Oct. 16, 2006
Terps Game Notes (PDF Format)
The University of Maryland hits the second half of its 2006 football schedule with a Homecoming matchup against NC State on Saturday. It marks the first of two straight at home for the Terrapins, as well as the first of three straight key games against Atlantic Division rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game will be televised live on the Lincoln Financial Sports/Raycom Network (WDCA-TV, WJZ-TV, WMDT-DT locally) and broadcast on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network (105.7 FM and 1300 AM Baltimore; 630 AM Washington, D.C.) with radio pregame starting at 10:30 a.m.
Maryland (4-2, 1-1) posted a historic comeback victory at Virginia last Saturday. The Terrapins trailed 20-0 at halftime, but scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to win 28-26, getting a key pass breakup from Josh Wilson on a two-point conversion to preserve the victory.
NC State (3-3, 2-1) had a seesaw battle at home against Wake Forest last Saturday, dropping a 25-23 decision to the resurgent Demon Deacons. The Wolfpack took a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter, but Wake was able to come back to lead 22-14 at the half. The `Pack pulled within two points with 5:06 to play, but the Deacons got an interception with 45 seconds left to seal the win.
Neither Maryland or NC State is ranked this week in the Top 25 of either major poll.
Series Notes -- Terps vs. Wolfpack
Saturday's game marks the 63rd football meeting between the University of Maryland and North Carolina State. The Wolfpack holds a 30-28-4 edge in the series.
Maryland holds a 14-12-2 advantage in games played in College Park, despite suffering a 13-3 loss to the Wolfpack in the last meeting in Byrd Stadium in 2004. The `Pack has won the last two meetings in the series, following that 2004 College Park victory with a 20-14 triumph last year in Raleigh that was the final game of the 2005 regular-season for the Terrapins.
Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen is 3-2 against NC State. He won his first three meetings against the Wolfpack. NC State coach Chuck Amato is 2-4 against Maryland since coming to Raleigh in 2000.
Prior to the current two-game streak by the Wolfpack, Maryland had won four straight against NC State. That streak began in 2000 with a 35-28 double-overtime victory by the Terrapins. Each of those games were close, as the Terps won followed that with a 23-19 win in 2001, a 24-21 triumph in 2002 and a 26-24 victory in 2003. That four-game Maryland winning streak was preceded by a Wolfpack run in the 1990s that saw NC State win eight of nine between 1991 and 1999.
A year ago, NC State scored a 20-14 win over the Terps in Raleigh. Maryland held a 7-3 halftime lead, but Toney Baker scored on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter to give the Wolfpack the lead for good. It started a string of 17 unanswered points that included a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marcus Hudson. Down 20-7, Maryland got life on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Sam Hollenbach to Vernon Davis with 4:21 left, but could not get the equalizer. Davis finished with 108 yards on eight catches, and Hollenbach had 235 yards on a 20-for-35 passing day.
The longest winning streaks in the series saw NC State capture eight straight between 1963 and 1970, while the Terps won six straight between 1980 and 1985.
Maryland and NC State have met in football every year since 1956.
The Wolfpack won the first-ever meeting between the schools, a 33-0 victory in Raleigh in 1909.
Quick Hits -- Week 6
Maryland trailed 20-0 at halftime last Saturday in Charlottesville before one of the best comebacks in Terrapin history.
The Terrapins took advantage of a fumbled punt deep in Cavalier territory when TB Lance Ball put Maryland on the scoreboard with a 1-yard run with 8:43 to play. It was the start of a 28-point run for the Terps that pushed them into the lead. QB Sam Hollenbach scored on a 3-yard run, TB Keon Lattimore scampered 56 yards for a touchdown and LB Erin Henderson followed with a 45-yard interception return for a TD that gave Maryland a 28-20 lead with 8:00 left.
Virginia came back with a 44-yard scoring pass from Jameel Sewell to Kevin Ogletree, the second of the day for that pairing, with 2:37 left. But CB Josh Wilson knocked down the two-point conversion attempt as Sewell tried again to find Ogletree, to preserve the Terrapin victory.
