Saturday, Sept. 1

Maryland

vs.

Villanova

Kickoff: 6:05 p.m. (ET)
Location: College Park, Md.

Broadcast Information
TV: ESPN360 (webcast) - Frank Giardina (play-by-play) and Doug Chapman (color) call the action. For more information on ESPN360, click here.
Radio: Terrapin Sports Radio Network - Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Jonathan Claiborne (color) and Tim Strachan (sidelines) have the call. XM Satellite Radio Channel 191. Pregame with Gary Stein and Scott McBrien begins at 4:30 p.m.
Internet: Audio can be accessed on www.umterps.com.

Quick Hitters
• The University of Maryland opens its 115th season of collegiate football Saturday when it plays host to Villanova, an opponent the Terps have not faced in nearly 30 years. Kickoff from Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium is set for 6:05 p.m., with the game being webcast on ESPN 360 and broadcast on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network (pregame starts at 4:30 p.m.). The game will also be televised on a tape-delay basis by Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
• The Terrapins return 12 starters (six on offense and defense) from last season's team, which went 9-4, including a 24-7 victory over Purdue in the Champs Sports Bowl. It marked the third-straight bowl win for the Terps, a first in school history. Head coach Ralph Friedgen has directed the Terps to four bowl games in his six seasons. Maryland was not ranked at the end of the 2006 season, but received votes in both the final AP and the USA Today Coaches polls. The Terps finished tied for second in the Atlantic Division of the ACC and came within one win of their first appearance in the ACC Championship game. Maryland fell at home to eventual conference champion Wake Forest in the 2006 regular-season finale.
• Senior running backs Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore, as well as wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey and tight end Joey Haynos, are expected to lead the Maryland offense. Ball and Lattimore combined to rush for nearly 1,600 yards in 2006, while Heyward-Bey was a freshman All-American and Haynos an All-ACC choice. Senior guard Andrew Crummey, a preseason All-American, headlines the offensive line. Junior quarterback Jordan Steffy replaces Sam Hollenbach, a two-year starter who ended his career fourth on the Terps' career passing yards list and sixth in career passing efficiency. Steffy has seen limited action in his career, but has never started a game. He has served as the backup in 2004 and 2006. He has been atop the depth chart since the spring and was officially named the opening-game starter Friday.
• The defense is highlighted by returning starters Dre Moore, Jeremy Navarre, Erin Henderson and Christian Varner. Moore and Navarre each tallied 3 1/2 sacks along the defensive line in 2006, while Henderson is the lone returning starter at linebacker. Henderson ranked second in the ACC and 31st nationally in tackles (8.8 per game). He is a preseason All-American and on the watch list for the Nagurski Award, which honors the nation's top defensive player. Varner is one of two returning starters (also cornerback Isaiah Gardner) in the secondary. Varner moved from free safety to strong safety in the spring and has flourished. Gardner (63) and Varner (58) are the second and third leading returning tacklers on the team.
• The Terps special teams is going through an overhaul this season as a pair of All-ACC kickers have departed. Place-kicker Dan Ennis made 20 of 25 attempts last season, while Adam Podlesh became the only player in school history to earn All-ACC honors four straight seasons. He went on to be selected in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft by Jacksonville. Junior Obi Egekeze, who battled Ennis for the starting job last summer, has been tapped as the place-kicker. True freshman Travis Baltz, who entered school last spring, is slated to take over from Podlesh. Kickoff return specialist Josh Wilson has also departed for the NFL, as he was a second-round selection of Seattle in the spring. Reserve DB Terrell Skinner will open the season as the kick returner, while Danny Oquendo is back at punt returner.
• Villanova is coming off of a 6-5 season, including a 5-3 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Wildcats, now members of of the Colonial Athletic Association, are riding a four-game winning streak after closing out the 2006 campaign on a high note. The Wildcats return 27 letterwinners, including 13 starters (six on offense, five defense and two specialists), from last year's squad. Andy Talley (148-94-1) is in his 28th season as a collegiate head coach, including 23 with Villanova.
• Maryland is 69-43-2 (.614) all-time in season openers. The team is 4-2 in season openers under Friedgen, including wins in its last three. The Terrapins are 54-26-1 (.673) in home openers, winning their last five. Maryland owns an 8-2 all-time record vs. Villanova and the teams have faced each other five times to open the season. The Wildcats downed the Terps to begin the 1970 and 1971 campaigns, while Maryland captured the season-opening meetings in 1975, 1979 and 1980.
• Maryland has won five of its last six at home and is 30-8 in Friedgen's six seasons. Friedgen has directed the Terps to two undefeated home seasons (7-0 in 2001; 6-0 in 2003).

