Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum ( 1947 – 1955 ) From 1947 to 1955 , Jim Tatum served as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team , which represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) college football . Maryland hired Tatum to replace Clark Shaughnessy after the 1946 season . Tatum had created both success and controversy during his one season as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football team . During his nine - year tenure , Tatum became one of the most successful head football coaches in Maryland history , and the Terrapins compiled two national championships , three conference championships , and five bowl game appearances . His teams compiled a 73 – 15 – 4 record without a single losing season , and to date , he remains the winningest Maryland coach of the modern era . In 1954 , the University of Maryland appointed a new president , Dr . Wilson Elkins , who chose to de - emphasize football . Following the 1955 season , Tatum took a pay cut to coach at his alma mater , North Carolina , and he died four years later . During Tatum ' s tenure , several Maryland players were awarded prestigious individual honors . Two Maryland quarterback s were runners - up for the Heisman Trophy , which is awarded to college football ' s most outstanding player . In 1952 , Jack Scarbath was a first runner - up to Oklahoma running back Billy Vessels . In 1953 , Bernie Faloney was a third runner - up , with John Lattner of Notre Dame winning the award . Dick Modzelewski won the 1952 Outland Trophy , the annual award given to the nation ' s most outstanding interior lineman . Seven Maryland players received first - team All - American honors : Bernie Faloney , Stan Jones , Dick Modzelewski , Bob Pellegrini , Mike Sandusky , Jack Scarbath , and Bob Ward ( twice honored ) . Seven Maryland players received second - team All - American honors : Tom Cosgrove , Chet Hanulak , Ray Krouse , Dick Modzelewski , Ed Modzelewski , Ed Vereb , and Bill Walker ( twice honored ) . Also during this period , the Southern Conference ( through 1952 ) and Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) ( since 1953 ) bestowed all - conference honors upon Maryland players twenty - seven times . In later years , two of these players were honored as part of the ACC ' s 50th Anniversary Team and five were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Tatum before Maryland . Jim Tatum was born in McColl , South Carolina on July 22 , 1913 . He played football as a left tackle like four of his older brothers . Tatum attended the University of North Carolina where he played for Carl Snavely ' s Tar Heels and earned All - American honors during his senior year in . The following season , he became Snavely ' s assistant coach and followed him to Cornell in 1936 . Tatum returned to North Carolina in 1940 as an assistant coach under Bear Wolf . In 1942 , Tatum was promoted into the head coaching job himself and compiled a 5 – 2 – 2 record . The next year , during the Second World War , he enlisted in the United States Navy and served as an assistant coach for the Iowa Pre - Flight School football team under Don Faurot , the inventor of the split - T . Future Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson worked as an assistant coach alongside Tatum . In 1946 , with the recommendation of Oklahoma athletic director Jap Haskell , Tatum was hired as the Sooners ' head coach and brought Wilkinson as an assistant . Tatum replaced Dewey Luster , who resigned due to ill health . Luster had struggled in the position as the Second World War put a continuous and heavy drain on athletes at the University of Oklahoma . The final game before Luster ' s resignation was a 0 – 47 loss at the hands of Oklahoma A & M , which rounded out Oklahoma ' s 1945 season with a 5 – 5 record . In Tatum ' s one season at Oklahoma , he led the Sooners to an 8 – 3 finish and a share of the Big Six Conference championship . Tatum and his staff also recruited nine players who became All - Americans : Plato Andros , Buddy Burris , Jack Mitchell , Jim Owens , John Rapacz , Darrell Royal , George Thomas , Wade Walker , and Stan West . In addition to his team ' s success on the gridiron , Tatum caused controversy . Buddy Burris , the first three - time All - American at Oklahoma , said , " Jim Tatum was a con - man , a dictator , a tyrant , and one hell of a football coach . " Tatum greatly surpassed his allocated budget and linked players with sponsors who sometimes paid or bought clothes for their sponsored players . After a 34 – 13 Gator Bowl victory over N . C . State , University of Oklahoma president George Cross discovered that Tatum had paid the fifty Sooners players $ 120 each ( $ , adjusted for inflation ) . Cross had explicitly warned Tatum not to do so , as it was a violation of conference