The 56-yard run by Lattimore was the longest play of the season by Maryland and marked the first time the Terps had a scoring run of 50 or more yards since Bruce Perry went 80 yards at Wake Forest in 2003. Lattimore finished with 114 yards on 15 carries for his first career 100-yard rushing game. Lattimore gained all his 114 yards in the final three quarters, not getting a carry in the opening period. He also had 3 catches for 37 yards. Lattimore was named ACC Offensive Back of the Week for his effort.
Henderson's 45-yard interception return for a touchdown was the first by a Maryland player since Dominique Foxworth went 44 yards with a pick to score at Eastern Michigan on 9/27/2003.
LB Wesley Jefferson tied a career-high with 12 tackles to lead the Maryland defense. It was the third time in six games the junior has led Maryland on the tackle chart and his second double-figure game of the season.
It was Maryland's first football win in Charlottesville since 1990.
OF COMEBACKS
Maryland's 20-point comeback at Virginia created a scramble through the record books to find the following nuggets:
Head coach Ralph Friedgen was the offensive coordinator on 11/10/1984 when Maryland recovered from a 31-0 halftime deficit at Miami to score a 42-40 triumph.
The last time Maryland came from 20 points down to win a game was on 11/20/1993 at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons scored the first 23 points of the game before Maryland rallied to take a 33-32 victory.
Before Saturday's win at Virginia, Maryland had earned two 14-point comebacks during Friedgen's tenure as head coach. Maryland trailed 21-7 at Wake Forest on 11/29/2003 before winning 41-28. Also, the Terrapins trailed 21-7 against NC State on 11/9/2003 before rallying for a 24-21 victory.
Terps Own Nation's Longest Streak
In special teams coach Ray Rychleski's six years, Maryland has had two punters (Brooks Barnard and Adam Podlesh), two long snappers (Jon Condo and Andrew Schmitt) and zero blocked punts.
The Terrapins' streak of games without a blocked punt goes back 78 games, now the longest streak in college football.
The Terps have not had one blocked since November 13, 1999 (Florida State). That amount of time became the longest in NCAA football two weeks ago when Georgia, which last had one blocked earlier in the 1999 season, had a punt blocked by Ole Miss.
Turning The Tables
While the Terrapins are not yielding blocked punts, they are doing their best not to return the favor to their opposition.
In the last two years, the Terps have blocked four punts. They opened this season with a Josh Wilson block against William & Mary.
Select Company
Ralph Friedgen's 41 wins in his first five years as a head coach ranked tied for second in Atlantic Coast Conference history among coaches in their first five years. Three games into the 2006 season, Friedgen is already working his way up the charts for sixth-year ACC coaches.
Though he was the top second-, third- and fourth-year coach in ACC history by wins, Friedgen's win total after last season fell short of the mark of 44 wins set by Clemson's Danny Ford from 1979-83. That mark, however, tied him for second with former Terrapin great Jerry Claiborne (1972-76) on the list of fifth-year mentors.
Friedgen will need six more wins this season to match the six-year ACC mark of Ford (51-15-2), a tall order with six games remaining.
Last weekend's win moved Friedgen into a tie for fifth with former Georgia Tech coach and good friend George O'Leary (1995-2000, 45-28-0).
New Old Faces
The loss of two experienced coordinators this past season left what would seem to have been a gap in experience on the Terrapin coaching staff. With Friedgen taking over at offensive coordinator and Chris Cosh on the defensive side, Maryland is far from green, however.
The Maryland staff (head coach and full-time assistants), overall, possesses a combined total of 202 years of full-time experience at either the collegiate or pro levels.
That total includes seven coaches (Friedgen, Cosh, Brattan, Rychleski, Seamonson, Sollazzo and Zacharias) who have been at it for 20 years or more, and the 202 years means an average of over 20 years of experience per coach on the 2006 staff.
