Football Game Notes -- Terps host Blue Raiders

Sept. 4, 2006

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

Terps vs. MT Notes (PDF)
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The University of Maryland football team returns to action at Byrd Stadium this Saturday as it plays host to Sun Belt Conference foe Middle Tennessee. Kickoff from Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium is set for 6:05 p.m., with the game being televised taped delay by Comcast SportsNet 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 4:30 p.m.

Maryland (1-0, 0-0 ACC) opened its 2006 campaign with a 27-14 victory over William & Mary in College Park. The Terrapins performed well early, staking themselves a 24-7 halftime lead, but managed just three points and 49 yards of offense in the second half. Going into the locker room, the Terps held a 261-124 offensive advantage.

Like the Terps, Middle Tennessee managed its offense early and got just enough to get the win in Rick Stockstill's debut as head coach. The Blue Raiders (1-0, 1-0 Sun Belt) got a second-quarter touchdown and converted their PAT, something its opponent Florida International was unable to do in the eventual 7-6 outcome.

Neither the Terrapins nor Blue Raiders are ranked in this week's national polls. Maryland received eight votes in this week's USA Today Coaches' poll.

Series Notes -- Terps vs. Blue Raiders

Saturday's game will be the second-ever meeting between Maryland and Middle Tennessee. The two schools first met in 2000, one year before Ralph Friedgen took the reins of his alma mater's football program.

The last time the Terps and Blue Raiders clashed, Ron Vanderlinden was head coach of Maryland and Andy McCollum was leading the Middle Tennessee program. Vanderlinden had eight games left in his career in College Park at that point while McCollum lasted until last season before being replaced by current head coach Rick Stockstill.

In 2000, the Terrapins got the best career passing game out of eventual basketball national champion Calvin McCall and three touchdown runs from LaMont Jordan in an eventual 45-27 victory. McCall passed for 357 yards in a 21-of-31 day, throwing a pair of touchdowns with just one interception. Jordan rushed for just 88 yards, but had scoring runs of 6, 2 and 1 yards.

The final score does not indicate the struggle Maryland had at times in moving to 2-1 on the 2000 season. The Terps took an early 17-0 lead, but later let the lead dwindle to 24-21 at the 8:31 mark in the third quarter. From that point on, the Terrapins got a McCall TD pass to Guilian Gary and a pair of Jordan runs, eventually salting the game away before a late Middle Tennessee touchdown brought the Blue Raiders to within the final 18-point margin. • For a recap of the last meeting between Middle Tennessee and Maryland, see the Opponent/Series Info page of this release.

Quick Hits -- Week 1

The Terrapins are now 69-43-2 all time in season openers and 4-2 in openers under Friedgen.

Maryland's first touchdown of the day was a two-yard touchdown run by junior Lance Ball, his seventh career rushing touchdown.

The Terps' first touchdown drive was set up by a blocked punt by CB Josh Wilson, the third of the senior's career. Wilson also posted the last block by a Terrapin (last season vs. Boston College, November 19).

Tailback Keon Lattimore scored the Terps' second TD of the day, a one-yard plunge that was the fourth of his career. WR Danny Oquendo caught a 38-yard pass -- the longest reception of his career -- from Sam Hollenbach to convert a 3rd-and-11 and set up the Terps in the red zone.

Maryland got 35 attempts, 202 yards and three touchdowns out of Lattimore, Lance Ball, Josh Allen and J.P. Humber, all of whom were on the field by the 12-minute mark of the second quarter.

Lattimore racked up a career-high 89 yards on 13 carries, an average of 6.8 yards-per-carry. It included a career-high 34-yard burst on the second play of the third quarter.

Hollenbach completed 9-of-15 passes for 153 yards, including a 47-yard toss to Isaiah Williams, which set up the Terps' third touchdown of the day. In the game, Hollenbach moved to 13th on the Terps' all-time passing list with 2,921 yards, surpassing Calvin McCall (1999-2000).

Maryland's first punt did not come until the 7:21 mark of the third quarter. On the game, Ray Guy Award candidate Adam Podlesh punted four times for a 46.2-yard average with three punts inside the 20-yard line (and two inside the 10).

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.

Though he was the top second-, third- and fourth-year coach in ACC history by wins, Friedgen's win total fell short of the mark of 44 wins set by Clemson's Danny Ford from 1979-83. That mark ties him for second with former Terrapin great Jerry Claiborne (1972-76) on the list.

