umterps Notebook: A Homecoming History
11/4/2015 12:00:00 PM | Terrapin Athletics
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – It's Homecoming Week at the University of Maryland! Before getting into the current news on what's happening with the current Terrapin teams, this week's umterps Notebook is going to start with a look back at Maryland's Homecoming History.
Homecoming Sweet Homecoming
Thanks to the combination of Maryland football media guides and the online archive of University of Maryland yearbooks, I was able to piece together Maryland football's Homecoming history.
The first reference to a “Home-Coming” game came in the football media guide. It was the 1923 season and a crowd of 3,000 witnessed the Old Liners defeat Catholic University, 40-6.
Overall, the Terrapins have a 55-33-4 (.620) record in homecoming games since 1923.
Maryland has hosted 24 different opponents in its 92 homecoming games since 1923. The Terps have wins over 19 of those homecoming opponents. The five teams Maryland has not defeated are all one-time homecoming foes – Virginia Tech (V.P.I. back in 1932), Kentucky (1956), Tennessee (1957), Miami (Ohio) (1969) and Boston College (1986).
The most common opponent for Maryland on Homecoming is NC State. The Terrapins have hosted the Wolfpack 12 times, beginning in 1924 (a 0-0 tie, which the Reveille (the yearbook at the time) said was played in “a miserable, melting snow.”). The two schools didn't meet again for a Terps' homecoming until 1950. Maryland won four homecoming games vs. the Pack (1978, 1980, 1984 and 2002) before NC State won in 2004. The Terrapins took the meetings in 2006 and 2008, but lost to the Wolfpack in 2012. Maryland owns a 7-4-1 record vs. NC State on Homecoming.
Maryland also had seven Homecoming victories vs. Duke, but that's not the most victories in a Homecoming game vs. a single opponent. That distinction belongs to South Carolina. The Terrapins are 9-1 in 10 Homecoming meetings with the Gamecocks. Maryland lost the first meeting in 1946, but rattled off nine straight wins over South Carolina on Homecoming (1949, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1968 and 1970).
The only other opponent Maryland has hosted for Homecoming 10 times or more is Virginia. The Terps played the Cavaliers 11 times on Homecoming and own a 5-4-2 advantage in the homecoming series.
Maryland's longest winning streak in Homecoming games is 16 from 1970-85. The Terrapins totaled 475 points in those 16 victories (a 29.7 points per game average), while allowing just 140 (8.8 ppg). During that streak, Maryland's defense turned in five shutouts. Among the Terrapin greats to don the Red and White during that stretch were consensus first team All-Americans Randy White (1974, DT), Joe Campbell (1975, DT), Dale Castro (1979, PK) and J.D. Maarleveld (1985, OT).
The longest losing streak for the Terps on Homecoming is three games, which has happened, coincidentally, on three occasions (1938-40, 1997-99 & 2011-13).
Beginning with that 34-point margin of victory over Catholic U. in 1923, Maryland has won its Homecoming by 30-or-more points 16 times. The largest margin of victory came in 1996 with a 52-0 shutout of Wake Forest. The Terrapins came into that game on a four-game losing streak that saw them score a combined 18 points in those four games. Brian Cummings led the Terps' offense with 224 yards passing and a career-best three touchdown passes. Harold Westley (120 yards) and Buddy Rogers (106 yards) each went over the 100-yard mark on the ground.
Arguable, the wildest Homecoming game in history came in 2011. The 8th-ranked Clemson Tigers entered Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium, where a raucous crowd of 47,961 helped propel the Terps to a 28-17 halftime lead. But the Tigers clawed their way back and outscored Maryland 39-17 in the second half to win a 101-point thriller 56-45. That game featured the first career start for Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown. All he did in his first start was set a then-Maryland quarterback rushing record of 162 yards. He also passed for 177 yards with three touchdowns through the air.