Only quarterbacks coach John Donovan (four years) has less than 10 years as a full-time assistant coach. Donovan's time around football is not quite so brief, however, as he spent four years at Georgia Tech as Friedgen's graduate assistant and four years with the Terps as an assistant recruiting coordinator.
Back in the Saddle
This season will be Ralph Friedgen's first coordinating the Maryland offense while also serving as head coach. Prior to this year, Friedgen had not called offensive plays since leaving Georgia Tech in 2000.
In his last stint in college as a coordinator (1998-2000), Friedgen guided a Georgia Tech offense unit that averaged 36.7 points and 444 yards of total offense per game. During that span, the Yellow Jackets posted a record of 27-8 (.771)
This run is Friedgen's second coordinating the Maryland offense as he served in the same role under head coach Bobby Ross from 1982-86. In his time with Ross at Maryland, Friedgen helped lead the Terps to three ACC Championships and was instrumental in the development of quarterbacks Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich and Stan Gelbaugh.
Tough Road
The Terrapins road back to a bowl game will be a challenging one as its schedule is one of the toughest in the nation this season. An initial look shows that the Terps play (or have played) just four teams ranked in this week's Top 25, but a second look proves that the midseason stretch will be among the toughest in the nation.
Maryland has eight 2005 bowl teams on the its `06 slate.
Now finished with their non-conference slate, the Terps are in the midst of eight straight games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. Returning 1-1 from two road trips, Maryland is back to Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium for home games with NC State (Homecoming) and Florida State. Maryland then finishes a three-game stretch with Atlantic Division foes on 11/4 at Clemson before coming home to face Miami. The Terps finish the season at Boston College and at home against Wake Forest.
In his online column in the preseason, ESPN.com's Bruce Feldman ranked the Terps schedule as the 10th-toughest in college football this season.
Sam I Am
For just the second time in the last six years, Maryland has started a season with a returning starter at the quarterback position. And though the success Sam Hollenbach (pronounced HALL-en-bock) had a year ago is not that of Scott McBrien (the last QB to return as starter) in 2003, his experience and knowledge of Friedgen's offense suggests that he he is the man to lead the Terp offense this season.
Through 6 games this season, Hollenbach has yet to have a breakout performance but has more cut down on the mistakes that plagued him a year ago. In 2006, he is 94-for-157 (59.9 completion percentage) for 1,022 yards with 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
Hollenbach's career completion percentage heading into this week's game is 60.6 percent (308-for-508).
In the West Virginia game, Hollenbach moved into the Terps' career top 10 for yards, surpassing some big names along the way. Now with 3,790 yards, Hollenbach is 7th on the career passing yards list, having moved past John Kaleo (1991-92) and Stan Gelbaugh (1981-85) last week at Virginia.
Hollenbach is the only returning ACC quarterback to rank in the top five in pass efficiency, total offense and passing yardage last year. The lone QB who achieved that feat along with him was the now-departed Charlie Whitehurst of Clemson.
Entering this week, Hollenbach is 10-7 in his career as a starter.
Terple Threat
Heading into last season, Maryland was -- for the first time since 2001 -- in search of a tailback. Mario Merrills, Lance Ball, Keon Lattimore and J.P. Humber were all vying for the job and midway through last season, no single back had been named the every day starter. A year later, the Terrapins are as deep and talented at tailback as any team in the ACC and the only issue at hand is splitting up the carries.
This year, the team has made regular use of Ball, and Lattimore while also mixing in veteran Josh Allen.
Six games into the season, the trio has rushed 184 times for 891 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Still only a junior, Ball established himself as one of the league's top backs a year ago, rushing for 903 yards despite starting only four games. He rushed over 100 yards four times in the team's last seven games and was ultimately named second team All-ACC.
Ball currently leads the team in rushing with 468 yards on 95 carries (4.9 per carry). He is 4th in the ACC in rushing and rushed for the fifth 100-yard game of his career at Georgia Tech (23 carries, 116 yards).
