The 1951 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 ...

1951 college football season The 1951 college football season finished with seven unbeaten major college teams, of which five were unbeaten and untied. Ultimately, the Tennessee Volunteers were voted the best team by the Associated Press, followed by the Michigan State Sparta ...

as a member of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

(SoCon). Maryland outscored its opponents, 381–74, and finished the season with a 10–0 record, including three

shut out Shut Out may refer to: * Shutout, a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring * ''Shut Out'' (album), a 1977 album by Paul Jabara * "Shut Out" (song), a 1977 song by Paul Jabara and Donna Summer * "Shutout", a song by The Walk ...

s, and held seven opponents to seven points or less. It was the school's first perfect undefeated and untied season since

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

. Maryland also secured its first berth in a major postseason

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

, the 1952 Sugar Bowl, where it upset first-ranked

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

under head coach

Robert Neyland Robert Reese Neyland (; February 17, 1892 – March 28, 1962) was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He served three stints as the head football coach at the Univ ...

. Maryland was led by fifth-year head coach

Jim Tatum Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James (given name), James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy (given name), Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * Jim (comics), ...

, whom ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine called "the most successful major college coach in the game" during his nine-year tenure at College Park.The Coach
''

'', August 3, 1959. To date, Tatum remains the winningest Maryland football coach of the modern era, with a

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

of 0.819.Records
PDF), 2007 Maryland Terrapins Football Media Guide, University of Maryland, p. 55, retrieved 14 January 2009. 2009-05-07. The team returned experienced junior quarterback

Jack Scarbath John Carl Scarbath (August 12, 1930December 6, 2020) was a professional American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fam ...

, who was the runner-up for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

in the following season. Other key returning players included

Ed Modzelewski Ed Modzelewski (January 13, 1929 – February 28, 2015) was an American football fullback, who played in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. He played college football for the University of Maryl ...

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 ...

, Bob Ward, and

Bob Shemonski Bob "Shoo Shoo" Shemonski (c. 1933 – c. 2001) was an American football player. He played college football as an end and back for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected in the 1952 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Biography A native of Archbald ...

. The team was selected national champion by NCAA-designated major selectors of

Dunkel Dunkel, or Dunkles, is a word used for several types of dark German lager. ''Dunkel'' is the German word meaning ''dark'', and dunkel beers typically range in color from amber to dark reddish brown. They are characterized by their smooth malty f ...

, Football Research,

National Championship Foundation The National Championship Foundation (NCF) was established by Mike Riter of Hudson, New York. The NCF retroactively selected college football national champions for each year from 1869 to 1979, and its selections are among the historic national ch ...

, Sagarin, and Sagarin (ELO-Chess).

Before the season

Maryland had ended the previous season on a two-game winning streak, which it extended through the duration of the 1951 season. The following year, the Terrapins continued that streak for seven additional games before a loss to 11th-ranked Mississippi. In total, Maryland won 22 straight games from 1950 to 1952, which remains the longest winning streak in program history. One

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 ...

writer characterized the 1950 season's 7–2–1 record as a disappointment to "never-satisfied alumni" who had hoped for an undefeated season and first-ever Southern Conference championship. Respected sports prognosticator

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

picked

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 ...

under

Carl Snavely Carl Gray "The Grey Fox" Snavely (July 30, 1894 – July 12, 1975) was an American football and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Bucknell University (1927–1933), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1934–19 ...

as the frontrunner to win the Southern Conference championship and predicted they would finish as the 18th ranked team in the nation. Rice estimated Maryland would finish second in the league and 20th in the rankings. Robert Moore of the Associated Press named Maryland the favorite to win the Southern Conference championship and stated it was "undoubtedly ... the team to beat", although he acknowledged that at least eight other teams would also be in contention: North Carolina, Clemson,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

North Carolina 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 universit ...

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 = ...

, VMI, Wake Forest, and William & Mary. Moore was more subdued in his assessments of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

Washington & Lee , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

, and predicted rebuilding seasons for

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

, Furman,

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. The Associated Press later called Maryland's preseason favorite title a "dubious distinction", to which few teams in the Mid-Atlantic had been able to live up. Tatum expressed confidence and said it was "the best team I've ever coached," but acknowledged the team could lose as many as seven games in a worst-case scenario. Another Associated Press article said most people expected a big season from Maryland as the culmination of five years of Tatum's high-caliber recruiting.Maryland Ready For Best Season
''The Rock Hill Herald'', September 7, 1951. A

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

article had high confidence in Maryland, because of its experienced team and what it assessed as an easier schedule than previous seasons. It predicted

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

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 ...

