University of Maryland Athletics

Football Game Notes -- Terps vs. Temple

Football Maryland Athletics

Football Game Notes -- Terps vs. Temple

Sept. 6, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

Maryland/Temple Game Notes (PDF Format)
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The University of Maryland football team returns to action in its second non-conference matchup as it will take on Big East Conference foe Temple University on Saturday, September 11, at Byrd Stadium. Kickoff for the game is set for 6:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the Terrapin Radio Network (radio pregame starts at 5:30 p.m.) with a tape delay television broadcast on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. (Comcast SportsNet).

  • The Terrapins opened their 2004 campaign with a win last Saturday, beating 2003 spoiler Northern Illinois, 23-20. The win was just the second to start a season in Ralph Friedgen's successful now three-plus year stint, and -- for the second-straight year -- it ended with a lot of suspense and a little bit of controversy.
  • Leading 23-12 and driving deep into NIU territory with under six minutes left, Terps' QB Joel Statham was blindsided, fumbled and the ball was scooped up and returned for an 85-yard touchdown to cut the lead to three (following a successful two-point conversion). Maryland (1-0, 0-0 ACC) then tried to kill the clock but failed and Northern Illinois moved close to field goal position, but had confusion with the clock and ultimately threw away the game's final pass attempt, and with it, a shot at a second overtime game in two years.
  • Unlike the Terrapins, Temple's season opener did not go down to the wire as the Owls (0-1, 0-0 Big East) fell behind by a large margin early and never recovered in an ultimate 44-14 loss to Virginia in Philadephia.
  • The Terrapins enter this weekend's play ranked No. 23 in the latest Associated Press poll and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll. Temple is not ranked.
  • Maryland's maintaining its Top 25 post marks the first time that the team has opened a season in the Top 25 since 2001 and remained in the rankings after week one.
  • This weekend's game is the second of three non-conference games to start the 2004 season, the first time since 2000 the Terps have opened a campaign without playing an ACC opponent in their first three contests.

    Series Notes -- Terps vs. Owls

  • This year's Maryland-Temple game is the first meeting between the two schools since the 2000 season. The Terrapins own a 4-0 advantage in the series which began in 1997.
  • The Terps and Owls played every season from 1997 to 2000 with all four contests being relatively close. The average margin of victory for the Terrapins is less than a touchdown (6.5 avg.) and the greatest margin of victory was 10 points (30-20 in 1998).
  • The last meeting between the Terps and Owls came in 2000 in the season opener at Byrd Stadium. Expectations were high for Maryland's LaMont Jordan, who was coming off of a school-record 1,632 yards the year previous, but Temple held him in check with 62 yards on 22 carries. Jordan was able to score twice, but it wasn't until Shawn Forte intercepted a pass with just over three minutes remaining that the 17-10 victory was sealed.
  • Temple's Bobby Wallace is 0-3 in three previous games against Maryland (1998-2000), while this year's game is the first as a head coach for Friedgen against Temple.
  • A total of 11 current Maryland players were on the roster the last time these two schools met, none of whom saw action in that game (C.J. Brooks, Jon Condo, Ray Custis, Kevin Eli, Ryan Flynn, Chris Kelley, Lou Lombardo, Nick Novak, Kyle Schmitt, Steve Suter and Curtis Williams).
  • The Terrapins stretch of four games against Temple all came during Ron Vanderlinden's tenure as head coach at Maryland. The Terps were 4-0 against TU in the stretch, 11-29 against all other opponents.
  • Maryland has a 47-43-4 record against current Big East Conference schools and has its last four against Big East opposition (all against West Virginia).