This year adds a 25th Homecoming opponent for the Terps when Wisconsin comes to College Park for the first time ever. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and tickets are still available by calling the Terrapin Ticket Office at 1-800-462-8377 or online be clicking here.
Hoops Begins Here
It begins on Friday. The highly anticipated start to the 2015-16 Maryland men's basketball season is here when the Terps host Southern New Hampshire in an exhibition game at 7:30 p.m. at XFINITY Center.
The only way to get into XFINITY Center for the exhibition game is by either being a Maryland student with a student ticket or being a season ticket holder. XFINITY Center is nearly sold out for the season, so if you're planning on seeing the Terps this year you need to call the Terrapin Ticket Office at 1-800-462-8377 right now!
If you don't have tickets or can't make it to College Park on Friday, you can still see Maryland's exhibition debut on BTN2Go with a BTN Plus subscription.
Don't have season tickets? We've got you covered at umterps.com. Right now, there are a limited number of single-game tickets available through the umterps.com auction site, so be sure to check there throughout the season. There are auctions for two lower-level seats and four upper-level seats for every Maryland men's basketball game. Basketball ticket auctions will also include a parking pass to sweeten the deal a bit.
Also up on the auction site are a basketball and shoes signed by the 2015-16 Maryland men's basketball team and head coach Mark Turgeon. These are perfect to display in your home or office to show off your Maryland Pride.
Maryland is ranked 3rd in the AP and USA Today Coaches preseason polls, behind only North Carolina and Kentucky. The Tar Heels are No. 1 in the preseason AP poll with the Wildcats coming in at No. 2. UNC and KU are tied atop the USA Today Coaches poll.
The Terrapin women's basketball team already has one exhibition game under its belt and wraps up preseason play tonight vs. Indiana (Pa.) at XFINITY Center at 7 p.m. Fans can check out that contest on BTN2Go with a BTN Plus subscription.
Head coach Brenda Frese's Terps cruised past Goldey-Beacom, 127-33, in its first exhibition on Halloween. It was all treats for freshman Kiah Gillespie in her Maryland debut, racking up a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
WATCH! Highlights from the #Terps' exhibition win over Goldey-Beacom. #PR1DE #FearTheTurtle https://t.co/iqJdiXASpX
— Maryland WBB (@umdwbb) October 31, 2015
You Can Dig That
The Maryland volleyball team picked up a huge victory at Iowa on Friday, taking down the Hawkeyes, 3-1. After dropping the opening set, Maryland rallied to sweep the next three to earn its second Big Ten win of the season.
Senior outside hitter Adreené Elliott led Maryland with 16 kills while junior middle blocker Ashlyn MacGregor set a career high with 14 kills. Freshman outside hitter Liz Twilley also added 14 kills to help the Terps to victory.
Members of the Maryland football and field hockey teams were able to root their fellow Terps on to victory in Iowa City. Both teams had road games at Iowa over the weekend and were able to show their Maryland Pride.
Maryland has a big week ahead of it, beginning tomorrow night when newly minted No. 1-ranked Penn State comes to XFINITY Center. The Terps and the Nittany Lions will face off on the main XFINITY Center court and it's the annual Dig Pink match at 8 p.m.
The Terps will be sporting pink and encourage fans to do the same in honor of breast cancer awareness. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a pink pom and we will host a silent auction featuring UA Power in Pink items with proceeds benefiting The Sideout Foundation.
Maryland wraps up the weekend with a Friday night showdown with No. 12 Ohio State. The Terps and Buckeyes will play in the XFINITY Center Pavilion at 6:30 p.m. with the men's basketball exhibition occupying the main court.
Both the Penn State and Ohio State matches will be streamed on BTN2Go, which is available with a BTN Plus subscription.
Quick Hitters
• Stefon Diggs did it again! The rookie wide out led the Minnesota Vikings to the team's first victory in Chicago since 2007 with a 6-catch, 95-yard, 1-TD performance on Sunday.