A look ahead shows Friedgen already ranked among sixth-year ACC coaches for victories. He will need 10 wins this season to match the six-year mark of Ford (51-15-2), but he stands just one victory from tying the win total of NC State's Dick Sheridan (1986-91) and moving into the seventh position.

New Old Faces

The loss of coordinators Gary Blackney and Charlie Taaffe 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. Friedgen has 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 just four teams ranked in this week's Top 25, but a second look proves that a midseason stretch will be among the toughest in the nation.

On a Thursday night in week three on national television, the Terps play at current No. 5 West Virginia (#7 Coaches poll), the first of eight 2005 bowl teams on the Maryland slate.

Once Maryland gets through its non-conference slate, the team plays at Georgia Tech and at rival Virginia to open its ACC season. It returns home for homecoming against NC State then a matchup against perennial power Florida State, then goes 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.

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.

A Look Back

Maryland has 42 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.

Sam Quarter-bach

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 had a year ago is not that of Scott McBrien (the last QB to return as starter) in 2003, his play in camp and early in this season has suggested that a return to that type of play may well be in the offing.

In game one of this year, Hollenbach shared time with backup Jordan Steffy, but looked solid. He finished 9-of-14 (.643) for 153 yards with no touchdowns or turnovers, leading each of Maryland's three scoring drives on the day.

Hollenbach finished last season ranked in the top five of three Atlantic Coast Conference offensive categories. He was fifth in the league in pass efficiency (132.75), fourth in total offense 229.2 and second in passing yardage per game (230.8).

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.

Consider that Hollenbach played just five plays due to injury against Florida State and his numbers become even more impressive. If one were to eliminate the Florida State game all together (he was 1-for-1 for 29 yards before re-injuring his shoulder), Hollenbach's per game averages in total offense (249.2) and passing yardage (251.0) would have each been the best in the ACC.

Entering this week, Hollenbach is 7-5 in his career as a starter.

The Four-Back Attack

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.

In game one, the foursome rushed a collective 35 times for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Collectively, they averaged 5.7 yards per carry.

Still only a junior, Lance Ball established himself as one of the league's top backs a year ago, rushing for 903 yards despite starting only four games. Ball was the league's third-leading rusher, doing so mostly behind his push later in the season. He rushed over 100 yards four times in the team's last seven games and was ultimately named second team All-ACC.

Now completely healed from an injury suffered in the final game of 2004, Josh Allen returns to give the Terps a home-run threat. Allen enters this week ranked sixth on the school's all-time list for rushing touchdowns and just outside of the career Top 10 for rushing yards at 11th with 1,885. With 115 yards, he will become just the ninth 2,000-yard career rusher in Maryland history.

Junior Keon Lattimore and senior J.P. Humber each have their own style to add to the mix for the Terrapins. Lattimore missed spring recovering from a shoulder injury, but returns as one of the surprises of fall camp. In game one, Lattimore led the Terps in rushing with a career-high 89 yards on just 13 carries (6.8 avg.) with one touchdown.

Humber gives the Terps a powerful down-hill runner who can wear defenses down late in a game and, like the other backs, seems to be playing the best ball of his career right now.

After week one, the Terp rushing attack ranks 23rd nationally with 213 yards per game.

O-Line Talented and Deep

Once a concern at Maryland, the Terps enter 2005 with likely the deepest and most talented offensive lines it has had under Ralph Friedgen.

The Terrapins return four starters from a year ago (Jared Gaither, Andrew Crummey, Donnie Woods and Brandon Nixon), needing only to replace departed center Ryan McDonald, a one-year starter. Though Nixon will not play this year, the Terps will not miss a beat at tackle with the return of its top lineman from 2004, Stephon Heyer.

In addition to the returning starters, Maryland's depth and the competition level is even improved as Scott Burley, Jaimie Thomas and Dane Randolph all saw significant time last year and are talented enough to compete to be in the starting lineup. In short, the Terps are in good hands as 2006 opens.

Against William & Mary, the Terrapin line did not allow a sack and was whistled for just one penalty while helping the offense plow to 213 rushing yards.

All Eyes on the Receivers

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 returns 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.

In game one, the newcomers stepped to the forefront as its top two receivers were second-year players (Oquendo and Williams).

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. In each of the four seasons heading into 2005, however, the most consistent Terp unit was 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 is 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, 40 of Maryland's 62 opponents (65%) have been held to 20 points or less.

Since 2002, Maryland has held its opposition scoreless in 89 quarters (and two in 2006).

Maryland has held eight opponents to 100 yards or less passing since 2001.