    Quick Hits

  • Maryland turned the ball over four times against NIU, a stat that normally seals the team's fate. Since 2001, the Terps have had four or more turnovers just three times, all losses (two of which were against Florida State). The last time the Terps had four or more turnovers and still won was November 14, 1998, a 42-25 win at Duke when the team turned the ball over five times.
  • In Ralph Friedgen's three-plus seasons, Maryland is 28-0 when leading at halftime.
  • Saturday's win over NIU was the first to open a season since head coach Friedgen's first year in College Park (2001 vs. North Carolina).
  • The Terrapins are now 20-1 at home under Friedgen.
  • Junior defensive end Shawne Merriman led the Terps on the defensive side of the ball against the Huskies, with 10 tackles that included three tackles for loss, and a nine-yard sack.
  • Curtis Williams' second quarter blocked punt last weekend was the fourth of his career. (He has also blocked one career kick to go along with the four punts). Williams' block was the first by a Terp since he blocked a punt last year against Wake Forest, Nov. 29, 2003.
  • Sophomore tight end Vernon Davis hauled in a career-high five receptions for 72 yards, also a career-high.
  • Saturday's attendance was 51,830, the eighth-largest crowd in Byrd Stadium history. The crowd was also the second-largest crowd to see a home opener in Maryland history (largest was 54,715 vs. West Virginia in 1983, the second-largest crowd in school lore).
  • Half of the Terps who started in the season opener were starting for the first time in their careers: Statham, Lombardo, Davis, Bonham, Haigler, Bolston, Holloway, Kershaw, Kelley, Custis, Scott.

    Friedgen's ACCeptional Start

  • Ralph Friedgen has opened his career as a head coach by setting one coaching record after another and as his fourth season in College Park gets under way, he has once again placed his name in several record books for coaching wins.
  • In his three-plus years at Maryland, Friedgen has -- season-by-season -- established himself as one of the top coaches in ACC history. His first season featured an ACC championship and 10 wins, his second had him at the top of the record books for second-year mentors with a 21-5 record, and his third year had him atop the record books of third-year ACC coaches with a 31-8 record. His 31 wins were five more than the list's number-two coaches, Lou Holtz (NC State, 1972-74) and Danny Ford (Clemson, 1979-81).
  • With 31 wins in those first three years, Friedgen ranks seventh on the NCAA's all-time list for third-year head coaches. Along with Miami's Larry Coker (2nd), he is one of two active coaches on the list that features legendary names like Walter Camp (1st), Barry Switzer (4th) and John Robinson (6th).
  • Now with 32 wins, Friedgen already ranks tied for fifth on the ACC list of fourth-year head coaches. With a win against Temple, he will move into a tie for fourth with Holtz (33-12-3 from 1972-75).
  • Friedgen stands four wins from leading all fourth-year ACC coaches in wins. Ford currently sits atop the list with a 35-10-1 record from 1979-82.

    A Wealth of Experience

  • The coaching experience on the Terrapin staff does not end with Coach Friedgen and his coordinators. The Maryland staff, overall, possesses a combined total of 197 years of full-time experience at either the collegiate or pro levels.
  • That total includes four coaches (excluding Friedgen, Taaffe and Blackney) who have been at it for 18 years or more, and the 197 years means an average of almost 20 years of experience per coach on the 2004 staff.

    Coaching Connections

  • Ralph Friedgen is not the only member of the Terrapin coaching staff with previous 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).
  • 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 school -- 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.
  • Friedgen was actually Sollazzo's position coach at The Citadel. In addition, the head coach at the college at the time was former Terp mentor and current Army coach Bobby Ross (Bulldog head coach from 1973-77; Terps from `82-86).

    Raising the Bar

  • With its win over Northern Illinois, Maryland has 32 victories over its last three-plus seasons -- all since Ralph Friedgen took over in 2001.
  • The Terps total of 31 wins from 2001-03 is the hightest three-year win total in school history.
  • Prior to 2003, Maryland's best three-year win total was 28 (accomplished three times). With six more wins this season, the team will surpass the best four-year total in school history, 37 wins (1975-78).
  • Friedgen's tenure has thus far produced no season with less than 10 wins. In the previous 110 years of football, Maryland had never put together three straight nine-win seasons.
  • Since 1892, Maryland has had seven 10-win seasons, three of which have come in the last three years.