rules . With further investigation , it was discovered that $ 60 , 000 ( $ in inflation - adjusted terms ) was unaccounted for in the athletic department budget , which resulted in the relief of athletic director Jap Haskell . Meanwhile , Tatum resigned to take the head coaching job at Maryland with a $ 12 , 000 salary , one - third more than he made at Oklahoma , ( $ , adjusted for inflation ) . Oklahoma filled the open coaching job with Tatum ' s former assistant , Bud Wilkinson . The 1947 season . In Tatum ' s initial season at Maryland , his results were similar to those at Oklahoma . After compiling a 3 – 6 record the year prior , the Terrapins improved to 7 – 2 – 2 under Tatum . Whereas his predecessor Clark Shaughnessy had pioneered the T - formation , Tatum installed the split - T offense that his former colleague Don Farout had invented . The team ' s two losses came at the hands of two ranked period powerhouses , Duke and North Carolina . Maryland ' s star running back , Lu Gambino , scored three touchdowns against West Virginia to lead the team to their first victory in the third meeting of the series . The Terrapins ' regular - season play earned them a berth in their first postseason game . 1948 Gator Bowl . Maryland met Georgia in the 1948 Gator Bowl . The Terrapins scored first when Gambino broke a 35 - yard run for a touchdown in the second quarter . On the first series of the second half , Georgia quarterback John Rauch led an 87 - yard drive capped by a one - yard dive into the end zone . Maryland responded with an 80 - yard drive for another score by Gambino . Georgia turned the ball over with a fumble on its own 40 - yard line and Maryland capitalized with a 24 - yard touchdown pass to Gambino . In the final quarter , Georgia came from behind with a one - yard touchdown rush by Joe Geri and a nine - yard touchdown pass to John Donaldson . Georgia missed the extra point and the final result was a 20 – 20 tie . Gambino recorded all three Maryland touchdowns and 165 rushing yards , which set a school bowl - game record that stood for 60 years until broken by Da ' Rel Scott in the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl . Effects . Gambino finished the year as the NCAA scoring leader with 96 points . He was inducted into the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992 for his achievement as the bowl game ' s " first superb running back . " Lu Gambino received All - Southern Conference honors . The 1948 season . The 1948 season saw Maryland slide to a 6 – 4 record , but they delivered four shutout s and lost two of their games by a combined three points . Two of their four losses came against ranked conference opponents , and a third was a 34 - point shutout at the hands of Vanderbilt . Future two - time Heisman runner - up Charlie Justice helped North Carolina to a 29 - point romp over the Terrapins . The 1949 season . Maryland improved to 9 – 1 in 1949 to earn their second bowl appearance . Their lone loss came against a ranked Michigan State team and Maryland allowed no opponent to score more than 14 points . They recorded victories over two ranked teams : Boston U . and Missouri under Tatum ' s former boss , Don Faurot . Maryland finished the regular season with a final AP ranking of 14th . The Terrapins again traveled to the Gator Bowl for their finale , and they defeated 20th - ranked Missouri . Ray Krouse was named All - Southern Conference and an AP second - team All - American . The 1950 season . The Terrapins started off as the 15th - ranked team in the preseason AP Poll . At Georgia , Maryland lost its season - opener , 7 – 27 . Tatum said , " We weren ' t ready for Georgia in a game as early as September 23 . . . We weren ' t in shape and the [ ] heat killed us . " The loss , however , did not affect Maryland ' s poll ranking as the situation surrounding the game was generally understood . In Week 2 , the Terrapins played the inaugural game at the newly - completed Byrd Stadium . It was the first game against the Naval Academy in 16 years . The series had been canceled in 1934 after Maryland accused Navy of an illegal game - winning play . In 1950 , Maryland agreed to fill a vacancy in the Navy schedule left open by a Georgetown cancellation . The high - scoring game was the 12th meeting of the intense in - state rivalry and resulted in just the second - ever Maryland win . After upsetting second - ranked Michigan State , 34 – 7 , Maryland climbed to an AP Poll ranking of eighth in the nation and then defeated Georgetown . The following game they met N . C . State at Byrd Stadium for Homecoming weekend . In the first quarter , a Maryland fumble rolled out of the end zone for a safety , and soon after , another fumble set up a touchdown rush by NC State . Maryland advanced inside the N . C . State five - yard line three times but was unable to score . In