Junior Keon Lattimore missed spring recovering from a shoulder injury, but has returned and looks like a different player this season. He is second on the team in rushing (69 carries, 371 yards) and his 5.4 yards per carry leads the team. Lattimore, now 9th in the ACC in rushing (61.8 ypg), had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career last Saturday at Virginia.
Now completely healed from an injury suffered in the final game of 2004, Josh Allen returns to give the Terps yet another threat. Allen enters this week ranked 6th on the school's all-time list for rushing touchdowns and moved into the career top 10 for rushing yards with 1,912, ahead of legend Ed Modzelewski (1949-51).
Receivers Coming Along
In Vernon Davis, Danny Melendez, Jo Jo Walker and Derrick Fenner, Maryland lost 76 percent (160 of 210) of its receptions due to graduation or the NFL draft. It is not a mystery that players will have to step up in their absence.
The Maryland two-deep returned just one senior (Drew Weatherly) and no other players with the exception of special teams guru Greg Powell with any more experienced than a sophomore. What the team does have that it did not have even last year in its talented trio of wideouts is an abundance of physical talent.
The average height and weight of this year's top five receivers is 6-2, 203. In that group, the average time in the 40-yard dash in spring drills was 4.46 with Darrius Heyward-Bey and Isaiah Williams each sub-4.4.
Through five games, Maryland's top three wide receivers are all second-year players (Oquendo, Williams and Heyward-Bey). The only non-receiver to sneak into the top four is another first-year starter, TE Joey Haynos.
Heyward-Bey had an outstanding game at Georgia Tech, often getting yards where there seemingly were none. He finished the day with five receptions for 111 yards, the first 100-yard effort of his young career and first of the season for the Terrapins.
In game three (at West Virginia), the trio of Heyward-Bey, Williams and Oquendo accounted for eight more receptions (12) than they had in their collective careers prior to this year. Heyward-Bey and Williams each posted then career highs in receptions and yards and Williams caught his first career touchdown, a 35-yarder.
Against Virginia, Sam Hollenbach found 8 different receivers. Heyward-Bey led the team with 5 catches against the Davs and has now taken over the team lead in receptions with 20 and receiving yards with 253. The redshirt freshman has also cracked the top-10 list among ACC receivers with an average of 3.33 per game. That stat is all the more impressive since 19 of his 20 catches have come in the last four outings.
Noting the Terp Defense
When he was hired to come to Maryland, the talk about the mark Ralph Friedgen would make in College Park was all about offense. For the majority of his tenure, however, the most consistent Terp unit has been the defense.
Since 2001, the Maryland defense has allowed an average of 19.3 points per game. The 2005 campaign was the team's first in that time finishing a season with a scoring average above 20.0.
Last year's defensive scoring average of 25.0 points per game was somewhat deceiving. The Terrapins gave up 42 points without the defense even being on the field (four interception returns, one punt return and one fumble return). Factor that in and the team averaged 21.1 points allowed per game, which would have ranked 26th-best in the nation as opposed to 55th.
Since 2001, 42 of Maryland's 67 opponents (63%) have been held to 20 points or less.
Since 2002, Maryland has held its opposition scoreless in 96 quarters (including 9 in 2006).
Maryland has held nine opponents to 100 yards or less passing since 2001 (one in 2006).
Since `01, Maryland has held its opposition below 100 yards rushing 16 times. The Terps have accomplished the feat twice in `06 (William & Mary and FIU).
Just 3 times since game two of 2003 has a quarterback been able to pass for more than one touchdown against the Terrapins (Virginia Tech's Bryan Randall in 2004, Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst in 2005 and Virginia's Jameel Sewell in 2006).
Turnover Low in `06 and `07
Maryland had just 15 seniors on its roster last season, with two of those seniors -- OT Stephon Heyer and TB Josh Allen -- back in uniform this year after redshirting due to injury.
Only seven of those 15 seniors from last year were listed as starters (three offense, four defense).
Just four players from the entire defensive two-deep from last year were lost to graduation.
This season's team has a total of just 13 seniors.
