Top 10 of the Last 10:Break on Through to the Other Side

1999 was the year I discovered College Football. As a matter of fact, the first game I saw was Notre Dame/Georgia Tech in the '99 Gator Bowl(a 35-28 Tech win). My dad is a Notre Dame fan and like the Rams, Orioles, and Lakers I followed suit and adopted the Irish as my team with Maryland as a secondary team. This, however, did not last long as I dropped Notre Dame after the 2000 season and was exclusive Terrapin.(Note:Before you call me a bandwagon fan, note that Maryland was possibly the worst team in College Football from 1990-2001).

Going into the 2001 season, the Maryland Terrapins was dead in the water. I mean literally they were dead. They had just gone through Coach number 3 since 1990(Ron Vanderlinden) and brought in alumnus Ralph Friedgan. Previously Friedgan was a Guard at Maryland from 1966-1968 and Offensive Coordinator at Georgia Tech. The Friedgan era began on September 1, 2001 with a 23-7 win vs North Carolina and through September the Terrapins were 4-0 scoring an average of 34 points a game and was ranked for the first time in close to 15 years.

On October 7th, Friedgen faced his old team, Georgia Tech. In what was a back and forth chess match, Maryland won 20-17. On a week later, Maryland was in the Top 10. However, the Terps experienced a setback losing to Florida State 52-31 in Tallahassee. Hopes of an ACC Championship seemed lost for the Terps but on November 10th, FSU was upset by NC State in a 34-28 victory for the Wolfpack putting Maryland in the drivers seat. A week later, Maryland beat NC State in Raleigh 23-19 to win their first ACC Championship in 16 years and it was the first time Florida State had not won the ACC Championship in their 11 years in the ACC.

With the championship victory, Maryland would earn a birth to the Orange Bowl(where they got trounced badly). Maryland has since enjoyed success in Football with records of 11-3 in 2002, 10-3 in 2003, 5-6 in 2004 and 2005, and 9-4 in 2006. Under Friedgen, Maryland has once again become a contender in the ACC(Yes I know about 04 and 05 and that we're 4-5 right now but give it time)and the future looks bright(like I said, look at the recruiting class we're bringing in this year).