umterps Notebook: Terps Set For Flashback
10/21/2015 12:00:00 PM | Terrapin Athletics
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – What a week for Maryland fans! The “Battle In Baltimore” takes place on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium when the Terps look to take down the Penn State Nittany Lions for the second-straight season. We will take a look at some of the history of the Maryland-Penn State series and more in this week's umterps Notebook.
[Flash]Back To The Future
On Monday it was announced that Maryland will sport special “Flashback” uniforms – from top to bottom, from helmets to cleats, from base layer to jersey – when the Terps take the field vs. Penn State on Saturday.
This is a homage to the 1961 Terps, which was the first to topple the Nittany Lions.
Prior to 1961, Maryland was 0-7 all-time vs. Penn State, including a 28-9 loss in 1960, which was the first meeting between the two schools since 1944. (The first meeting was in 1917, with the next five coming in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1943 and 1944.)
Penn State was coming off of a victory over Oregon in the 1960 Liberty Bowl and entered the 1961 season ranked No. 7 in the nation. The Nittany Lions dropped out of the rankings following a 25-8 loss to Miami in the second week of the season and were 2-2 after four games.
The Nittany Lions seemed to have righted their ship before facing the Terps, with back-to-back wins over Syracuse and California.
Then came the Nov. 4 meeting with the Terrapins in Byrd Stadium.
A jam-packed Homecoming crowd of 39,000 witnessed what would become history when Maryland upset Penn State 21-17.
While the game was an upset (the Nittany Lions were favored by 4 ½ points), it wasn't the historic moment it would become in the following years.
As Dick Shiner, the sophomore quarterback who made his first collegiate start in the 1961 game vs. Penn State, told the Baltimore Sun, “Beating them wasn't the big deal that it would be now because Maryland hadn't played Penn State that much over the years.”
With the exception of Shiner, Maryland players played both offense and defense, while Penn State had the depth to allow its players to play just one side of the ball. That gave the Nittany Lions a sizeable advantage as the game wore on.
Maryland raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and led 21-6 at the half, but Penn State's depth allowed the Nittany Lions to close the gap in the second half.
Late in the fourth quarter, Penn State was driving and was on the Maryland 4-yard line with the Terps holding on to a 21-17 lead. But the threat would come to an end when Maryland's Harry Butsko sacked PSU quarterback Galen Hall for a 5-yard loss.
The star of the game for the Terrapins was end Gary Collins, who turned heads in the victory with six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Collins would go on to earn Consensus All-America honors in 1961 and was a first round selection of the Cleveland Browns in the 1962 NFL draft.
Maryland and Penn State played 31 times from 1960 to 1993 (1976 and 1981 were the only years the two schools didn't play) and the win in 1961 was the only one in the series for the Terps – until last season.
Tickets for Saturday's game are still available, so make sure to get yours today and don't miss your chance to take part in the Flashback.
Flashback Jerseys Being Auctioned
Fans who want the opportunity to own an authentic Flashback Jersey have the opportunity to bid on one.The official auction site of Maryland athletics has 20 authentic Flashback Jerseys up for bid right now.
Be sure to check it out and place your bid to own a piece of Maryland history.
Maryland Madness Dazzles Terps Fans To Open Season
What a show the Terps put on Saturday night! Magic Maryland Madness was an entertaining spectacle that introduced Terrapin fans to the 2015-16 men's and women's basketball squads.
From the breath-taking introductions, complete with a magical crystal ball, to the crowd-pleasing dance routine to the scrimmages the annual season kick off event had something for everyone (including an amazing performance by magician J.P. Wilson.
If you weren't able to join the Terps at XFINITY Center on Friday you can check out all of the highlights here …
Fans were also treated to some hard-fought basketball during the men's scrimmage, which head coach Mark Turgeon was proud to say, “we actually played hard and didn't turn it into an all-star game and showed a little bit of what we're going to be about.”
The USA Today Coaches Poll came out with its preseason rankings and the Terps are No. 3 in the nation, including garnering five first-place votes.
A very limited number of season tickets remain, so be sure to call the Terrapin Ticket Office at 1-800-462-8377 or go online for more information on how to reserve your spot in XFINITY Center this season.
Luus Making Most of Final Season
In early September it looked like the sky was falling down on the Maryland field hockey team. The Terps were 2-3 with three-straight losses following a 2-1 loss at home to Albany.
But head coach Missy Meharg and her Terrapins have turned things around and have rattled off 11-consecutive victories and have a perfect 6-0 record in Big Ten play.
One of the many reasons for the turnaround has been the play of Welma Luus. The former two-sport student (she also competed for the Maryland women's tennis squad, but completed her eligibility on the tennis court this past spring) has been sensational during the 11-match winning streak.
Luus has scored 10 of her team-leading 12 goals during the winning streak. She is also leading the team in total points with 25, of which a team-best 21 have come during the past 11 matches.