    Balance = Success

  • Because of his success at Georgia Tech with players like George Godsey and Joe Hamilton, it was assumed that Friedgen's offensive success came through the air. What three years and one game at Maryland have shown is that the key to the offense run by he and coordinator Charlie Taaffe is based on one premise -- balance.
  • In three-plus years on the job, Taaffe's offense has posted almost identical numbers in the rushing and passing departments. Since 2001, Maryland has averaged 202.5 yards rushing and 211.3 yards passing.
  • As expected in game one of `04, the rushing game carried the offense somewhat as the ground attack outgained the aerial 198-169.
  • In 2001 and 2002, the Terps averaged more yards on the ground than through the sky, but with an experienced quarterback in 2003 (Scott McBrien), Maryland posted its largest discrepancy in three years (191.3 yards per game rushing vs. 230.4 passing).

    Churning It Out

  • Historically, Maryland has had a reputation for producing some top-notch quarterbacks. Names like Esiason, Scarbath, O'Donnell and Reich have done nothing to discourage that. In recent years, however, the schools reputation of producing QBs is rivaled only by its production at tailback.
  • From 2001-2003, Maryland averaged no worse than 191.3 yards per game on the ground and had a three-year average of 202.5 yards per outing and a per-carry average of 4.6 yards.
  • In the 16 years between 1985 and 2000, the Terrapins averaged better than 191 yards per game on the ground just once (1999, 231.4), a season that saw the team's rushing prowess offset by a 143.6 per game passing average that ranked 99th nationally.
  • Following the departure of LaMont Jordan in 2000, the big question was "who would carry the load?" The answer has come in waves -- Bruce Perry, Marc Riley, Chris Downs, and now Josh Allen and Sammy Maldonado.
  • Now in his third year, Allen has rushed for 1,429 yards and 17 TDs. An eight-game starter in 2003, his 257 yards against Virginia marked the 11th-best day in ACC history and seventh-best in Division I-A last season. He currently ranks 17th on the Terp career yardage list and needs just one touchdown to move into the school's all-time top 10 in that category.
  • Allen's first game of 2004 gave him the fourth 100-yard effort of his career as he paced the Terps with 102 yards on 22 carries and one TD.
  • Maldonado showed that his return from a season-ending knee injury a year ago is complete as he rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries against NIU. "The Bull" averaged 6.0 yards per carry in game one, matching his average of 2003.

    Defense Pulls Rank

  • When he was hired to come to Maryland, the talk about the mark Ralph Friedgen would make in College Park was all about offense. And though the offense put together by Friedgen and coordinator Charlie Taaffe has consistently been among the nation's best, what has been unquestionably the team's most consistent force in four seasons has been its defense.
  • Defensive coordinator Gary Blackney's defense has been a unit charactarized by stopping the run and making teams score by moving the ball through the air. With a scoring average of 17.5 points allowed per game since 2001, that feat has obviously been a tall order for Terrapin foes.
  • Maryland's ranking in scoring defense the last three years has gotten progressively better with each season, as the Terps ranked 18th in 2001, seventh in 2002 and sixth a year ago.
  • In each of the previous three seasons' final defensive rankings, Maryland has had just one team -- Georgia -- finish higher in scoring defense.
  • Since 2001, 28 of Maryland's 40 opponents (70%) have been held to 20 points or less.
  • Maryland has yet to see a year under Blackney's watch where opponents average more than 20 points per game.
  • Since 2002, Maryland has held its opposition scoreless in 56 quarters (one thus far in 2004).
  • Maryland finished 2003 ranked 15th nationally in total defense, allowing an average of just 308.4 yards per game. It is one of four categories the team led the Atlantic Coast Conference in from a defensive standpoint (scoring defense, pass efficiency defense and pass defense).
  • Since 2001, Maryland has held its opposition below 100 yards rushing nine times. In addition, the team has held six opponents to 100 yards or less passing in that time, including four teams in 2003.