, and North Carolina as the "only rough spots" on the schedule.

Personnel

Maryland lost several players, including fifteen

lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

, from the previous season due to the exhaustion of their college eligibility. These included

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

Elmer Wingate Elmer Horsey Wingate (October 26, 1928 – February 27, 2016) was an American football player. Wingate was drafted by the New York Yanks in the fourth round of the 1951 NFL Draft and played for one season with the Baltimore Colts. Early life a ...

and Pete Augsburger, tackles Chet Gierula and Ray Krouse,

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Jack Rowden, and

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

Jack Targarona. Notably, Maryland did not lose a single back "worthy of mention", and all of the linemen aside from the ends had ready replacements. On the whole, Maryland returned a seasoned team that included 22 lettermen, and the United Press described the team as "bigger and bruisier than ever."Maryland Rated Tops In Southern Grid Conference This Year; No Rival as Strong as Terrapins With 22 Lettermen on Squad, North Carolina Depends on Sophomores
''Reading Eagle'', September 18, 1951. They were led by junior

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 ...

who gained significant experience in the split-T the previous season, in which he started the first six games before suffering an injury. He was backed up by a capable reservist in sophomore quarterback Bernie Faloney. (In 1952, Scarbath was the

runner-up,1952 – 18th Award
Heisman.com, retrieved December 10, 2008

2009-06-25. and the following year, Faloney finished fourth in the voting.
, Heisman.com, retrieved December 20, 2008.) Scarbath was accompanied in the

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the ...

by several other capable players, including "one of the biggest fullbacks in captivity"

and halfbacks Chet "the Jet" Hanulak and

. Halfback

, the previous season's conference-scoring leader, was shifted to play mostly on defense, but would rank as the team leader in

kick return A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

s with six for 126 yards. The Terrapins' line was anchored by co-captains Bob Ward, a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, and Dave Cianelli, the

. At tackle, it featured Ed's brother,

Dick Modzelewski Richard Blair Modzelewski (February 16, 1931 – October 19, 2018) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, and the Cleveland Browns. He al ...

, and Bob Morgan. The defense was described as particularly deep, anchored by Ward, Cianelli, and Jeff Keith, and with good reserves available into even the third string. The position(s) for each player are annotated in parentheses (for an explanation of the abbreviations used see

American football positions In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

).Year-By-Year Results
''2007 Terrapin Football Record Book'', University of Maryland, p. 17–22, 2007, retrieved February 4, 2009.''Terrapin''
University of Maryland Yearbook, Class of 1952, pp. 162–164. *

John Alderton John Alderton (born 27 November 1940) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', ''Thomas & Sarah'', ''Wodehouse Playhouse'', ''Little Miss'' (original television series), ''Please Sir!'', ''No, Honestly' ...

(DE) *Ed Barritt *Lynn Beightol (QB) *

Dick Bielski Richard Adam Bielski (born September 7, 1932) is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Colts. Bielski played college ...

(FB) *Walter Boeri (FB/G/LB) *Dave Christianson (T) * Dave Cianelli (C/FB/LB) * Lloyd Colteryahn (OE) *

Tom Cosgrove Tom Cosgrove may refer to: * Thomas Cosgrove (1829–1912), Irish soldier * Tom Cosgrove (American football) Tom Cosgrove (1930 – March 28, 2017) was a National Football League (NFL) player for the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Colts. He ...

Ralph Felton Ralph Dwain "Rass" Felton (May 21, 1932 – January 22, 2011) was an American football player. Felton played college football at the University of Maryland at College Park and was drafted in the fourth round of the 1954 NFL Draft. He was a lineb ...

(FB/DB/LB) *Ed Fincke (C) *Hank Fox (E) *Chick Fry (T) *

(HB/DB) *John Guender *

Chet Hanulak Chet Hanulak (March 28, 1933- September 10, 2021) was a former professional American football player who played running back for four seasons for the Cleveland Browns. Hanulak played football at Hackensack High School and was recruited to play o ...

