in the fourth quarter to set up Nick Novak's game winning field goal.

Against Duke, Suter returned six punts for 104 yards including a 63-yarder for a touchdown.

In the WVU game, Suter put the capper on a 28-point opening quarter for Maryland with an 80-yard punt return for a TD, his second of the 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).

Suter's first career TD was an 81-yard punt return which gave the Terps a 21-7 lead at the start of the second quarter against Akron. It was the first by a Terp since Lewis went 66 yards versus NC State in 1995.

Suter enters this week ranked 22nd in the nation and tops in the ACC in punt returns (13.6 ypr) while ranking 10th nationally in kick returns (27.6 ypr), also an ACC-best.

Newcomer Invasion

The Terrapins have had a significant number of newcomers contribute already this season, including several freshmen who have played significant roles.

With two regular season games left, a total of 23 players have seen action for the first time as Terps (four juniors, three sophomores, nine redshirt freshmen and eight true freshmen).

The eight true freshmen seeing action are three more than the Terps had play last year.

Local Ties

The Terrapins have four players who call the state of Virginia home. Starters Curome Cox (Arlington) and Nick Novak (Charlottesville) are joined by Derrick Fenner (Hampton) and Maurice Shanks (Hampton) as natives of the state.

Maryland's coaching ties to Virginia include offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe, who was an assistant at UVa from 1976-80, and offensive line coach Tom Brattan who was the head coach in the late '80's at Highland Springs and Lloyd C. Bird High School in Virginia.

The Cavaliers have just one player from the Old-Line State as freshman OL Ron Darden is a native of Pasadena (Glen Burnie HS).

Cavalier coaches with Maryland ties include assistant head coach/LB coach Dan Rocco (Maryland OLB coach, '98-99) and running backs coach Kevin Ross (son of Bobby Ross; former assistant coach at Bowie High School; graduate of High Point HS in Beltsville).

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.

This week, the football Terps are ranked 18th nationally while the Maryland hoopsters are ranked 15th in the preseason polls.

Scouting The Cavaliers

Virginia has been a streaky team this year and right now, it is back on the positive side and looking to secure a New Year's Day bowl game. The Cavaliers are 7-4 overall and at 5-2 in the ACC, they stand just one spot behind the Terps in the league standings.

The 'Hoos started the season as a young, talented team that was going through some growing pains, but doing so with talented players. After an 0-2 start, UVa ran off six straight wins, however, showing that it was a team to contend with in 2002. After losing two-in-a-row heading into last week, Virginia again bounced back and handed NC State a 14-9 loss, setting up this week's important game versus the Terps.

Virginia's strength this year has been in the passing department as it has the ACC's third-best passing offense at 244.5 yards per game. Junior signal-caller Matt Schaub has been the team's offensive leader, completing 69 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,502 yards, 23 TDs and just six interceptions.

Wideout Billy McMullen is the ACC's third-leading receiver with 57 receptions and 780 yards.

Some of UVa's offensive successes have come out of necessity as the defense is giving up an average of 435.8 yards per game. The 'Hoos have particularly struggled against the run, allowing 206.4 yards per game, a total which ranks 107th in the NCAA (out of 117 Division I-A teams).

Virginia's Al Groh

Al Groh is in his second year as head coach at the University of Virginia and heads into this weekend's game with a 12-11 record in his tenure. Groh, a 1967 graduate of the school, came to Charlottesville from the New York Jets where he served as head coach in 2000.

Groh took over the helm of the Cavalier program after long-time head coach George Welsh stepped down. Welsh is the winningest coach in the history of the program, compiling a 189-131-4 record.

Prior to his appointment at Virginia, Groh had served 12 consecutive years as a coach in the NFL with stops coming in New York (Giants, 1989-91; Jets 1997-2000), Cleveland (1992) and New England (1993-96). In his lone season at the pro level as a head coach, he helped lead the Jets to a 9-7 record.

Groh was named head coach of the Jets after the retirement of Bill Parcells at the end of the 1999 season.

After getting his collegiate coaching start at Virginia, Groh ended up with his first head job at another ACC school, Wake Forest, where he served from 1981-86.

A native of Mineola, N.Y., Groh is a '67 graduate of Virginia and earned letters in football and lacrosse.

Byrd Stadium

Now in its 53rd 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 million, 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 the Georgia Tech game, the Terrapins are 167-100-1 within the friendly confines of Byrd (normal capacity 48,055).

With temporary bleachers installed for the remainder of this season, Byrd Stadium can hold up to 50,861.

Last season, Maryland went 7-0 at Byrd, notching the best record at home in any season in school history. The Terps are currently 12-1 under Ralph Friedgen at home.

Terp Alley

In an effort to restore some tradition on gameday in College Park, the football staff created Terp Alley last year, a tradition that has become a part of the gameday experience outside of Byrd Stadium.

For every football home game, the entire football team makes its first appearance of the day at "Terp Alley." The team is 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 is led past fans gathered along the street to the football complex by the Maryland band and cheerleaders.

New-Look Terps ... Again

The 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.

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?").

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.

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.

2001: A Look Back

The 2001 season was an amazing one for the Maryland football team. It was a season that saw the Terps catch the eye of the ACC before drawing the attention of the nation. The following are some of the more notable accomplishments of the 2001 team and their efforts to return Maryland to national prominence.

The '01 Terrapins gave the school its first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1985. The team won 10 games, marking the first time since 1976 that a Terp squad had hit that mark.

Maryland's' seven ACC wins were the most in school history. The seven wins matched the combined total of the previous four Maryland teams and bettered the mark of four other teams (1974, 1983, 1984, 1985) that won six ACC games.

In securing sole possession of the league title, Maryland became the first team other than Florida State to win the ACC outright since the Seminoles joined the conference in 1992 (the Seminoles had either owned or shared the crown every year from 1992-2000).

Last year's team was the first in school history to win seven games at home as the Terps went a perfect 7-0 at Byrd. Under Ralph Friedgen, Maryland is now 12-1 at home.

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