    Living Up To Their Name

  • After stumbling out of the blocks in their first year, Maryland's special teams have been nothing short of, well, special the last two years under coordinator Ray Rychleski.
  • In placekicker Nick Novak, punter Adam Podlesh and return man Steve Suter, the Terrapins have the ACC's first team all-conference kicker from 2002 and 2003, its second-team punter from 2003 (and the first Terp freshman in history to make All-ACC) and a specialist who has been first team all-league since 2002.
  • The Terps have drawn national attention for their unit in 2004 as they have been ranked in the preseason as one of the best units in the nation by Collegefootballnews.com (1st), Lindy's (1st), ESPN (3rd) and Phil Steele (3rd).

    Young Guns

  • In two of the last three years, Maryland has been faced with opening its season with a quarterback in his first year playing in the offensive system. While this year is different in the sense that Joel Statham and the team's other quarterbacks have all come up in the Friedgen offense, this year's starter will face a new set of challenges as the least experienced the Terps have put on the field in recent years.
  • Maryland's group of five quarterbacks entered this season having thrown 25 career passes between them at the collegiate level (all 25 attempts were by Statham in 2003).
  • The Terrapins have no players at the position older than a sophomore. The group includes two sophomores (Statham, Hollenbach), two redshirt freshmen (Mitch, Moyseenko) and one true freshman (Steffy).
  • With his start in the opener, Statham was the least experienced to take the field in terms of passes thrown at either the college or junior college level since Latrez Harrison started as a freshman against Florida State in 1999.

    Suter on Verge of Record

  • After two years as the ACC's first-team specialist and one of Maryland's top playmakers, Steve Suter is no longer flying under anybody's radar. He is more likely to be flying down the sideline.
  • Now in his final year of eligibility at Maryland, Suter does it all for the Terps. A starting wideout who returns punts and kicks, Suter has also been involved in the running game and is one of the team's few receivers who can play at any spot (X, Z or slot).
  • In the last three years, Suter has averaged 15.4 yards per touch whether it be rushing, receiving or in the returns game.
  • With 61 more punt return yards, Suter will become the ACC's all-time leader in yardage, surpassing the mark of NC State's Ledel George (1,191, 1990-93). Against NIU, he surpassed Georgia Tech's Kelley Rhino and moved into second place.
  • In 2002, Suter tied the NCAA record for punt returns for a touchdown in a season (4). He returned two punts last season for scores, leaving him just two shy of tying the current NCAA career record of eight (Wes Walker, Texas Tech, 2000-03).
  • Suter's six returns for a TD are a Maryland record.
  • In last year's regular-season game against West Virginia, Suter became Maryland's all-time leader in punt return yardage with 922. He enters game two of the 2004 season with 1,130.

    Action Jackson

  • The question surrounding the 2004 Terrapins in the preseason has been virtually all about the quarterback position. It was only a year ago, however, that the same "buzz" was surrounding "who would replace E.J. Henderson" at middle linebacker. Thanks to the play of D'Qwell Jackson, those questions are as good as forgotten.
  • In his first year, Jackson led the team in tackles with 136, one shy of the record for tackles by a sophomore at Maryland. His 10.5 tackles per game average ranked him seventh in the ACC and tops among sophomores.
  • Maybe the fiercest competitor on the Terp roster, Jackson has led the Terrapins in tackles in eight of 14 games the last two years. He has also had nine career games with double-digit tackles.
  • Jackson didn't take long to get warmed up in 2004, recording nine tackles and intercepting two passes against Northern Illinois, both of which led to Terrapin scores.
  • ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit listed Jackson as the number one player in the ACC he would pay to watch. Said Herbstreit: "Jackson's emotion and passion are awesome to watch. He stepped in for the departed E.J. Henderson last year and the Maryland defense did not miss a beat thanks to Jackson's tenacity and the love for the game he displays on every snap. He makes it easier to appreciate all the great players on the defensive side of the ball in the ACC."