(HB) *Fred Heffner (E/K/P) *Joe Horning (HB/DB) *Art Hurd (G) * Stan Jones (T) *Ed Kensler (DG) *Jeff Keith (C/LB) *Charles Lattimer (C) *Bob Laughery (B) * Pete Ladygo (OG/LB) *Paul Lindsay (E) *Leonard Mahoney *Bill Maletzky (G) *Roy Martine *

(T) *

(FB) * Bob Morgan (T) *

Joe Moss Joseph Charles Moss (April 19, 1930 – January 31, 2023) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Maryland and professional football in the National Football League (NFL) with the Washi ...

(OT) *

Frank Navarro Frank F. Navarro (February 15, 1930 – May 30, 2021) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Williams College from 1963 to 1967, Columbia University from 1968 to 1973, Wabash College from 1974 ...

(G) *Paul Nestor (DE) *

Dick Nolan Rick Nolan is a Minnesota politician. Richard Nolan may also refer to *Dick Nolan (American football) (1932–2007), American football player, father of Mike Nolan, former head coach of San Francisco 49ers *Dick Nolan (musician) (1939–2005), Cana ...

(DB) *Joe Petruzzo (HB/DB) *

(QB) *Karney Scioscia (FB) *

(E/HB/DB) *Ray Stankus (G) *Dan Staffieri *Clifford Trexler (C) * Bob Ward (G) *George Weicker (T) *Lou Weidensaul (E)

Coaching staff

served as the head coach for his fifth year at Maryland in the 1951 season. All told, he served a nine-year tenure at College Park and compiled a 73–15–4 record for a winning percentage of 0.819, the highest among Maryland coaches in the modern era. Tatum later gained national recognition, with ''

'' magazine later calling him "the most successful major college coach in the game", and 1951 proved to be his breakout season. Tatum employed the

split-T The split-T is an offensive formation in American football that was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Developed by Missouri Tigers head coach Don Faurot as a variation on the T formation, the split-T was first used in the 1941 season and allowed the ...

, which he had learned firsthand as the protégé of its pioneer,

Don Faurot Donald Burrows Faurot (June 23, 1902 – October 19, 1995) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator best known for his eight-decade association with the University of Missouri. He served as the ...

. This new offensive system sought to emulate the "two-on-one"

fast break Fast break is an offensive strategy in basketball and handball. In a fast break, a team attempts to move the ball up court and into scoring position as quickly as possible, so that the defense is outnumbered and does not have time to set up. The ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, with the aim of creating an undefended

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column runs ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Washington & Lee

The season opened against

, the defending 1950 Southern Conference champions. In the first quarter, the Generals'

fumbled 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 h ...

in their own

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. ...

, which was converted into a Maryland

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 ...

when Pete Ladygo recovered it. Tatum used his alternates generously: fifty Terrapin players saw action in the game and nine scored. Quarterbacks

, Bob DeStefano, Bernie Faloney, and Lynn Beightol all saw action.''Terrapin''
University of Maryland Yearbook, Class of 1952, p. 165.

George Washington

To open the game against

, Scarbath led a five-play drive that culminated in a one-yard rush by

for a score. Don Decker made the

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

. Later, Ed Modzelewski scored again on a 62-yard touchdown break. In the second quarter, back-up quarterback Faloney scored on a

quarterback keeper A quarterback keeper or keeper in American football is a designed play in which the quarterback does not pass or hand off the ball to another player and instead rushes forward with it in an effort to gain yardage. The play typically is run in in ...

. Then,

connected with

with a 27-yard pass for another touchdown to close the half, 27–0. In the third quarter, Scarbath threw a pass to Felton for the final Maryland score. In the fourth quarter, G.W.'s Bino Varreira scored in the last minute of play, for a final result of 33–6.

Georgia

The year prior,

had soundly beaten an unprepared and unconditioned Maryland team in the season-opener. In 1951, the Bulldogs were supposed to be one of the Terrapins' toughest tests. Maryland tallied first with a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

by Don Decker, which was an unusual method to score at the time. Later in the first quarter,

rushed for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Hanulak scored again. Georgia's only score of the game came on a four-yard rush by Lauren Hargrove. Halftime expired with a score of 17–7. In the third quarter, Ed Modzelewski,

, and Scarbath each scored. Fullerton scored the final touchdown on a then school-record 86-yard run.''Terrapin''
University of Maryland Yearbook, Class of 1952, p. 167.