Here's what some media types around the league are saying about the former Terp:
You can only contain Stefon Diggs for so long. After Vic Fangio's defense held the spectacular rookie in check most of the game, the receiver busted loose to change the outcome of the game. Diggs deked a defender out of his shoes on a beautifully run route, then took it to pay dirt for the game-tying score late in the fourth quarter. Diggs runs routes like a five-year vet. The 40-yard TD gave him six catches for 95 yards, the fourth straight game with six-plus catches and 80-plus yards to start his career. – Kevin Patra, NFL.com
With the Vikings trailing by seven and the clock ticking toward three minutes remaining, Diggs made the biggest play of his young career, catching a pass from Teddy Bridgewater in the middle of the field, fooling the defense by reversing course and pushing through two defenders near the goal line for a 40-yard touchdown that tied the score.
Blair Walsh's last-second field goal made it Vikings 23, Bears 20, giving the Vikings their first victory in Chicago since 2007 and a reminder that you can't spell SOD (Steal of the Draft) without Diggs' initials. – Jim Souhan, StarTribune.com
Diggs has only been active for four NFL games, but has 25 catches for 419 yards and 2 TDs. If you take those numbers and extrapolate them over a 16-game season, Diggs would be on pace for 100 catches for 1,676 yards and 8 touchdowns.
As it is, Diggs is fourth in the NFL in receiving yards per game with 104.8. His 16.8 yards per catch average leads all NFL rookies with at least four receptions. That 16.8 yards per catch is also 2nd in the league for all receivers with at least 25 receptions.
• Good luck to the Maryland field hockey team, which racked up its share of Big Ten honors, as it looks to win its first Big Ten tournament championship this week in Bloomington, Ind. The top-seeded Terps begin their title quest tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. with a quarterfinal match vs. No. 8-seed Michigan State.
The winner of that match will take on the winner of the No. 4-seed Northwestern-No. 5-seed Ohio State match on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
The championship match is scheduled for a noon start on Sunday, Nov. 8.
Every match of the Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Fans can also watch on BTN2Go, or on the BTN's mobile app, and will be asked to enter their cable login information.
• The Maryland men's soccer team saw it's Big Ten regular season title hopes take a hit on Halloween with a 1-0 loss at No. 23 Ohio State.
The Terps close out the regular season tonight when it hosts Rutgers at Ludwig Field at 7 p.m.
Both sides have a lot to play for. The Terrapins are looking for a potential top-four seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament with a victory, while the Scarlet Nights are still in the hunt for the regular season conference title.
• Head coach Kerry McCoy and the Maryland wrestling team began their 2015-16 regular season this past weekend with three dual matches at the Terrapin Duals. The Terps topped Davidson in the opener, but couldn't overcome Pittsburgh or Buffalo.
Scoring will be up in NCAA wrestling this season with the implementation of more back-points scoring and that was evident on Sunday with many of the matches featuring double-digit points. It was especially evident in Tyler Goodwin's win at 133-pounds vs. Pittsburgh. Taking on Dom Forys, the Maryland native utilized his outstanding throws to scores multiple near falls and eventually held 15-6 advantage after one period. Goodwin survived a furious comeback from Forys to win 24-23.
Redshirt freshman Alfred Bannister's Terrapin career got off to a solid start with a pair of victories.
The Terps return to action on Sunday with split-squad action at the Binghamton Open in Binghamton, N.Y., and Hokie Open in Blacksburg, Va.
Check out some highlights from yesterday's Terrapin Duals. #FearTheTurtle https://t.co/2OUZX0ZAAa
— Maryland Wrestling (@TerpsWrestling) November 2, 2015
Tweet of the Week
Looks like we have a winner! No one loves trophies like the Terps. 🏆🏆 #HalloweenU pic.twitter.com/NVQMSjmRPA
— Maryland Women's Lax (@MarylandWLax) October 30, 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.
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.
