Football 10/9/2006 8:00:00 AM Maryland Athletics

Terps Travel to Virginia on Saturday

Oct. 9, 2006

Terps at Cavaliers Game Notes (PDF Format)

The University of Maryland football team hits the road for the second time in as many weeks and in search of its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory, this week taking on rival Virginia. Kickoff from Harrison Field at Scott Stadium is at 3:34 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the Internet by ESPN360 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 2:00 p.m.

Maryland (3-2, 0-1 ACC) fought valiantly but came up just short of a road win at a ranked conference opponent, losing 27-23 at #18/20 Georgia Tech. The Terrapins held the lead for much of the game and ultimately had a first down at the Tech 7-yard line inside the game's final minute, but were unable to find the end zone for the win.

After seeming to be back on track after an impressive win at Duke two weeks ago, Virginia fell at East Carolina this past Saturday, 31-21. The Cavaliers are 2-4 on the season (1-1 ACC), but hope to benefit from a stretch of three home games following three straight on the road.

Neither team is ranked this week in the Top 25 of either major poll.

Series Notes -- Terps vs. Wahoos

Saturday's game will mark the 71st meeting between the Terrapins and Cavaliers, the most between Maryland and any other school in the Terps' 114-year football history. The two schools have met every season since 1957.

Maryland leads the all-time series -- which began in 1919 -- by a 40-28-2 margin. The series has only recently been made close by Virginia. Prior to 1988, the Terrapins held a 35-15-2 advantage.

In the four meetings between Ralph Friedgen and Al Groh, each coach has been able to hold serve on their home turf. The Terps won in 2001 (41-21), 2003 (27-17) and 2005 (45-33), while the Wahoos were victorious in 2002 (48-13) and 2004 (16-0).

A year ago, Maryland won 45-33 in College Park, outscoring the Wahoos 21-7 in the final quarter. Lance Ball rushed for 163 yards and had two of those fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Terrapins, who led 21-20 at halftime. Sam Hollenbach passed for 320 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as Maryland amassed 570 yards in total offense.

Since 1969, play between the two schools has been -- prior to the last five years -- basically feast or famine for one team. 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 2000, the series has gone almost exclusively to the Cavs as they were 11-2 in that span. As mentioned previously, Maryland has won three of the last five, with each school winning in the years the game has been played at their home field.

On a cold, blustery Thursday night in 2003, Josh Allen ran for 257 yards, the third-best rushing total in school history and the seventh-best in all of Division I-A college football that year as the Terrapins beat UVa, 27-17.

Maryland's win in 2001 broke a string of nine-straight losses to Virginia. In their 41-21 win -- a victory that moved the team to 5-0 on the season in what was then its best start in 23 years -- 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.

The Maryland offensive line has held Virginia to just six sacks in its last seven meetings, with three coming in 2004.

For a recap of last year's game against Virginia, see the Opponent/Series Info page of this release.

Quick Hits -- Week 5

After giving up a touchdown on Georgia Tech's opening drive, the Terrapins answered on the ensuing kickoff with a 100-yard return by CB Josh Wilson. Wilson's return (taken four yards deep in the end zone) was Maryland's first for a TD since 1997 (Lewis Sanders vs. Western Carolina) and tied for the longest in school history.

Maryland has returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown two other times in school history, the last being in 1964 against Navy.

S Marcus Wimbush helped set up the Terps' second touchdown of the day, a 3-yard pass from Sam Hollenbach to Joey Haynos (3rd career), recovering a Calvin Johnson fumble at the Tech 19-yard line and returning it to the 13.

The Terps' second TD of the game came with 10 seconds remaining in the half, a 5-yard completion on third down to Isaiah Williams. The TD was the second in as many games for Williams.

PK Dan Ennis hit a 46-yard field goal with 0:59 remaining in the first half to give the Terrapins a 20-14 lead. The kick was a career long for Ennis, besting his previous best of 45. It was the third time Ennis had three field goals in a game (Navy & Wake Forest last year).