North Carolina

In the first quarter, Maryland engineered a 79-yard drive. Ralph Felton gained the last 27 yards for the score.

responded with a 41-yard drive capped by a touchdown by

Bob Gantt Robert M. Gantt Jr. (June 22, 1922 – October 25, 1994) was an American professional basketball player. He played for one season with the Washington Capitols of the Basketball Association of America during the 1946–47 season. Gantt played col ...

. In the second quarter,

broke the stalemate with a touchdown pass to Lou Weidensaul for the go-ahead. In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Maryland's Joe Petruzzo broke up a pass in the end zone to preserve the victory, 14–7. It was the 18th game of the series and the first Maryland win in eleven meetings. The previous one had been in 1926.

Louisiana State

Maryland then traveled to

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

to face

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

powerhouse

Louisiana State Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisian ...

. A tough LSU defense held Maryland scoreless through the first and most of the second quarter. Late in the first half, LSU's Jim Barton and Bernie Faloney exchanged several punts, until Maryland gained good field position on the Tigers' 43-yard line. Ed Modzelewski helped lead a five-play drive capped by a quarterback sneak by Scarbath for the first score of the game. On the next Maryland possession, Scarbath dodged several LSU tacklers and ran for a 56-yard touchdown. At halftime, the Terrapins led, 13–0. In the third quarter, Maryland executed a

sweep Sweep or swept may refer to: Cleaning * Sweep, the action of using a brush to clean * Chimney sweep, a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys * Street sweeper, a person's occupation, or a machine that cleans streets * Swept quartz, a cleani ...

and double reverse, which allowed Bob Shemonski to rush for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Ed Modzelewski tossed the ball to Chet Hanulak for the final score of the game. Maryland won, 27–0.''Terrapin''
University of Maryland Yearbook, Class of 1952, p. 169.

Missouri

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

was led by head coach

, inventor of the

offense and former mentor of Jim Tatum. The Terrapin defense shut-down the Tigers' spread offense and held it to seven completions on 28 attempts. Joe Horning intercepted a Tiger pass and returned it 100 yards for a score. All told, Maryland compiled 350 rushing yards and zero passing yards on three incomplete pass attempts. Missouri recorded 103 passing yards and 92 rushing yards.

Navy

Early in the first quarter,

's Frank Brady returned a punt 100 yards for a touchdown and gave the Mids a 7-0 lead, marking the only time during the entire 1951 season that Maryland trailed an opponent in a game. Scarbath connected with receivers on 16 of 34 pass attempts for 285 passing yards and two interceptions. Ed Modzelewski and Paul Weidensaul each scored touchdowns.

NC State

At College Park, Maryland sought revenge against

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 ...

for ending their bowl game opportunity the previous year. Ralph Felton ran for 186 yards and a touchdown. Ed Kensler returned an interception for a score. Ed Modzelewski rushed for a total of 89 yards. Don Decker kicked five extra points.''Terrapin''
University of Maryland Yearbook, Class of 1952, p. 172. Shortly before the game, Maryland accepted an invitation to play in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

West Virginia

In the first quarter, Ed Modzelewski rushed 16 yards for the opening touchdown. Maryland scored three more touchdowns on each of its subsequent possessions. Lloyd Colteryahn caught a ten-yard pass from Scarbath for the fifth and final Terrapins' touchdown of the first half. In the second, Maryland scored 19 unanswered points, which culminated in a 77-yard run by Joe Horning.

Tennessee (Sugar Bowl)

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' called the 1952 Sugar Bowl the second " game of the century," with the first having been between the undefeated

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and Notre Dame teams in 1946. The Associated Press called it possibly "the greatest bowl game of them all." Tennessee was a period powerhouse and its roster included five All-Americans. Maryland was viewed as a heavy

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

going into the game. Terrapins halfback

said, "Nobody expected us to get that far. But Jim Tatum was a coach who could work wonders." After mechanical issues delayed Maryland's flight, the team became the first to practice at night for a Sugar Bowl. Tatum said, " ennessee isso much better than we are that they probably don't need the practice. But we do—and we'll get it." Vic Gold
The Greatest Game
'' Washingtonian'' magazine, 1 January 2002, retrieved 15 January 2009. 1952 Sugar Bowl Scarbath sneak

Tennessee was led by triple-threat quarterback and Heisman runner-up

Hank Lauricella Francis Edward Lauricella, known as Hank Lauricella (October 9, 1930 – March 25, 2014), was a real estate developer from suburban New Orleans, Louisiana, a college football legend, and a member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature ...