the third quarter , NC State scored again to expand their lead , 0 – 16 . Maryland scored on a 21 - yard pass from Jack Scarbath to Bob Shemonski . With three minutes remaining , Shemonski connected with a pass to Pete Augsburger for another touchdown . A 47 - yard drive into Wolfpack territory ended with an interception in the end zone with seconds remaining . The loss effectively ended the Terrapins ' hopes for a bowl game bid . The second loss dropped them out of the AP Poll for the remainder of the year . Bob Ward was named a first - team All - American . Ward and Elmer Wingate were named All - Southern Conference . The 1951 season . Over the course of the season , Maryland outscored its opponents 381 – 74 , accumulated three shutout wins , and held seven opponents to 7 points or less . It was Maryland ' s first 10 - win season and remains the team ' s only perfect undefeated season in the modern era . Maryland entered the season at number - 16 on the AP and Coaches ' polls , and remained ranked for the duration . A 40 - point trouncing of conference foe George Washington in the season - opener propelled the Terrapins to a number - nine ranking in both polls . Other wins included games against Southeastern Conference powerhouses : a romp over Georgia and a shutout against LSU . Before the Georgia game , Tatum showed his team that Georgia had charged only $ 5 for tickets , instead of the usual $ 7 . 50 ( $ instead of $ , adjusted for inflation ) . Tatum said , " They don ' t think very much of you , do they ? " The Terrapins finished the regular season with a 9 – 0 record and the Southern Conference championship . They achieved a final ranking as the number - three team in the nation . They secured a berth in the Sugar Bowl to face the number - one team in the nation , undefeated Tennessee led by head coach " General " Robert Neyland . 1952 Sugar Bowl . " The Washington Post " called the 1952 Sugar Bowl the second " game of the century , " with the first having been between the undefeated Army and Notre Dame teams in 1946 . Maryland was viewed as an underdog against Tennessee , which included five All - Americans on its roster . The Volunteers were led by Heisman runner - up quarterback Hank Lauricella , and Neyland ' s offensive linemen were described as not large but " squatty " and " bruiser [ s ] , not flashy , but slightly murderous . " Neyland considered the split - T offense used by Tatum gimmicky and relied on the more traditional single - wing formation . For the game , Tatum himself abandoned the split - T in favor of a smashmouth strategy , which he hoped would catch Tennessee off - guard . 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 Ed Modzelewski and Ed Fullerton 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 , Jack Scarbath pitch ed to Fullerton who then threw a six - yard forward pass 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 . Late in the second quarter , Tennessee back Bert Rechichar caught a four - yard pass for a touchdown , but the extra point was no good . At the end of the first half , Maryland had stunned Tennessee by gaining a 21 – 6 lead . In the fourth quarter , Fullerton intercept ed 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 . Effects . With the final polls already closed before the bowl season , Tennessee retained possession of the national championship . In following years , however , several selectors have named Maryland as the retroactive 1951 national champions : Jeff Sagarin , the College Football Researchers Association , DeVold System , Dunkel System , and National Championship Foundation . Awards . 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 . Bob Ward was named a consensus first - team All - American and Dick Modzelewski and Ed Modzelewski were named second - team All - Americans . Ward and Ed Modzelewski were named All - Southern Conference . The 1952 season . Maryland was sanctioned for violating a Southern Conference rule , passed halfway through the 1951 season , that banned postseason play . The punishment , for participating in the Sugar Bowl , disallowed the Terrapins from playing any conference games during the 1952 season . This compelled Maryland to schedule all but three games on the road . The AP preseason poll ranked Maryland second in the nation . The Terrapins recorded a 37 - point shutout of 19th - ranked Georgia and defeated 20th - ranked Navy , 38 – 7 . Maryland finished the season with a No . 