TB Lance Ball became the Terrapins' first 100-yard rusher of the season, finishing with 116 yards on 23 carries (5.0 avg.). It was Ball's fifth career 100-yard game.

Redshirt freshman wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey nearly put the Terps ahead in the game's final minute with his 57-yard catch-and-run, turning a short pass into a long gain that gave Maryland its shot at victory. In the process, "Hey-Bey" turned in his first career 100-yard receiving game (5-for-111), as well as the team's first of the season.

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 seven more wins this season to match the six-year ACC mark of Ford (51-15-2), a tall order with seven games remaining. His win against FIU, however, matched the win total of Clemson's Tommy Bowden (1986-91) and moved him into a tie for sixth on the list of coaches in year six.

A win this weekend would move 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 ran up 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 two road games (at Georgia Tech last week and now at rival Virginia) to open their ACC season. They return to College Park for Homecoming against NC State; host a matchup against perennial power Florida State; then go on the road to Death Valley and Clemson before returning home for its first game against Miami since 1987. The season ends at Boston College and then back home for Wake Forest, a team currently with just one loss.

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 five 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 77-of-129 (60 percent completions) for 851 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions.

Hollenbach's career completion percentage heading into this week's game is 60 percent (291-of-481).

In the West Virginia game, Hollenbach moved into the Terps' career top 10 for yards, surpassing some big names along the way. Now with 3,619 yards, Hollenbach has surpassed the career totals this year of Maryland greats Dick Shiner, Scott Zolak, Shaun Hill and Bob Avellini to move into the No. 9 position.

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 9-7 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.

Five games into this season, the trio has rushed 156 times for 698 yards (4.5 yards per carry) and six 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 392 yards on 83 carries (4.7 avg.). He is fifth in the ACC in rushing and rushed for the fifth 100-yard game of his career last week at Georgia Tech (23 carries, 116

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 (54 att., 257 yards, 1 TD) and his 4.8-yard average is tops on the team.

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 sixth on the school's all-time list for rushing touchdowns and moved into the career top 10 for rushing yards with 1,909, 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.

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 18.9 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 66 opponents (64%) have been held to 20 points or less.

Since 2002, Maryland has held its opposition scoreless in 95 quarters (including eight 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 twice 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 and Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst in week two last year).

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 fourth in the ACC in tackles with 8.0 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.

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 five games this season, Podlesh is averaging 43.9 yards per punt on 18 attempts with nine balls inside the 20-yard line and three fair catches.

Podlesh is ranked 13th nationally in gross punt average this week. His net average of 37.4 is fifth-best in the ACC.

On 178 career punts, Podlesh has dropped 39 percent (69) inside the opponents' 20-yard line and 17 percent (30) 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.

Keeping Players at Home

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 eight years, the Maryland-D.C.-Virginia recruiting area has been tapped with regularity by the Terps. In 1997, just 23 players on the Maryland roster hailed from either Maryland, D.C. or Virginia, with six of those serving as opening-game starters. Since that time, however, numbers in both categories have risen steadily to their current level of more than half the current roster. Below is a look at the trend:

	Md./D.C./Va.	`98	`99	`00	`01	`02	`03	`04	`05	06
	on `06 roster	34	39	46	49	54	56	58	57	55
	Starters*	5	7	12	10	14	10	12	10	13
	*reflects number of starters in the season opener.

The Terrapins' success in the region has been the foundation for the team's success in recent years. Friedgen credits the signing class which included Randy Starks and Domonique Foxworth for starting the trend that included such names as recent NFL Rookie of the Year Shawne Merriman and 2006 No. 6 overall draft pick Vernon Davis.

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.

Local Ties

The Terrapins have four players who call the state of Virginia home. The list: S Jeff Allen (Woodbridge/DeMatha HS); CB Isaiah Gardner (Virginia Beach/Salem HS); CB Richard Taylor (Centreville/Centreville HS); LB Brian Whitmore (Chesapeake/Smith HS).