    Youth is Served

  • With 22 seniors (12 of whom were starters), last year's Maryland squad was the most experienced in the last four years. One year later, the 2004 edition of the Terps has just three less seniors but it is easily the least experienced in that time.
  • This year's team has the largest group of true freshmen in recent memory (30). All told, there are 38 Terrapins on this year's roster with four years or more of eligibility remaining at the beginning of the season.
  • Leading up to the team's second game, a total of 19 players on the offensive and defensive two-deep are sophomore or younger.

    6 The Hard Way

  • If a team wants to attack Maryland through the air, its best option is not on CB Domonique Foxworth's side of the field. The most experienced member of the Terrapin defense, Foxworth has started every game since the end of 2001 and earned All-ACC recogntion each year he has been a full-time starter.
  • Foxworth is the anchor of a defensive backfield that lost three players (Curome Cox, Dennard Wilson and Madieu Williams) who earned some form of postseason recognition from the league last season. A first-teamer in 2002, he was second team last year after tying for fourth in the league with three interceptions.
  • For his career, Foxworth has posted 24 pass breakups and eight interceptions in his career. He has one pass breakup thus far in his senior season.
  • Currently 20th on the Terp career charts, Foxworth can move into a tie for seventh with two more interceptions.

    Team Speed Improving

  • It has been documented that this year's team is the youngest of the Friedgen Era. Notably, it may also be the most athletic.
  • The Terrapins had 17 players run in the 4.5-or-better range in the 40-yard dash in spring testing (note that all but four true freshmen did not participate).
  • Six of the nine wide receivers who tested in the spring ran 4.51 or better, two tailbacks ran under a 4.5 (Allen and Merrills) and three defensive backs ran a 4.4 or better (Custis, McPhearson, Wilson).
  • Two notable times -- CB Gerrick McPhearson ran a team-best 4.29; P Adam Podlesh ran the best time ever for a punter at Maryland with a 4.46.

    Novak The ACC's Career Leader

  • It seems like ages since placekicker Nick Novak hit a pair of memorable kicks at Georgia Tech that got the ball rolling for him and the Terrapins in 2001. Now a senior, Novak has gone from the focal point of a position of concern on the Terp roster to one of the premier players at his position in the country.
  • Starting with his game-tying kick at Georgia Tech in `01, Novak has made 63 of his last 75 field goal attempts (84%), with five of the 11 misses coming from 50 yards or further (and one being a block).
  • A semifinalist the Lou Groza Award the last two years, Novak is 89 points from breaking the mark of current NCAA record holder for scoring, Houston's Roman Anderson (423, 1988-91). Novak enters this weekend's game with 335 career points.
  • Novak's first field goal of this season, a 43-yarder against Northern Illinois, set a new ACC scoring record, breaking the mark of FSU's Scott Bentley (326).
  • With his game-winning 43-yard field goal in last year's NC State game, Novak became the all-time leading scorer in Maryland history, surpassing the 308 points of Jess Atkinson (1981-84).
  • A first team All-ACC pick in 2002 and 2003, Novak was sixth in the NCAA and first in the ACC with an average of 1.85 field goals per game last year. He is currently second in the NCAA with 3.0 fgpg.
  • Novak has hit the only three game-winning attempts of career, beating Georgia Tech in 2001 and NC State in 2002 and `03.
  • The Charlottesville, Va., native has made 54 percent (7-of-13) of his attempts for his career from 50 yards or further.

    Off On The Right Foot

  • Sophomore Adam Podlesh had a tall order a year ago in filling the shoes of Maryland's all-time leading punter, Brooks Barnard. His performance, however, was more like that of a senior on his way to school records than it was of a first-year performer.
  • Podlesh averaged 42.3 yards per punt a season ago, third-best in the ACC. It was his net punting and, more specifically, his ability to pin an opponent that had him finish the season as a Ray Guy Award semifinalist.
  • On 56 career punts, Podlesh dropped 41 percent (23) inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
  • His 42.3-yard average in 2003 was the fifth-best in school history and best ever by a freshman.
  • In being named a second team All-ACC selection at punter, Podlesh became the first freshman in school history to be recognized by the league.
  • In game one of this season, Podlesh averaged 48.7 yards per kick on three punts, dropping one inside the 20.

