Dec. 25, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Ralph Friedgen, Maryland's second-year football coach, has wasted no time turning the Terps' football program into a significant player on the national scene since being named head coach at his alma mater 25 months ago.
In just two seasons under his guidance, the Terps have won 20 of 25 games, captured an ACC title, played in a Bowl Championship Series postseason game, and regularly appeared in the nation's two major Top 25 polls.
On Tuesday, the Terps will once again be featured on the national stage when they take on Tennessee of the SEC in the 35th annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
The game, which will be televised nationally on ESPN, will mark the Terps' eighth national television appearance of the season.
As Friedgen and the Terps ready themselves for a second consecutive bowl appearance, here are a few points to ponder on the 2002 Terps:
With this season's 10-3 record, Maryland has now posted back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in school history.
With a victory in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, this year's Terps can match the 1976 team by winning 11 games in a season. The '76 team went 11-1 overall.
For the second consecutive season, Maryland had a school-record number of Terps (eight) named to the All-ACC first team. In Friedgen's first year, seven Terps were named first team All-ACC.
The Terps have lost just one home game during Friedgen's tenure, posting a 13-1 record at Byrd Stadium since he took over as head coach.
Linebacker E.J. Henderson was the recipient of two national postseason awards: the Chuck Bednarik Trophy (nation's outstanding defensive player) and the Dick Butkus Award (nation's outstanding linebacker). They are the first national awards by a Terp football player since Randy White won the Lombardi and Outland awards in the 1970s.
Punt returner Steve Suter tied an NCAA single-season record by returning four punts for touchdowns. Suter earned second team All-America honors from The Sporting News and CNN/SI.com.
Maryland set a school scoring record for the second time under Friedgen. The Terps scored 421 points (32.4 per game) in 2002 after scoring 390 points (35.5 average) in 11 regular season games in 2001.
After starting the season 1-2, with losses to Notre Dame and Florida State, the Terps rebounded by winning eight consecutive games and nine of their last 10.
A school-record 323,758 fans made their way to Byrd Stadium to watch the Terps in 2002.
Seven different players earned some form of All-America recognition: LB E.J. Henderson, P Brooks Barnard, OT Matt Crawford, PK Nick Novak, PR Steve Suter, C Todd Wike, and FS Madieu Williams.
Senior tailback Chris Downs, who entered the season with just four career collegiate carries to his credit, emerged as a quality replacement for the injured Bruce Perry, and earned first team All-ACC honors after rushing for more than 1,100 yards and scoring a team-high 15 touchdowns.
