The 1958 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in the

1958 NCAA University Division football season The 1958 NCAA University Division football season was notable in that it was the first to feature the two-point conversion. On January 13, 1958, the eleven-man NCAA Rules Committee unanimously approved a resolution to allow teams to choose betwee ...

as a member of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. They were led by third-year head coach

Tommy Mont Thomas Allison Mont (June 20, 1922 – January 1, 2012) was an American educator, university administrator, college football coach, and National Football League (NFL) player. He played quarterback for the Washington Redskins as a back-up behind S ...

, who guided Maryland to a 4–6 record. He resigned at the end of the season, and was replaced by

Tom Nugent Thomas N. Nugent (February 24, 1913 – January 19, 2006) was an American college football coach and innovator, sportscaster, public relations man. He served as the head football coach at the Virginia Military Institute, Florida State University ...

Schedule

Before the season

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' predicted 1958 would prove to be Mont's first winning season because of increased depth, but also noted the difficulty of the schedule, which included six teams ranked in the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

preseason poll. Mont rated Clemson and

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

as the toughest opponents on the schedule.

Personnel

The 1958 team consisted of the following letterwinners:Year-By-Year Results
(PDF), ''2007 Terrapin Football Record Book'', p. 17–22, University of Maryland, 2007. *Al Beardsley *Ed Becker *Joe Behrmann *Dale Betty *Pete Boinis *

Rod Breedlove Rodney Winston Breedlove (March 10, 1938 – May 25, 2021) was an American professional football who was a linebacker for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1960 to 1 ...

*Everett Cloud *Bob Cole *Fred Cole *Leroy Dietrich *Tom Flor *Dwayne Fletcher *John Forbes *Bob Gallagher *

Joe Gardi Joseph T. Gardi (March 2, 1939 – June 2, 2010) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Hofstra University for 16 seasons, from 1990 to 2005, compiling a record of 119–62–2.

*Tom Gunderman *Jim Hatter *Jim Joyce *Fred Kern *Ted Kershner *Ron Laneve *Bob Layman *Bill Lazaro *Dickie Lewis *Ed Nickla *Bob Rusevlyan *Dick Scarbath *Victor Schwartz *Kurt Schwarz * Ben Scotti *

Tony Scotti Anthony Joseph Scotti (born December 22, 1939) is an American actor, television and film producer, and co-founder of Scotti Brothers Records. He is married to French singer Sylvie Vartan. Early life Scotti and his brother Ben both played footb ...

*Vincent Scott *Ron Shaffer *Gene Verardi The coaching staff consisted of: *

, head coach *

Gene Alderton Wayne Eugene "Gene" Alderton (April 3, 1934 – July 2, 1992) was an American football player. He played college football for the University of Maryland. He was selected by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League in the 1957 NFL Draft. ...

*William Dovell *

Ed Fullerton Edward Reno Fullerton (April 7, 1931 – May 28, 2015) was an American football halfback and defensive back. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1953 NFL Draft and played one season in the National Football League (NFL). He played college ...

Jack Hennemier John M. Hennemier ( – November 6, 1993) was an American gridiron football coach and scout. He served as the head coach for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for one and a half seasons, and also held assistant coachi ...

* Johnny Idzik *Fred Layman * Roy Lester

Season

In the season opener, Wake Forest snapped a 12-game losing streak and routed Maryland, 34–0, which "about eliminated Maryland from consideration as a possible

champion." Maryland rebounded to defeat the defending ACC champions,

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

, in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, 21–6. In the first quarter, a 73-yard Terrapins drive culminated with halfback John Forbes scoring on a four-yard rush. In the third quarter,

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Dickie Lewis connected with Forbes, who ran without his left shoe, into the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

for a 71-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. In the fourth quarter, Forbes recovered an NC State

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

on the opposing 25-yard line, which set up the third Maryland score. In the final period, Wolfpack back Randy Harrell intercepted a Maryland

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...

on the Terrapins' 41-yard line, and on the ensuing possession, caught a 15-yard pass from Gerald Mancini for State's lone score. The following week, tenth-ranked Clemson beat Maryland, 8–0. The Terrapins' first-team defense stood fast on their own four-yard line, but the second team was substituted into the game and forced to punt. On the first play of Clemson's subsequent possession, quarterback Harvey White threw a 30-yard pass to end Wyatt Cox, who then beat two Maryland pursuers and ran twenty yards for a touchdown.

