Jan 7, 1998
5 Bowl Teams Highlight Terrapins' 11-Game 1998 Football Schedule
Maryland to Play 6 Home Games, Including ACC Match-ups vs. Florida St., Wake, Ga. Tech and N.C. St.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- University of Maryland's 1998 football schedule, officially announced by Director of Athletics Deborah A. Yow, will feature five schools coming off bowl appearances, seven teams which posted winning records last season, and a cumulative opponent regular season winning percentage in '97 of .562, second highest among ACC schools scheduled opponents for 1998.
The 11-game schedule calls for non-conference match-ups with West Virginia, Temple and James Madison, in addition to the regular eight-game ACC slate.
"This is a very attractive schedule and obviously a challenging one," said Yow. "Certainly it is the type of schedule Terp fans will be excited about. Any time you play five bowl teams, which Coach (Ron) Vanderlinden and his program will be doing for the second consecutive year, you are getting into select company in terms of strength of schedule. Not only did five of our opponents end up in bowl games this past season, but six were listed among the top 35 in the regular season power rating, and seven combined to average eight victories. We're excited about the challenges that await and the opportunities a schedule like this presents. At the same time, fully aware that we are laying a foundation for the future, we remain committed clearly, to the view that turning around our football program is a four-year process, not an event. We are signing the kind of athletes who will be the foundation of our future success."
The Terps are scheduled to kick off their 106th season of intercollegiate football in College Park on Sept. 5 when they host James Madison (tentatively) in a non-conference game at Byrd Stadium. It will be the first of six home dates for the Terrapins, who will also host non-conference foe Temple (Sept. 26) and ACC opponents Florida State (Oct. 3), Wake Forest (Oct. 17), Georgia Tech (Oct. 31) and North Carolina State (Nov. 21).
Maryland's five-game road slate includes ACC contests vs. Virginia (Sept. 12), Clemson (Oct. 10), North Carolina (Nov. 7) and Duke (Nov. 14), and a non-conference game vs. West Virginia (Sept. 19).
The game against West Virginia is the first of five contests vs. teams which advanced to bowl games last season. In addition to WVU, which played in the Carquest Bowl, other teams on Maryland's '98 schedule are Florida State (Sugar), Clemson (Peach), Georgia Tech (Carquest) and North Carolina (Gator).
In total, Maryland's 1998 opponents last season combined for an aggregate regular season record of 68-53, a winning percentage of .562. Among the nine ACC schools, that percentage ranks second in the winning percentage of its opponents.
The Terps have previously met every opponent on the 1998 schedule with the exception of James Madison, a Division I-AA foe out of Harrisonburg, Virginia which competes in the Atlantic-10 for football. James Madison is one of four I-AA schools in ACC schedules in 1998, joining Furman (Clemson), Western Carolina (Duke), and Appalachian State (Wake Forest).
Ticket information will be released at a later date.
1998 MARYLAND SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 James Madison
Sept. 12 * at Virginia
Sept. 19 at West Virginia
Sept. 26 Temple
Oct. 3 * Florida State
Oct. 10 * at Clemson
Oct. 17 Wake Forest
Oct. 24 Idle
Oct. 31 Georgia Tech
Nov. 7 * at North Carolina
Nov. 14 * at Duke
Nov. 21 * N.C. State
* indicates ACC game
TERP SCHEDULE NOTES
Five teams on Maryland's 1998
schedule played in bowl games this
past season:
West Virginia...................Carquest Bowl
Florida State...................Sugar Bowl
Clemson.........................Peach Bowl
Georgia Tech....................Carquest Bowl
North Carolina..................Gator Bowl
The seven 1998 opponents that posted
winning records in '97 combined to
average eight victories this past
season.
Maryland's 1998 opponents posted a 68-
53 regular season record in 1997, a
winning percentage of .562. Following
are the '98 opponent regular season
win-loss percentages for all ACC
schools
School W-L Pct.
1. Wake Forest 74-48 .607
2. Maryland 68-53 .562
3. Virginia 68-54 .557
N.C. State 68-54 .557
5. Clemson 67-54 .554
6. Florida State 65-56 .537
7. Georgia Tech 64-57 .529
North Carolina 64-57 .529
9. Duke 64-58 .525
Six of the Terps opponents in 1998
finished among the top 35 in the final
1997 regular season Sagarin power
ratings. The teams and rankings:
1. Florida State
12. North Carolina
22. Clemson
27. Virginia
29. Georgia Tech
35. North Carolina State