LB Unit Home of the Hardware
Three of the last five years, the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year has been a Maryland linebacker. This season the Terps have had to replace last year's honoree after losing eventual NFL second-round pick D'Qwell Jackson (currently the Browns' third-leading tackler), so it may come as a shock that Maryland's linebacking corps may be better this season.
Focus this year has been on junior Wesley Jefferson as he is filling the spot where E.J. Henderson (2001 and 2002) and Jackson (2005) earned their hardware while also garnering national award attention at season's end. Jefferson -- who is currently 2nd in the ACC in tackles with 8.7 per game -- has a deeper and possibly more talented surrounding cast than either All-American was afforded.
In game one of 2006, the Terps got eight players in at their four linebacker positions with four of the team's top five tacklers being linebackers. Between Jefferson, Dave Philistin, Erin Henderson and Trey Covington, 28 tackles, three TFLs and two sacks were accounted for.
LBs have led the Terps in tackles in 5 of the 6 games (CB Isaiah Gardner had a team-high 8 vs. Middle Tennessee). Jefferson has led the Terps 3 games in games (W&M, FIU, UVa), while senior David Holloway topped the tackle chart against West Virginia and Georgia Tech.
Jefferson leads the Terps in tackles (52), tackles for loss (6.5) and is tied with DL Dre Moore in sacks with 2.5.
Jefferson (W&M, UVa), Holloway (GT) and Henderson (10 last week at Virginia) have posted games in double figures this season.
Turtles in Name Only
The last two years, Maryland has seen an increased level of speed and athleticism among its players as the players on this years team have shown in offseason testing. (Last season was the first year that there were no remaining players from the previous regime's recruiting efforts).
The Terrapins had 14 players run in the 4.5-or-better range in the 40-yard dash in spring testing (note that all times are an average of six stopwatches on the same sprint).
Four of the 11 wide receivers who tested in the spring ran 4.44 or faster and six defensive backs ran under a 4.5.
Some notable times from players other than wideouts and corners who ran well include linebacker Dave Philistin (4.55), quarterback Josh Portis (4.53) and punter Adam Podlesh (4.44).
•One other notable time, though it has as much to do with weight as it does speed, was the 4.83 time of 312-pound defensive tackle Dre Moore.
Podlesh Moving Up the Charts
Adam Podlesh is rated by NFL scouts as one of the top senior punting prospects this season. He has earned that distinction with as complete a resume as a punter can possess -- gross average, net average, directional punting and consistency -- and he has done it throughout his career at Maryland.
In 6 games this season, Podlesh is averaging 44.0 yards per punt on 24 attempts with 11 balls inside the 20-yard line and 5 fair catches.
Podlesh is ranked 12th nationally in gross punt average this week. His net average of 37.2 is 5th-best in the ACC.
On 184 career punts, Podlesh has dropped 39 percent (71) inside the opponents' 20-yard line and 17 percent (31) inside the opposition's 10.
Podlesh has earned second-team All-ACC honors in each of his three years at Maryland. In each of those seasons, he was ranked just behind last year's Ray Guy Award winner Ryan Plackemeier of Wake Forest.
In being named the second team All-ACC punter in 2003, Podlesh became the first freshman in school history to be recognized by the league.
Heading into 2006, Podlesh's career average was ninth-best in ACC history and just a half-yard shy of Brooks Barnard's school record of 43.7.
Iron Terps
Maryland's strength numbers over the course of the last six years have been off the charts. This season, 22 players earned "Iron Terp" status, an honor that is based on a player's strength index (determined by a strength/weight formula).
Team averages (in categories used to measure index) this season include an average bench press of 338 pounds; an average squat of 489 pounds; an average clean of 294 pounds; and an average vertical jump of 33-1/2 inches.
Not only were new individual records set, but the team as a whole improved dramatically, as 78 percent of the players on this year's team elevated their personal bests in strength index.
