Clemson vs. Maryland Football Game Notes

Sept. 24, 2008

Clemson vs. Maryland Series * Clemson holds a 30-24-2 advantage in the series with Maryland. The first game of the series was played in 1952, one year before both teams became charter members of the ACC. The two schools have played every year since 1952, the longest active continuous rivalry for the Tigers against an ACC school. It is the longest continuous rivalry for Maryland Maryland won each of the first four games in the series before the Tigers got a tie in 1956 and a win in 1957.

* The visiting team has won each of the last three games of the series. Clemson’s 10-7 win at Clemson in 2004 is the last time the home team was victorious.

* Clemson has won three of the last four, and 11 of 15 against Maryland, including last year’s 30-17 win at Maryland, which was Clemson’s largest margin of victory in the series since a 35-14 win in 2000. It was Clemson’s largest margin of victory at Maryland since a 17-0 win at College Park in 1995. . Tommy Bowden is 5-4 against Maryland in his career, but Ralph Friedgen is 4-3 against the Tigers and Bowden. So both coaches have a winning record against the opposing school.

* Clemson had won eight in a row and 13 of 14 prior to Ralph Friedgen’s return to his alma mater for the 2001 season.

* The three meetings between 2004-06 were decided within the last three minutes of the game and the average victory margin in those three games was just 2.7 points.

* Clemson held Maryland to just 12 total points in winning every game between 1993-98. Clemson recorded four shutouts, including three in a row during that time period. During Clemson’s eight-game winning streak in the series from 1993-2000, Clemson held Maryland to an average of 7.0 points per game, while scoring 26.8 points per game themselves.

* In 2002, Maryland defeated Clemson in Death Valley, its first win at Memorial Stadium since 1985. It was Ralph Friedgen’s first game as Maryland head coach against Clemson in Death Valley. Clemson has won nine of the last 11 between the two teams in Death Valley, but Maryland won the most recent meeting, 13-12 in 2006. That was a game that kept Clemson out of the ACC Championship game. Clemson has a 16-12 lead in the series in games played at Clemson and a 13-11-1 lead in games played in Byrd Stadium. The teams were 1-1-1 in three games played in Baltimore.

* Saturday’s game will be a meeting of two of the traditional powerhouses of the ACC. Both Clemson and Maryland have been in the ACC since its inception in the fall of 1953. Both teams played their first ACC game against each other on October 3, 1953 at Clemson, a 20-0 Maryland victory. Clemson has the most ACC wins in the history of the league with 224 and Maryland is second with 195.

* Clemson and Maryland have both won the National Championship, the Terps during that first ACC season in 1953, and Clemson in 1981. Clemson has the most ACC championships with 13, while Maryland is third with nine.

* The two teams played at the end of the season in most years between 1978-88 and the game usually decided the ACC championship. That was certainly the case in 1978 when the Tigers won 28-24 at College Park, clinching an undefeated season in the league over Maryland. It was 11th ranked Maryland’s only league loss that season.

* Clemson also clinched the ACC championship with a November victory or tie over Maryland in 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987 and 1988. Maryland clinched the ACC Championship in 2001 with a 37-20 victory over Clemson in College Park. The Terps also clinched the title in 1985 with a victory in Death Valley.

* Clemson has a history of great return performances against Maryland over the years. In 2001, Derrick Hamilton had a 100-yard kickoff return for a score in a game in College Park. Darnell Stephens had an 89-yard punt return for a score against the Terps in Death Valley in 1991, one year after Doug Thomas had a 98-yard kickoff return against Maryland in Baltimore. The greatest return game in ACC history by any individual was recorded by Clemson’s Don Kelley against Maryland in 1970. He had 224 total return yards on punt and interception returns in that game.