    Iron Terps

  • Maryland's strength numbers over the course of the last four years have been off the charts. This season, 43 players earned "Iron Terp" status, an honor that is based on a player's strength index (determined by a strength/weight formula).
  • Due to the team's youth, the strength numbers have fallen slightly compared to last year, but the averages are still staggering nonetheless. The team's average bench press is 341.9; its average squat 514.2; and its average power clean is 296.3 as determined in preseason testing.
  • Not only were new individual records set, but the team as a whole improved dramatically, as 72 percent of the players on this year's team elevated their personal bests in strength index -- which encompasses all of the tests into one number -- from the year previous.
  • The player who set the most records at his position this year was tight end Vernon Davis. The young H-back posted records for strength index (736), bench (425 pounds), power clean (330 pounds) and vertical jump (38 inches) He also posted a 4.5 time in the 40-yard dash.
  • For the second-straight season, FS Ray Custis led the team in overall strength index, posting a 809, the best ever by a Maryland defensive back.

    Local Ties

  • Maryland has 11 players currently on its roster from the state of Pennsylvania (for hometowns, see pg. 60 of this year's media guide). Sophomore guard Dave Quaintance (Archbishop Ryan) is the lone Terp from Philadelphia.
  • Special teams/TEs coach Ray Rychleski was a graduate assistant and ultimately a full-time linebacker coach at Temple from 1981-88.
  • Temple boasts nine players from the "Free State." WR Ikey Chuku (Largo), LB Andrew Coleman (Silver Spring), DB Durrel Davis (Ft. Washington), DL Marcus Elbert (Hyattsville), RB Umar Ferguson (Silver Spring), RB Sammy Leach (Mitchellville), WR Emeka Nwodim (Baltimore), DB Lambert Watts (Suitland) and DE Rodney Wormley (Oxon Hill) all call Maryland home.
  • Temple's defensive line coach Rubin Carter served in the same capacity at Maryland in 1997 and `98.

    Terps Among Nation's Elite

  • Over the course of the past two-plus years, the Maryland football program has been among the best in the nation. The Terrapins are 32-8 in that span with a 20-1 record at home.
  • Maryland was one of just five BCS programs to win at least 10 games from 2001-2003. The four others are Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Texas and Washington State.
  • The Terrapins are joined by just four other schools since 2001 to finish each of those three seasons ranked in the nation's top 20 in both major polls while also earning a spot in the top 25 of both preseason polls for 2004 (Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma and Texas and Michigan are the others).

    Who Are The Owls

  • Temple University opened its 2004 campaign with a 44-14 home loss to a tough Virginia team. This week's Maryland game is the second straight to open the season against an ACC opponent and the second of four against non-conference competition at the start of TU's schedule.
  • After going 1-11 last season, the Owls have now lost eight straight and 15 of their last 17.
  • In their opener, the Owls matched UVa in scoring in the second half (14-14), but unfortunately let the game get out of hand prior to that time as Virginia scored the game's first 30 points to lead 30-0 at halftime.
  • Temple's downfall came primarily on the defensive side of the ball (504 total yards allowed, 286 rushing) and in untimely mistakes (Virginia's first 10 points came off of TU fumbles).
  • One of the bright spots for the Owls last weekend was that it did not commit a single penalty in the game, a first in Big East history.
  • TU's top offensive threat is quarterback Walter Washington, the team's leading returning rusher (758 yards, 6 TDs). In the loss to Virginia, he scored both the team's touchdowns with short runs while passing for 132 yards (11-of-23, 0 TD, 0 int.).
  • The team's top returning tackler is LB Rian "Goo" Wallace (148 TT in 2003). LB Troy Bennett led the team in game one with 14 stops (six solo) and 2.5 TFLs.

