The 2004 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football

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 Subdiv ...

between the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divi ...

and the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mo ...

. The 59th edition of the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nat ...

, it was played at

Alltel Stadium TIAA Bank Field is an American football stadium located in Jacksonville, Florida, that primarily serves as the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and the headquarters of the professional wrestling prom ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

, on January 1, 2004. The game was the final contest of the

2003 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in the claim of a split national championship. This was the first claimed split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to elimi ...

for both teams, and ended in a 41–7 victory for Maryland. The Maryland Terrapins (more often, simply 'Terps') earned a bid to the Gator Bowl following a 9–3 record during the 2003 regular season. It was

Ralph Friedgen Ralph Harry Friedgen (born April 4, 1947) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the special assistant coach for Rutgers in 2015 after serving as their offensive coordinator in the 2014 season. He was the head coach at the Univ ...

's third season as Maryland head coach and third consecutive bowl game, making him just the second Maryland head coach to do so in his first three seasons—the other being

Bobby Ross Robert Joseph Ross (born December 23, 1936) is an American former football coach. He served as the head football coach at The Citadel (1973–1977), the University of Maryland, College Park (1982–1986), the Georgia Institute of Technology (1 ...

. At the conclusion of this game, Friedgen also became the first

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 Associ ...

coach to ever win at least ten games in his first three seasons. Going into the game, Maryland's 30-win three seasons was the best three-year total in school history. The West Virginia Mountaineers had finished the regular season with a record of 8–4, which already included a defeat at the hands of Maryland. Like Friedgen, it was

Rich Rodriguez Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Jacksonville State University. Rodriguez previously was the head football coach at Salem Un ...

's third year as head coach of his program. West Virginia entered the game on a seven-game winning streak, as co-champions of the

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

conference. The game took place in front of a crowd of 78,892 fans. The Terps got off to a quick lead, and never relented. Early in the third quarter, Maryland led 31-0 before West Virginia scored its only points. Oddly enough, the game was a bowl rematch of a regular season game which had similarly lop-sided results: Maryland had won that contest too, 34-7. It marked the fourth Terps' win over the Mountaineers in three years, by an average score of 35-13.

Team selection

Maryland

The 2003 season was Ralph Friedgen's third as head coach at Maryland. He had already compiled an impressive record in his first two years, elevating Terrapins football back to the national stage for the first time since Bobby Ross left the program in the wake of the

Len Bias Leonard Kevin Bias (November 18, 1963June 19, 1986) was an American college basketball player who attended the University of Maryland. During his four years playing for Maryland, he was named a first-team All-American. Two days after being selec ...

tragedy. His first year as head coach in 2001, Friedgen had led the Terrapins to a 10-2 record and the BCS

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

, for the team's first winning season in five years and the first bowl game in eleven years.

West Virginia

West Virginia's 2003 season started off badly, with a 1-4 record including losses to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michi ...

, Cincinnati, Maryland, and fellow Big East foe

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

. However, the Mountaineers recovered to win their next seven games and secure a conference co-championship with Miami. With it they also received a bowl bid to travel to Jacksonville to face the Terps in a post-season rematch.

Game summary

First quarter

The game started with a West Virginia kick off into the Maryland endzone where

Steve Suter Steve Suter (born June 26, 1982) is an American former football player. He played as wide receiver and return specialist for the Maryland Terrapins and also briefly played Canadian football for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He gained fame for his ex ...

returned it for 23 yards. Quarterback Scott McBrien led the Terps on a drive with Bruce Perry carrying 22 yards and a pass to Steve Suter for 16 and Jo Jo Walker for 29 yards. The Mountaineers held fast at their own 10-yard line and forced a field goal attempt.

Nick Novak Nicholas Ryan Novak (born August 21, 1981) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Maryland. Novak has played for the Washington Redskins, ...

made good a 27-yard kick for the first points in the game.Another lopsided win for Maryland
ESPN, 1 January 2004. In the next two series, West Virginia and Maryland exchanged punts. Mountaineer running back

Kay-Jay Harris Kevin Jermaine "Kay-Jay" Harris (born March 27, 1979) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at West Virginia. Harris has also been a member ...

then fumbled the ball which was recovered by

Shawne Merriman Shawne DeAndre Merriman (born May 25, 1984), nicknamed "Lights Out", is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was se ...

for the Terps. Maryland suffered two fumbles, by running back Bruce Perry and Scott McBrien, but recovered both. They again tried for a field goal, but Nick Novak missed the 51-yard attempt. West Virginia took over on downs on their 34-yard line and rushed three times for 16 yards before quarterback Rasheed Marshall fumbled and Maryland linebacker Andrew Henley recovered it at midfield. On their next possession, the Terps pushed to the Mountaineer 31-yard line before Scott McBrien completed a pass to Jafar Williams for a 31-yard touchdown.

