Okay, so, I was digging into the 2001 Maryland football season the other day, and man, what a ride that must’ve been! I gotta share what I found.
First off, I started looking at the basic facts. This was the University of Maryland’s 49th season playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Not new to this, I thought. Then I saw their regular season record: 10 wins and only 1 loss. That got my attention! Only one loss? That’s pretty darn good for any team.
Then I started to read more about their games. They kicked off the season by winning their first four games. I found out they beat Wake Forest, 27-20, and then West Virginia, 32-20. Those are some good wins! They even got ranked 25th in the AP rankings. That was the first time since 1995 that they were ranked, so they must have been doing something right, you know?
Then I discovered that this 2001 team was the fifth in the school’s history to win 10 or more games. Not only that but they were the first Maryland team to ever win seven games at home. Impressive, right? And get this, they have the third-most ACC championships, with nine under their belt.
So, I got curious about their coach. His name was Ralph Friedgen, and his record was 10-2. I also saw that the team scored a total of 390 points that season, which averages out to about 35.5 points per game. That put them 12th out of 117 teams. They must have had a pretty solid offense.
I kept digging, and I found out that because they were ACC champions, they got to play in the Orange Bowl. I read that they played against Florida, and they were ranked number 5. Then it says Florida beat Maryland, but still, getting to the Orange Bowl is a big deal.
- First four games won.
- Beat Wake Forest 27-20.
- Beat West Virginia 32-20.
- Got ranked 25th in AP rankings.
- Fifth team in school history to win 10+ games.
- First team to win seven games at home.
- Third-most ACC championships (9).
- Coach Ralph Friedgen’s record: 10-2.
- 390 total points, 35.5 points per game (12th of 117).
- Played in the Orange Bowl against Florida (ranked 5th).
It looks like the 2001 Maryland football team had a pretty amazing season! Just wanted to share my little deep dive into their records. It got me pretty pumped up about football, to be honest!