Villanova at-A-Glance...
• The Wildcats stumbled out of the gate last season, but rallied to win their final four games and finish 6-5, good for second place in the Atlantic 10's South Division.
• The Wildcats have a history of upsetting Division I-A opponents, defeating Rutgers 37-19 in 2002 and Temple 23-20 in 2003. With the overtime win over Temple, Villanova became the first Division I-AA school to defeat I-A schools from BCS conferences in consecutive years since the Bowl Championship Series was formed in 1998.
• Villanova's head coach Andy Talley enters Saturday's game as the winningest coach in school history. In 23 seasons at Villanova, he has compiled a record of 148-94-1. His 176 overall victories rank seventh among active NCAA Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) coaches, while his career winning percentage (.610/176-112-2 in 28 seasons) is 19th.
• Villanova must replace four all-conference performers from last year's squad, as well as quarterback Marvin Burroughs. The team returns short yardage back Matt Dicken, who rushed for 432 yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns.

Maryland-Villanova Series History...
• Maryland owns an 8-2 advantage all-time over Villanova. The Terps played host to the Wildcats 10 times between 1970 and 1980, with Villanova taking the first two contests, before Maryland won eight in a row.
• Saturday's game marks the first meeting between Maryland and Villanova since 1980, when the Wildcats discontinued their Division I-A football program. Villanova restored its football program on the I-AA level in 1984.
• The last three meetings between the two schools have been decided by an average of less than five points, including a 7-3 win for the Terps in their last meeting in College Park in 1980.
• The 1977 contest, which Maryland won 19-13, featured a heroic performance by running back George Scott. Injuries to the top two Terrapin backs forced Scott into his first career start, and he responded with 237 yards rushing on 42 carries, both of which were school records at the time.

Offensive Notes...
• One of the foremost offensive minds in the collegiate or pro game, head coach Ralph Friedgen enters his second season as the Terps' offensive coordinator.
• Although they have to replace two-year starting quarterback Sam Hollenbach, the Terps return virtually every other significant contributor to their offense last season.
• New starting quarterback Jordan Steffy will have plenty of skill players to choose from this season as pass-catchers who accounted for 97 percent of the receiving yards return as do rushers who tallied 94 percent of the yards on the ground.
• Maryland's dynamic tailback duo of Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball returns after combining for 1,558 yards last season. Lattimore and Ball were one of just five running-back combos in the nation to collect over 700 rushing yards apiece. The seniors are joined by sophomore fullback Cory Jackson who started the final month of last season. Redshirt freshmen Morgan Green and Da'Rel Scott are talented tailbacks waiting in the wings. One or both will get a chance to spell Ball and Lattimore this season.
• The Terps return their top seven receivers from a year ago, and lose only three players who even caught a pass in 2006. Among the returnees are wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey, a second-team All-ACC selection a year ago as a freshman, and tight end Joey Haynos, who was an honorable mention All-ACC choice last year.
• Haynos and Dan Gronkowski form one of the top tight end duos in the nation. Each has started at the position. In fact, even though Haynos was the second-leading receiver on the team in 2006, Gronkowski started more games in the Terps' two-tight end set. Gronkowski opened nine contests, while Haynos started six. Gronkowski, considered the better blocker, had just two catches, though he should see more opportunities in the passing game this season.
• The Terps' return just two starters (C Edwin Williams, RG Andrew Crummey) on the offensive line, but still have quite a bit of experience. LG Jaimie Thomas played in all 13 games last season, starting three, while Dane Randolph played in 11 games, mostly at right tackle. Randolph started four games there including the Champs Sports Bowl game. Projected starting left tackle Scott Burley has played in each of the last three seasons, including eight games as a sophomore in 2005. Junior Jack Griffin, meanwhile, who is penciled in as the starting right tackle, redshirted last season, but did see action as a freshman and sophomore, though that came on the d-line. Griffin is also the primary backup at right guard, while junior Phil Costa serves as the reserve center and left guard. Friedgen considers the Terps to have seven starters along the o-line due to the skill and versatility of this group.
• The Terps' returnees accounted for 28 of their 30 touchdowns a season ago.
• Crummey has started a team-high 28 games, while Williams' 13 consecutive starts lead the offense. Williams is the only offensive returnee to start all 13 games in 2006.