    Temples's Bobby Wallace

  • Bobby Wallace is in his seventh season as the head coach at Temple. In his tenure he owns a 17-52 record.
  • Wallace had the Owls headed in the right direction prior to last year, winning eight games the two previous seasons after winning just four in 1998 and 1999 combined. Last season, Temple finished 1-11 and lost its first game to Virginia last week, 44-14.
  • In the collegiate coaching ranks since 1977, Wallace spent the 10 years prior to his 1998 start at TU at Division II North Alabama. In those 10 years, he took the school to the Division II playoffs six times, winning it all in 1993, `94 and `95
  • Wallace held five different assistant positions before his first head coaching job at North Alabama. He served in different posts at Illinois, Mississippi State, Auburn, Wyoming and East Carolina.
  • As notable as any on-field accomplishment of the 51-year old Wallace may be his recruitment of one of the best athletes of the 20th century as he has been credited with bringing Bo Jackson to Auburn in his time there.
  • A native of Magnolia, Arkansas, Wallace earned his degree in physical education from Mississippi State in 1976 after lettering at defensive back for the school from 1973-75.

    Protecting the House

  • The Terrapins are 20-1 at Byrd Stadium under Ralph Friedgen and have won their last 12 straight at home. This year's Oct. 30 opponent, Florida State, is the only team to have won in College Park in the last three years.
  • With Maryland's win over Virginia on Nov. 13, the Terps finished the 2003 season with a perfect 6-0 record at home, marking the second time in Ralph Friedgen's three-year tenure that the team has finished its home slate unblemished.
  • In 111 seasons of football, Maryland has finished undefeated at home 18 times. Just seven of those occasions, however, have come since 1950 (when Byrd Stadium opened) and just twice has it happened since 1975 (`76 and 2001).
  • The Terrapins' 6-0 mark was a tie for the second-best record at home in school history. The 1976 team was also 6-0, only to be trumped by the 2001 team which won all of its games on a seven-game home slate.

    More on Byrd Stadium

  • Now in its 55th year of operation, Byrd Stadium continues to serve as the home of the Terps. Opened on Sept. 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 2004, the Terrapins are 176-100-1 within the friendly confines of Byrd.
  • With temporary bleachers installed again this season, Byrd Stadium can hold up to 51,500.

    A Class Act

  • The success of the Maryland football team has not stopped on the playing field in recent years, as the team has improved its academic standing under Ralph Friedgen's watch.
  • All 19 members of this year's senior class are on schedule to earn their degrees on time.
  • Since Friedgen joined the Terps in 2001, 58 of 66 football players who have exhausted their eligibilty have graduated, including 30 in fewer than five years.
  • Two players on this year's team -- DE Kevin Eli and WR Steve Suter -- have already earned their degrees. One other, CB Domonique Foxworth, needs just one class to complete his requirements in three-and-a-half years.
  • Suter was one of the team's top scholar-athletes, earning a 4.0 grade point average in 2003-04.
  • From the membership has its benefits file: when on the road, Friedgen lets players line up to eat by grade point average. The Terps must be hungry -- 11 players earned a 3.5 GPA or better for the entire 2003-04 academic year.

    It's Not How You Start...

  • The 2003 Terrapins started 0-2 but finished with one of the best records in the ACC and, as it turned out, a league milestone.
  • By finishing 10-2, Maryland became the first team in league history to start 0-2 and finish a season with 10 wins.
  • On only seven other occasions had a team that started 0-2 won eight or more games and three of those times, that team happened to be the Terps (1974, 1982 and 1984).

    Terp Alley

  • In an effort to restore some tradition on gameday in College Park, the football staff created Terp Alley in 2001, a tradition that has become a part of the gameday experience outside 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.

    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.

    Season Ticket Sales Climbing

  • In the last three years, season ticket sales for Maryland football games have have been moving higher and higher.
  • Nearly a week before the season opener, the athletics department announced that it had sold a school-record total of more than 30,000 season tickets.
  • On August 27, the total sold was 30,881, an improvement of over 13,000 tickets from Ralph Friedgen's first season in College Park and almost 16,000 more sold than in 1999.
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