Luus and the Terps will look to secure at least a tie of the Big Ten regular season title on Friday when they host Indiana at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex at 6 p.m. Admission to field hockey games is free, so come out to College Park and cheer on your Terps!
Quick Hitters
• If you read last week's Notebook, you already know about the amazing season women's soccer sophomore Alex Anthony is turning in. Well, Anthony keeps on scoring. The Littleton, Col., native, scored in each of Maryland's two matches last week and now has 10 goals on the season.
That total ties her for the third-most goals in a season since 2000. All-American Jasmyne Spencer did it twice in 2009 and 2010, while Sade Ayinde also had 10 in 2010.
The top two marks for goals in a single-season since 2000 belong to Hayley Brock, who had 13 as a junior in 2012 and slipped by one with 12 as a senior.
Anthony has three more matches remaining in 2015 and still could tie or surpass Brock.
FYI – the record for goals in a single-season is shared by Emmy Harbo and Keri Sarver with 21. Harbo set the record in 1996 and was tied by Sarver two seasons later. Not coincidentally, Sarver led the team in assists in 1996 with 15, while Harbo was the team's assist leader in 1998 with 12, which are two of the top three single-season assists totals in school history.
Harbo's 12 assists was later tied by Caitlin McDowell (now the current Caitlin Herrick) in 2010. The fun fact about that is that while Harbo and Sarver were both attacking players, McDowell earned her 12 assists while playing left back.
• He wasn't selected until the 149th pick of the 2015 NFL draft, but Maryland's Stefon Diggs showed on Sunday that he's not going to let that define him.
After making his NFL debut with six catches for 87 yards in a loss to Denver, Diggs earned a starting position heading into the Vikings' game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
He made the most of the opportunity with nine catches for 129 yards to help lead the Vikings to a 16-10 win.
According to the Vikings official Twitter account Diggs became the first Minnesota rookie to record 80 receiving yards in back-to-back games since Randy Moss did it in 1998.
Diggs has impressed his coach and his teammates during his short time in Minnesota.
After the Chiefs win, Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer had this to say about Diggs – “He performs. He's a good kid, he performs, he gets open, catches the ball, he continues to work. I think Teddy [Bridgewater] has got a lot of confidence in him. He's got a chance to be really good.”
All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson was also impressed with Diggs' performance. “He's a game changer to me. He's a talented young guy; he plays hard, extremely hard, and you're going to get his best effort. He's not that big of a guy, but he has big hands. His hands are almost as big as mine, or maybe bigger. But I love the fire that he has. Walk through is not a walk through for him. He's out there sweating. It goes to show when he gets out here and he plays. It's good to have him in the lineup.”
• The Maryland-Indiana men's soccer showdown lived up to the hype as an exciting display, but the Terrapins couldn't take advantage of a lively atmosphere at Ludwig Field and settled for a 0-0 tie.
The Terps currently sit in second place in the Big Ten standings, just one point shy of league-leading Ohio State. The Buckeyes still have three conference matches remaining, while the Terps have just two. But one of those is a head-to-head matchup in Columbus on Halloween night.
• The Maryland cross country team won the Gettysburg Invitational behind a first-place performance from sophomore Alexandra Lucki. The Terps will have a couple of weeks to prepare for the Big Ten Championship, which is scheduled to take place in Evanston, Ill., on Nov. 1.
• The Maryland volleyball team has a home-and-home series this week with Rutgers, beginning in Piscataway, N.J., tonight and finishing up at the XFINITY Center Pavilion on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Terps are continuing to improve despite an 0-8 record in Big Ten play (the Big Ten is the deepest, most competitive league in NCAA women's volleyball for those not familiar with the sport), but Maryland took both matches vs. the Scarlet Knights last season and will look to get in the win column again this season.
Tickets for Saturday's match are available at the door or in advance online by clicking here. While you're on the website, you should go ahead and pick up your tickets for the big match vs. Penn State on Nov. 5. That match is scheduled to be held in the main XFINITY Center arena.
• Do yourself a favor and check out two amazing stories from this past week on umterps.com.
5-YEAR-OLD FIONN WELCOMED AS NEWEST TERP
FORMER TERP GROBERG TO RECEIVE MEDAL OF HONOR
Tweet Of The Week
Our friend Avery was super excited to meet her #Terps! #MarylandMadness ✨🐢 pic.twitter.com/nDZNNuUFe6
— Maryland WBB (@umdwbb) October 17, 2015
Wrapping Up
That's it for this edition of the umterps Notebook. Don't forget to follow Maryland athletics on all of the social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
We hope to see all of you at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday to watch the Maryland football team take on Penn State. If you can't make it you can watch all of the action on ESPN or via the WatchESPN app. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Patrick Fischer is the Director of Digital Media and Website Management for the University of Maryland Department of Intercollegiate Athletics
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Maryland athletics department or its athletics programs.
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