On the Maryland coaching staff, offensive line coach Tom Brattan coached at a pair of Virginia high schools (Highland Springs and L.C. Bird) before entering the college ranks.

Four Virginia players are natives of the Free State as DB Matt Leemhuis (Bethesda/Churchill HS); RB/S Raynard Horne (Baltimore/Overlea HS); WR Deyon Williams (Upper Marlboro/Suitland HS); WR Theirrien Davis (Bowie/Roosevelt HS) are all from Maryland.

Several Virginia coaches have ties to the Maryland area. Among them: Mike Groh (Baltimore Ravens, 1996); Levern Belin (Maryland defensive line coach, 1999-2000); Anthony Poindexter (Ravens' DB, 1999-2000) and Bob Price (Baltimore Stallions (CFL) assistant, 1994-95).

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 Cavaliers

Virginia enters this week's game with a 2-4 record, 1-1 in the ACC. The Cavaliers have lost three of their last four games.

After struggling to an early 1-3 record (their win was a 13-12 victory over Wyoming), the Wahoos looked to be back on track after tearing through Duke, 37-0, on September 30. Last week, Virginia stumbled at East Carolina, however, falling 31-21 to the Pirates.

This week's game breaks a streak of three consecutive road games for UVa.

The Wahoos have averaged 77.2 rushing yards per game. Jason Snelling has performed well, however, averaging 4.7 yards per carry and leading the team with 323 yards and four TDs.

Three players have suited up at quarterback for UVa this season. Jameel Sewell leads the team in passing, going 51-of-93 for 394 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Though none of Virginia's top eight receivers has posted an average of more than 10 yards per catch, Kevin Ogletree has pulled in 28 passes and averaged 41.5 yards per game. The team's long pass play this season is 34 yards.

Defensively, Virginia has posted some strong numbers in the pass-rush department. The team has posted a league-high 21 sacks and 48 TFLs. Jeffrey Fitzgerald leads the team with an impressive 10.0 tackles for loss (also an ACC high) and 4.5 sacks.

Virginia's Al Groh

Al Groh is in his sixth year as head coach at the University of Virginia and heads into this weekend's game with a 39-30 record there. Groh, a 1967 graduate of the school, came to Charlottesville from the New York Jets where he served as head coach in 2000.

Groh's head coaching record, college and pro combined, is 74-77.

Groh took over 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 led 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.

A Look Back

Maryland has 43 wins in its five-plus seasons under Ralph Friedgen (in Friedgen's first five seasons, the team averaged 8.2 wins per season).

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.

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Players Mentioned

Richard Taylor: Sprints; Sophomore

#29 Jeff Allen: DB; 6' 1"; Junior

#44 Lance Ball: RB; 5' 9"; Senior

#43 Rick Costa: LB; 6' 1"; Junior

#55 Trey Covington: LB; 6' 3"; Junior

#5 Isaiah Gardner: DB; 5' 11"; Senior

#80 Joey Haynos: TE; 6' 8"; Senior

#1 Erin Henderson: LB; 6' 3"; Junior

#8 Darrius Heyward-Bey: WR; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#21 Keon Lattimore: RB; 5' 11"; Senior

#92 Dre Moore: DL; 6' 4"; Senior

#34 Dave Philistin: LB; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Richard Taylor
: Sophomore
: Sprints

#29 Jeff Allen
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DB

#44 Lance Ball
: 5' 9"; Senior
: RB

#43 Rick Costa
: 6' 1"; Junior
: LB

#55 Trey Covington
: 6' 3"; Junior
: LB

#5 Isaiah Gardner
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DB

#80 Joey Haynos
: 6' 8"; Senior
: TE

#1 Erin Henderson
: 6' 3"; Junior
: LB

#8 Darrius Heyward-Bey
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: WR

#21 Keon Lattimore
: 5' 11"; Senior
: RB

#92 Dre Moore
: 6' 4"; Senior
: DL

#34 Dave Philistin
: 6' 2"; Junior
: LB