Terps Announce 2003 Football Schedule
1/17/2003 7:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 17, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Ralph Friedgen's third football season as head coach at the University of Maryland will feature a 12-game regular season schedule, highlighted by seven games against teams which played in bowl games and a pair of prime time Thursday night ACC matchups on ESPN.
The Terps, who are 21-5 in Friedgen's two seasons as head coach, are coming off a school record-tying 11-win season which culminated with a 30-3 win over Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Maryland will be aiming to appear in a third consecutive bowl game for the first time since playing in four straight from 1982-85. The Terps played in the FedEx Orange Bowl in Friedgen's first season as the Terps' head coach.
Maryland, which returns 18 starters and 57 lettermen from last year's 11-3 squad, will be featured twice in special Thursday night matchups on ESPN - Oct. 23 at Georgia Tech and Nov. 13 vs. Virginia in Byrd Stadium.
The Terps open the 2003 campaign Aug. 30 in a non-conference matchup at Northern Illinois. The Huskies are coming off an 8-4 season which included a win over Wake Forest and three-point losses to bowl teams Wisconsin and Toledo. NIU will also host Iowa State of the Big 12 in '03.
Other non-conference matchups include home dates vs. Citadel (Sept. 13) and Big East foe West Virginia (Sept. 20) and a road game vs. Eastern Michigan (Sept. 27). West Virginia went 9-4 this past season and finished runner-up to Miami in the Big East.
Maryland's four-game ACC home slate features contests with Clemson, Duke, and North Carolina in addition to UVa. The Terps will face ACC foes Florida State, NC State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest on the road.
Maryland's 2003 schedule includes games against seven teams which played in bowl games this past season: West Virginia, NC State, Virginia, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest. Four teams - NC State (No. 12), Florida State (No. 21), Virginia (No. 22) and West Virginia (No. 25) - all were ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the 2002 season.
2003 University of Maryland Football Schedule Day Date Opponent Site Sat Aug. 30 at Northern Illinois DeKalb, Ill. Sat Sept. 6 at Florida State* Tallahassee, Fla. Sat Sept. 13 THE CITADEL College Park, Md. Sat Sept. 20 WEST VIRGINIA College Park, Md. Sat Sept. 27 at Eastern Michigan Ypsilanti, Mich. Sat Oct. 4 CLEMSON* College Park, Md. Sat Oct. 11 DUKE* College Park, Md. Thu Oct. 23 at Georgia Tech* (ESPN) Atlanta, Ga. Sat Nov. 1 NORTH CAROLINA* College Park, Md. Thu Nov. 13 VIRGINIA* (ESPN) College Park, Md. Sat Nov. 22 at NC State* Raleigh, N.C. Sat Nov. 29 at Wake Forest* Winston-Salem, N.C. *-indicates ACC game.