Defensive Notes...
• The Terps lost two starting linebackers off last season's squad, but are far from green at the position. The Terps top six linebackers have played in a combined 93 games with 21 starts. Preseason All-America Erin Henderson returns at weakside linebacker, after tallying 8.8 tackles per game last season, second most in the ACC.
• Six Terrapin defenders have started more than 10 games for Maryland and two (Trey Covington and Christian Varner) have started more than 20. Covington has started 21 of the last 22 games at LEO, a hybrid linebacker/defensive end position, while Varner has started 23 of the last 24 at safety, including a team-high 22 straight.
• In Saturday's season opener, either Dave Philistin or Adrian Moten will likely get the starting nod at middle linebacker, marking the third consecutive season the Terps have opened the year with a different Mike from the year before. Wesley Jefferson, who manned the middle for the Terps a year ago after replacing D'Qwell Jackson in 2006, left school early to pursue a career as a state trooper. Jefferson was second on the team in tackles in 2006.
• Maryland has had at least one defensive player drafted into the NFL in each of the last 11 seasons, and 17 defensive players overall in that time span, including cornerback Josh Wilson last season. Of the Terps defenders selected, 11 have gone in the first three rounds, including first round picks Chad Scott (1997) and Shawne Merriman (2005).
• Varner and Isaiah Gardner are the only two returnees to start all 13 games last season. Jefferson was the only other defender to start each contest in 2006.

Special Teams Notes...
• In punter Adam Podlesh and kicker Dan Ennis, the Terps never had to worry about their special teams last season. Podlesh was an All-ACC punter and two-time semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, while Ennis connected on 20 of 25 field goals last season. Ennis tied for ninth nationally in field goals per game (1.54).
• Maryland has a strong history of special teams play in the Ralph Friedgen era. Podlesh, as well as former punter Brooks Barnard and kicker Nick Novak moved on to the NFL. In 2007, those duties will fall to junior place-kicker Obi Egekeze and punter Travis Baltz, a true freshman. Although Egekeze served as a kickoff specialist last season, neither has attempted a kick in a game.
• Baltz enters the fall as the No. 1 punter on the Terrapin depth chart. If he does get the start against Villanova, he will be the first true freshman to start an opening-day game for the Terps since defensive end Jeremy Navarre in 2005, and only the second of the Ralph Friedgen era.
• The Terps have some big shoes to fill at kick returner as Josh Wilson has taken his game to the NFL. Wilson ranked third in the ACC (11th nationally) last season in kick returns (27.3 ypr) en route to setting a single-season school record for return yards (847). Backup safety Terrell Skinner, who moved from wide receiver in the spring, opens the season as the primary kick returner. Keon Lattimore will serve as the backup.
• Maryland is fortunate to have the sure-handed Danny Oquendo back to handle punt return duties. Oquendo ranked eighth in the ACC and 53rd nationally in return average (8.4). Christian Varner will serve as Oquendo's backup to start the season.

Select Company...
• Ralph Friedgen's 50 wins as Terps' head coach ranks tied for second in Atlantic Coast Conference history among coaches in their first six years. Danny Ford of Clemson posted 51 from 1979-84 and Dick Crum of North Carolina (1978-82) also tallied 50.
• Though he was the top second-, third- and fourth-year coach in ACC history by wins, Friedgen's five-year win total (41) fell short of the mark of 44 victories set by Clemson's Danny Ford from 1979-83. That mark tied him for second with former Terrapin great Jerry Claiborne (1972-76) on the list. Claiborne holds the league's seven-year mark with 58 victories.

Terps Own Nation's Longest Streak...
• In special teams coach Ray Rychleski's seven 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 without a blocked punt goes back 86 games, now the longest streak in college football.
• The Terps have not a punt blocked since Nov. 13, 1999 (Florida State). That amount of time became the longest in NCAA football recently when Georgia had a punt blocked by Ole Miss last season, snapping a streak which began earlier in the 1999 season.

Terps Tough Road Last Season...
• The Terrapins road back to a bowl game last season was a challenging one, as their schedule was one of the toughest in the nation last season. The Terrapins played five teams ranked in the AP Top 20 at the time of the game (West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Boston College, Wake Forest).
• Eight bowl teams were among the 12 teams on Maryland's schedule last season. The Terps closed their 2006 schedule with five straight bowl teams.

...And it Doesn't Get Any Easier
• In 2007, the Terps face seven teams that played in bowl games a year ago (West Virginia, Wake Forest, Rutgers, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Boston College, Florida State).
• The Terps three-game stretch from Sept.13 through Sept. 29 may be one of the hardest in the country. In consecutive weeks, the Terps welcome West Virginia to College Park (ranked No. 3 in preseason AP poll), travel to defending ACC champion Wake Forest, and head to New Jersey to face Rutgers (ranked No. 16 in the preseason AP poll).