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, running its single-wing offense, defeated Maryland, 14–10. Early in an 88-yard Texas A&M drive, Maryland's

recovered a fumble on the Aggie 30-yard line, but it was overturned on an offsides call. Quarterback Charlie Milstead took over, and capped the drive with a three-yard keeper into the end zone. In the fourth quarter, Maryland repeatedly entered Texas A&M territory, only to give up a fumble and an interception.

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

's stout defense "bottled up" Maryland, and its offense scored on several sustained drives. The Tar Heels scored on their first possession with a 60-yard drive. In the second quarter, Tar Heels quarterback Jack Cummings led an 80-yard scoring drive. Later in the period, Carolina end Al Goldstein picked off a pass by Bob Rusevlyan and ran 46-yards for a touchdown. In the final quarter, Carolina scored again on a 70-yard drive for a final result of 27–0. Fifth-ranked

handed Maryland its fourth straight loss, 20–7, and extended its own undefeated streak to nineteen games. Auburn scored first to take a 6–0 lead, but Maryland quarterback Rusevlyan connected with end Ben Scotti for a 68-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. With the extra point, Maryland went up 7–6, which was the first time Auburn trailed an opponent since the previous season's game against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

. After the ensuing

kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (mag ...

, Auburn scored in the span of two plays, but failed on the point after kick. At the end of the third period, a pass from Rusevlyan was intercepted by back Tommy Lorino, which put Auburn in position for their final score. Maryland snapped its losing streak with an upset against

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, 10–6. The following week, however,

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

routed Maryland, 40–14. Fullback Joe Matalavage compiled 102–rushing yards more than the entire Maryland team. Maryland beat an injury-riddled

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, 26–14. ''

The Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

'' wrote, "This MD—home of University of Maryland—produced some mad, unlicensed surgeons, some butchers in the middle of the line, notably guards

and Tom Gunderman, who chopped up the Hurricanes." Maryland quarterback Dick Scarbath led the team and back John Forbes scored three touchdowns. In the finale, Maryland routed

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, 44–6. The Terrapins set a conference record with 350 passing yards, and tied the records for pass attempts with 40, and completions with 18. Guard Rod Breedlove also intercepted two Virginia passes, both of which set up Maryland touchdowns.

After the season

Mont resigned at the conclusion of the 4–6 season. ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' wrote the resignation "had all the earmarks of having been forced", coming just a day after the Board of Regents concluded its discussions on whether to extend his expiring contract.Mont Resigns At Maryland Under Fire
''The St. Petersburg Times'', December 10, 1958. He said, "I'll never apologize for the performance of my Maryland teams." Mont compiled an 11–18–1 record during his tenure. NC State head coach

Earle Edwards Earle Edwards (November 10, 1908 – February 25, 1997) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at North Carolina State University from 1954 to 1970, compiling a record of 77–88–8. Edwards is the longes ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

line coach

Gomer Jones Gomer Thomas Jones (February 26, 1914 – March 21, 1971) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football as a center at Ohio State University from 1933 to 1935. After serving as an assist ...

, and Maryland assistant

were considered to be candidates for the vacant head coaching position. In January 1959, Maryland hired

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

head coach

, an innovator of the

I formation The I formation is one of the most common offensive formations in American football. The I formation draws its name from the vertical (as viewed from the opposing endzone) alignment of quarterback, fullback, and running back, particularly when ...

.Tom Nugent Is Maryland Pick
''The Owosso Argus-Press'', January 7, 1959.

References

{{Maryland Terrapins football navbox

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Maryland Terrapins football seasons

Maryland Terrapins football The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland, College Park in the sport of American football. The Terrapins compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Big Ten Conference. The Terrapins jo ...