. Head coach Neyland's offensive linemen were described as not large but "squatty" and "bruiser not flashy, but slightly murderous." Neyland considered the split-T offense used by Tatum gimmicky and relied on the more traditional

single-wing formation In American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation was a precursor to the modern spread or shotgun formation. The term usually connotes formations in which the snap is tossed rather than handed—formations with one wingback and a hand ...

. He subscribed to the adage that, when the ball was thrown, "three things could happen, and two of them were bad." For the game, Tatum himself abandoned the split-T in favor of a smashmouth approach to run it up the middle, where he thought "they least expected t" Neyland's strategy focused heavily on punting the ball to pin the opponent in their own territory with a goal of creating turnovers, and Tatum likewise adopted it. The game started with both teams exchanging several punts in the first quarter. Maryland gained good field position after Lauricella kicked a short punt. Running backs

and

then led an 11-play, 56-yard rushing drive for a touchdown. On the kickoff, Bob Ward hit Lauricella and forced a fumble that Maryland recovered on Tennessee's 13-yard line. After four plays,

pitched to Fullerton who then threw a six-yard

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...

to Bob Shemonski in the end zone and expanded the Maryland lead to 14–0. Scarbath then engineered a 48-yard drive and ran it in himself for the Terrapins' third touchdown within seven minutes.''Terrapin''
University of Maryland Yearbook, Class of 1952, p. 174&175. Late in the second quarter, Tennessee back

Bert Rechichar Albert Daniel (Bert) Rechichar (July 16, 1930 – July 19, 2019) was an American football defensive back and kicker who played with the National Football League (NFL)'s Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts, and Pittsburgh Steelers from to . He als ...

caught a four-yard pass for a touchdown, but the

was no good. At the end of the first half, Maryland had stunned Tennessee by gaining a 21–6 lead.All-Time Postseason Results
(PDF), ''2001 Maryland Terrapins Football Media Guide'', 2001, p. 155, retrieved 25 January 2009. In the third quarter, Fullerton intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown. In the final minutes, Tennessee's goal-line quarterback Herky Payne ran it in from the one-yard line. Maryland won the game with a final result of 28–13.

After the season

Maryland finished as the nation's only untied, undefeated team that had played a ten-game schedule. The final wire service rankings, however, were released prior to the bowl games at the time. Therefore, Maryland held a final ranking as the number-three team in the nation, behind first-ranked Tennessee (10–1) and second-ranked

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

(9–0). To date, the 1951 Terrapins remain Maryland's only undefeated, untied team of the modern era. Several championship selectors have retroactively named Maryland the 1951 national champions. These include the following NCAA-recognized sources:

Jeff Sagarin Jeff Sagarin is an American sports statistician known for his development of a method for ranking and rating sports teams in a variety of sports. His ratings have been a regular feature in the ''USA Today'' sports section since 1985, have been us ...

's computer ranking system, the College Football Researchers Association, the DeVold System, the Dunkel System, and the National Championship Foundation. In 2002, ''

'' called the 1951 season the greatest in Maryland football history, ranking it above the 1953 national championship team. The season saw Maryland compile its first (and, to date, only) undefeated, untied season since

Awards

Bob Ward was named a consensus first-team All-American and

and

were named second-team All-Americans.ACC All-Americans
(PDF), 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Media Guide, Atlantic Coast Conference, 2007, retrieved 16 January 2009. Dave Cianelli,

, Joe Petruzzo, and

were named honorable mention All-Americans.All-Time Honors
(PDF), ''2001 Maryland Terrapins Football Media Guide'', CBS Sports, retrieved 8 December 2008. Jim Tatum was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year. Bob Ward received the Knute Rockne Award and was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year. Ward and Ed Modzelewski were named All-Southern Conference.Records
(PDF), ''2007 Southern Conference Football Media Guide'', Southern Conference, p. 141–147, 2007, retrieved 6 October 2008.

References

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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 College football national champions Southern Conference football champion seasons Sugar Bowl champion seasons College football undefeated 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 ...