Nine different all-time records were set for players at their given position. Among those records were the 40-yard dash time of punter Adam Podlesh (4.44), the vertical jump of linebacker Rick Costa (42 inches) and the bench press of quarterback Jordan Steffy (355).
Arguably the most amazing record set was by offensive tackle Jared Gaither. At 6-9 and 350 pounds, Gaither posted a 36-inch vertical jump.
ACC Football Power
Now in its second year as a 12-team conference with a championship game, the Atlantic Coast Conference is widely recognized as one of the premier conferences in college athletics.
Last season, eight ACC teams earned bowl bids.
The conference's schools have posted a 21-12 mark in postseason play in the last five years, best among all Division I-A conferences in that span.
With 10 of its 12 teams in the Sagarin ratings final top 45 last season, the ACC was ranked second among all conferences in the final Sagarin poll in 2005. Three of its schools were rated by Sagarin to have among the toughest 20 schedules in the country (UNC, 5th; Maryland, 10th; Georgia Tech, 16th).
Scouting the Wolfpack
NC State enters this week's game with a 3-3 mark overall and a 2-1 record in the ACC. The Wolfpack sits in a three-way tie for second place in the Atlantic Division, a half-game behind Clemson, which is 3-1.
The `Pack has won two of its last three games, with last week's 25-23 loss to Wake Forest the lone blemish in that stretch.
Close games have been key for NC State this season, as four of the six have been decided by four points or less - including each of the last three.
Five of NC State's opening six games have been at home. The `Pack now enters a stretch of four road games over their next five outings.
NC State's pass defense ranks 3rd in the ACC, as it allows 172.7 yards per game through the air. Senior MLB Pat Lowery is the leading tackler with 50 stops.
Sophomore RB Andre Brown leads the Pack with 444 yards on the ground, averaging an impressive 6.3 yards per carry.
Sophomore QB Daniel Evans has played well in his starts and leaeds the team with 666 yards through the air. He has thrown 5 TDs and only 3 picks in 101 passes.
Junior TE Anthony Hill is the leading receiver with 17 catches for 180 yards. Six different NC State receivers have double figures in catches.
A Look Back
Maryland has 45 wins in its five-plus seasons under Ralph Friedgen (in Friedgen's first 5 seasons, the team averaged 8.2 wins per year).
The Terps' total of 36 wins from 2001-04 was the second-highest four-year win total in school history. Maryland's top effort was 37 wins under Jerry Claiborne from 1975-78.
In the 108 years of football prior to Friedgen's arrival, Maryland had never put together three straight nine-win seasons. The Terrapins won 10 games in each of Friedgen's first three seasons (2001-2003).
Since 1892, Maryland has had seven 10-win seasons, three of which have come in Friedgen's five-plus years.
Protecting the House
Despite a sub-.500 record in 2005, the Terrapins are 27-7 at Byrd Stadium under Ralph Friedgen. The Terps are 3-0 at home this season.
The Terps finished the 2003 season with a perfect 6-0 record at home, marking the second time in three years the team finished its home slate unblemished.
In 113 previous seasons of football, Maryland has finished undefeated at home 19 times. Just eight of those occasions, however, have come since 1950 (when Byrd Stadium opened) and just three times has it happened since 1975 (`76, 2001 and `03).
The Terrapins' 6-0 mark in 2003 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 Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium
Now in its 57th year of operation, Chevy Chase Bank Field at 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.
The Terrapins are 182-104-1 within the friendly confines of Byrd.
With temporary bleachers installed again this season, Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium can hold up to 51,500.
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.
Dinner with the Turtles
Most Maryland football games are replayed on Comcast SportsNet every Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. Fans can also tune in at 7:00 p.m. Sundays and catch the Ralph Friedgen Show.
Three times this season, the date and time will change for the show and replay -- William & Mary (Monday, 9/4, 7:00 p.m.); NC State (Tuesday, 10/24, 7:00 p.m.); and Miami (Tuesday, 11/14, 7:00 p.m.).
Fans can also see game highlights by tuning in to FridgeTV on the UMTerps.com website every week.