Since `01, Maryland has held its opposition below 100 yards rushing 15 times. The Terps opened this year holding William & Mary to 86 yards on the ground.

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 last year and Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst in week two of 2005).

No Block Party Here

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 74 games, the second-longest streak in college football.

The Terps have not had one blocked since November 13, 1999 (Florida State), trailing only Georgia who last had one blocked that same season, September 25 (UCF).

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.

Turnover Low in `06

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.

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 to replace last year's honoree after losing eventual NFL second-round pick D'Qwell Jackson, so it may come as a shock that Maryland's linebacking corps may be better this season.

Focus will be on junior Wesley Jefferson as he will fill 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 opened his first year as a starter with 11 tackles and a sack -- 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 regimes 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.

Last season, Podlesh maintained a 43.6-yard average (second-best in the ACC and 13th-best in the nation).

Podlesh opened this season as if the last had never ended. On four punts against William & Mary, Podlesh averaged 46.2 yards per punt including three inside the 20-yard line (and two inside the 10). His average-damaging 38-yard effort was pinned out at the three-yard line.

On 164 career punts, Podlesh has dropped 38 percent (63) inside the opponents' 20-yard line and 17 percent (28) 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.

Local Ties

The Terrapins have one player from the state of Tennessee as backup placekicker Greg Gaston is from Memphis (Christian Brothers HS).

On the Maryland coaching staff, defensive backs coach Tim Banks coached at Memphis in 2001-02.

The Blue Raiders have no players or coaches with ties to the state of Maryland.

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).

MT's Rick Stockstill

Rick Stockstill is in his first season as Middle Tennessee's head coach. The first head coaching job of his career, the Blue Raiders' win in game one gives him a career record of 1-0.

Stockstill comes to Middle Tennessee after two years at South Carolina. He spent two years as recruiting coordinator, one as wide receivers coach (under Lou Holtz) and one as tight ends coach (in Steve Spurrier's first season).

There is no lack of familiarity with Maryland for Stockstill as he spent 12 seasons in various capacities (on the offensive side of the ball) at Clemson.

A native of North Florida, Stockstill got his start in coaching in the Sunshine State. An offensive coordinator at Bethune Cookman College in 1983-84, he went on to UCF for four years before moving on to Clemson.

Stockstill played in three bowl games as a quarterback at Florida State in the late `70s/early `80s.

Scouting the Blue Raiders

Middle Tennessee travels to Byrd Stadium for the second time in school history, this year on the heels of an opening-day win. The win in its home opener was the school's first since 2001.

The Blue Raiders opened 2006 last Thursday night against Maryland's week four opponent, Florida International. The Golden Panthers got on the board first with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter, but a missed extra point ending up dooming FIU as Middle Tennessee scored in the second, converted its PAT and went on to win, 7-6.

Middle Tennessee's defense got off to an inauspicious start, allowing a 17-play, 80-yard drive to start the game. But the unit settled down the rest of the game, giving up just 247 total yards for the game.

Offensively, the Blue Raiders struggled in their opener, totalling just 175 yards on the night (92 rushing, 175 passing). Though they won the possession battle (31:48-28:12), they were just 2-of-15 on third down conversions.

Though the offense struggled as a whole, senior Eugene Gross performed well, rushing 18 times for 76 yards and a touchdown (4.2 avg.).

Middle Tennessee's top defensive playmaker from last season returns this year in the form of senior linebacker J.K. Sabb. Sabb recorded team highs in tackles (71) and tackles for loss (13.0) last season. In game one of this year, he tied for the team lead with six tackles while posting 1.5 TFLs and a pass breakup.

The Blue Raiders return 12 starters (eight on offense) from last years 4-7 team. The team has an amazing schedule for a Sun Belt Conference team, playing at Maryland, Oklahoma, and South Carolina while taking on Louisville at home.

Protecting the House

Despite a sub-.500 record in 2005, the Terrapins are 25-7 at Byrd Stadium under Ralph Friedgen. The Terps are 1-0 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 that the team had 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.

Heading into this weekend, the Terrapins are 180-104-1 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

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.

Players Mentioned

Lance Ball

Scott Burley

Rick Costa

Trey Covington

Andrew Crummey

Greg Gaston

Erin Henderson

Darrius Heyward-Bey

Keon Lattimore

Dre Moore

Danny Oquendo

Dave Philistin

Josh Portis

Dane Randolph

Andrew Schmitt

Jordan Steffy

Jaimie Thomas

Isaiah Williams

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