13 final ranking . Their loss at Mississippi ended a 22 - game winning streak for the Terrapins . Tatum blamed the Terrapins ' late season slide to injuries suffered by star quarterback Scarbath and weariness from the grueling road schedule . Effects . After the season , disaffection within the Southern Conference prompted seven former members , including Maryland , to form the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) . The schism was due in part to the ban on bowl participation , and the vast geographic dispersion of and disparity between the sizes of member schools . Clemson , another founding ACC member , had likewise been forced to play outside the Southern Conference in 1952 . Tatum considered resigning in order to enter business . University president Byrd , a staunch patron of football at the school , was preparing to campaign for governor , and Tatum feared his successor would significantly reduce the number of athletic scholarships available . He and Byrd , however , had also disagreed over the decision to participate in bowl games in violation of conference rules . Tatum was opposed to it , as it greatly increased the difficulty of scheduling and had caused the reduction in number of home games . Awards . In 1952 , Maryland quarterback Jack Scarbath was runner - up for the Heisman Trophy , which is awarded to college football ' s most outstanding player . Scarbath received 367 points , coming behind to Oklahoma running back Billy Vessels , who received 525 points . Scarbath also was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year . Dick Modzelewski was awarded the Outland Trophy and the Knute Rockne Award . Scarbath and Dick Modzelewski were also both named consensus first - team All - Americans . Tom Cosgrove was named a second - team All - American . Stan Jones and Scarbath were named All - Southern Conference . The Associated Press All - South team , which consisted of players from fifteen schools in the Southern U . S . , included Scarbath , and honorable mentions end John Alderton , tackle Dick Modzelewski , and back Ed Fullerton . The 1953 season . During this season , Maryland outscored its opponents 298 – 38 , accumulated six shutout wins , and allowed only one team , Georgia , to score more than 7 points . No ACC team scored more total points until 1967 and none has ever allowed fewer points in the regular season ( 31 ) . Maryland ranked first nationally in terms of rushing defense ( 83 . 9 yards allowed per game ) and scoring defense ( 3 . 1 points allowed per game ) . At the end of the regular season , the three wire services , the Associated Press , International News Service , and United Press , each named Maryland as the national championship team . Maryland entered the season ranked ninth in the preseason AP Poll . In the season opener against Missouri , Chet Hanulak scored in the first two minutes of play on a 61 - yard run . Maryland intercepted four passes while sacrificing three fumbles in the 20 – 7 win . Against Washington and Lee , Hanulak made an interception and then on Maryland ' s possession rushed for a 12 - yard touchdown . Ron Waller dropped a Generals ' punt at mid - field , but recovered and returned it for a touchdown . After halftime , Tatum fielded third - and fourth - string players before the final results of 52 – 0 . At Clemson , quarterback Bernie Faloney returned the opening kick off 88 yards for a touchdown . In the second quarter , Clemson quarterback Don King was sacked by several Maryland defenders and suffered a game - ending knee injury . With 45 seconds left in the half , Dick Nolan scored on a 90 - yard punt return . In the second half , Faloney connected with Nolan for a 65 - yard touchdown pass . Clemson finished the game with two pass completions and suffered its first shutout at home in 11 years , 20 – 0 . Against Georgia , most critics thought Maryland faced its first true test . In the first quarter , the Terrapins took a quick 14 – 0 lead and held the Bulldogs to six offensive plays , two of which were punts . In the second quarter , Georgia quarterback Zeke Bratkowski led his team to two consecutive touchdown drives , and the score was 21 – 13 in favor of Maryland at halftime . Two minutes into the third quarter , Faloney intercepted a Bratkowski pass and returned it for a touchdown . Bratkowski was taken out of the game after numerous sacks by Stan Jones and Bob Morgan . The 40 – 13 final result would be the most points the Terrapins allowed during the entire season . At North Carolina , the undefeated Terrapins met the undefeated Tar Heels . Two 15 - yard penalties against North Carolina set up a quarterback sneak by Faloney for a touchdown . In the second quarter , Bill Walker caught a pitch at the Maryland 35 and ran it 49 yards to the North Carolina 16 - yard line . From there , Charlie Boxold scored another touchdown for the Terrapins . In the third quarter , Hanulak took a pitch and took it 34 yards into the end zone . The 26 – 0 win was the Maryland ' s first in Chapel Hill , North Carolina since 1924 . Tatum later called it " the greatest win of any team I ever coached , including the [ 1952 ] Sugar Bowl [ over national champion Tennessee ] . " At Miami , Hanulak scored first on a two - yard rush . Morgan