Second quarter

The Terps kicked off to start to 2nd quarter, and with a touchback, West Virginia took over on their 20-yard line. After a three-and-out series, they brought on their special teams unit. Steve Suter received the punt on the Maryland 24 and ran it 76 yards for a touchdown. West Virginia took over and made a first-down, but was forced to punt again. Scott McBrien then led the Terps on an 81-yard drive capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass again to Jafar Williams. The Mountaineers were forced three-and-out and punted once more. Maryland drove down to the West Virginia 18, but a 35-yard field goal attempt by Nick Novak was again missed. Likewise, West Virginia pushed to the Maryland 24, before missing a 41-yard field goal of their own to end the half.

Third quarter

After Grant Wiley returned the kick 28 yards for the Mountaineers, they were once again held three-and-out and forced to punt. After driving to mid-field, Scott McBrien launched a 43-yard pass to Steve Suter. Despite good coverage from cornerback Lance Frazier, Suter was able to tip the ball with one hand and catch it in mid-air as he was diving to the ground in a tangle with Frazier. This set up a two-yard rush by McBrien for a touchdown, and Maryland expanded its lead to 31-0. West Virginia received the kick and Adam Jones made a short return for six yards. Rasheed Marshall held onto the ball and rushed for another six yards. Kay-Jay Harris then broke free for a 29-yard run. The Mountaineers picked up another eight yards with a pass to Chris Henry. This set up a 15-yard run up the middle by quarterback Marshall for what would be West Virginia's only points of the game. Maryland responded with another drive, including a 28-yard pass to the right to Josh Allen and a 43-yard pass up the middle to Dan Melendez. After another short run and short pass, Maryland settle for a 24-yard field goal by Novak.

Fourth quarter

The teams traded punts, and then the Mountaineers punted once more. A 73-yard drive was then capped with a 14-yard pass to Jo Jo Walker for another touchdown, and the final points of the game. The next Mountaineers' possession was ended with a sack of second-string quarterback Charles Hales and a turnover on downs. Maryland took over on the West Virginia 38, and pushed to the 6-yard line before the game ended on 4th and 1.

Statistical summary

Postgame effects

The New York Times computer ranking system rated the Maryland Terrapins as the number-three team in the nation, after split-national champions

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

and

LSU 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 ...

. The rating put the Terps considerably ahead of number-four Ohio State, number-five Miami, and number-six Georgia. The Associated Press poll placed Maryland as #17 and the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The co ...

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

Coaches' poll ranked them as #20 in the nation. Terps' head coach Ralph Friedgen was picked as a coach of the Kai team for the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

opposite Ohio State head coach

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American college football coach and university administrator who is currently the president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the ...

. Maryland players Lamar Bryant (OG), Eric Dumas (OL),

Dennard Wilson Dennard Wilson (born March 31, 1982) is an American football coach and former safety who is the defensive backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He is a former American football safety in the NFL who was sig ...

(S), and Jeff Dugan (TE) were selected to play for the Kai squad. Scott Smith (DE) was selected for the Las Vegas All-American Classic, while Madieu Williams (FS) played in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. P ...

. Bruce Perry (TB), Scott McBrien (QB), and Leon Joe (LB) played in the Gridiron Classic.Postseason Play Continues for Several Terps in Coming Weeks
, Univ. of Maryland Terrapins Football official website, 15 January 2004.

References

* Greg Creese, Doug Dull, and Sean O'Connor, ''2004 Toyota Gator Bowl Guide'', Maryland Football Media Information, December 2003. * Eddie Pells
Terps Trounce Mountaineers in Gator Bowl
University of Maryland Terrapins Football official website, Associated Press Sports, 1 January 2004.

External links

2004 Maryland Gator Bowl Media Guide
{{West Virginia Mountaineers bowl game navbox

Gator Bowl Maryland Terrapins football bowl games West Virginia Mountaineers football bowl games

21st century in Jacksonville, Florida January 2004 sports events in the United States