recovered a Miami fumble and on the ensuing possession Faloney scored on an eight - yard rush . By halftime , Maryland led 27 – 0 . Tatum disallowed any passes or trick plays in the second half , and the final result was 30 – 0 . Maryland next traveled to South Carolina to face a team coming off of a four - game winning streak . Ralph Felton scored first to cap a long drive with a short rush . In the next series , the Gamecocks punted it away and the ball was returned by Hanulak 35 yards for a touchdown . In the second quarter , South Carolina recovered a Maryland fumble on the Terrapins ' 14 - yard line . In three plays , Maryland had pushed them back to the 32 - yard line before South Carolina finally scored . With South Carolina held to 37 rushing yards the final result was 24 – 6 . After defeating George Washington 27 – 6 , the Terrapins went on to shut out two ranked teams : 11th - ranked Mississippi and 11th - ranked Alabama . Maryland secured a share of the ACC championship alongside Duke and a berth in the Orange Bowl as the only undefeated and untied team in the nation . Maryland finished the regular season 10 – 0 and were crowned the national champions . 1954 Orange Bowl . In Miami , first - ranked Maryland faced the team Tatum had coached prior to his arrival at College Park : fourth - ranked Oklahoma under former assistant Bud Wilkinson . The Sooners handed Maryland their only defeat , 0 – 7 , but — as had happened in 1951 to the Terrapins ' detriment — the final rankings were released before the bowls , and for the third time in four years , AP ' s national champion was defeated in their postseason game . However , unlike Tennessee , who retained their top - rank despite losing to Maryland in 1951 , the Terrapins ( 10 – 1 – 0 ) did indeed finish with the best record , better than the Orange Bowl victor , Oklahoma ( 9 – 1 – 1 ) . Maryland ranked first nationally in terms of rushing defense ( 83 . 9 yards allowed per game ) and scoring defense ( 3 . 1 points allowed per game ) . At the same time , the Terps scored a record combined total of 298 points , a number not exceeded until 1967 . Awards . Like the year prior , in 1953 , a Maryland quarterback , Bernie Faloney , was in contention for the Heisman Trophy . Faloney finished fourth in the running and received 258 points , behind Notre Dame ' s John Lattner ( 1 , 850 ) , Minnesota ' s Paul Giel ( 1 , 794 ) , and UCLA ' s Paul Cameron ( 444 ) . Stan Jones was selected as a consensus first - team All - American . Bernie Faloney was also named a first - team All - American . Chet Hanulak was named a second - team All - American . Four Terrapins were named to the All - ACC first - team : John Bowersox , Bernie Faloney , Chester Hanulak , and Stan Jones . Three were named to the All - ACC second - team : Ralph Felton , Bob Morgan , and Bill Walker . The 1954 season . On Thanksgiving Day , Tatum coached Maryland to a pummeling , 74 – 13 , of his former boss Don Faurot ' s Missouri , and the Terrapins set an ACC record - high for scoring that stood for 27 years . Maryland finished the season with a 7 – 2 – 1 record and was named the eighth - ranked team by AP . Bill Walker was selected by AP as a second - team All - American . Three Maryland players were named to the All - ACC first team : Dick Bielski , Bill Walker , and Ronnie Waller . Two were named to the All - ACC second team : John Irvine and Bob Pellegrini . The 1955 season . In Tatum ' s final season in College Park , Maryland spent four weeks as the first - ranked team in the AP Poll and ten weeks ranked in the top three . No opponent managed more than 13 points during the regular season . Maryland again had the first - ranked rushing defense in the nation , allowing 83 . 9 yards per game . Frank Tamburello became the starting quarterback , and entered the season with significant game experience from the prior year as a reserve behind Charlie Boxold . Fullback Tom Selep missed the season due to a knee injury . The opener against was a much closer contest than the previous year ' s record - setting game . Ed Vereb rushed for a 14 - yard touchdown and Tamburello passed for another , but only failed extra - point attempts by Missouri in the second half preserved victory , 13 – 12 . In week two , Maryland met first - ranked for the second half of a home - and - home series in a game dubbed " The Best of the East vs . the Best of the West . " It was a rain - soaked defensive contest at Byrd Stadium , where Maryland held UCLA ' s rushing attack to −21 yards . UCLA quarterback Ronnie Knox completed 10 of 15 passes for 100 yards but also threw two interceptions . Late in the first quarter , Knox ' s passing brought the Bruins to the Maryland three - yard line . On the next play , UCLA advanced to the one - foot line before Bob Pellegrini tackled second - string fullback Doug Peters to force a fumble . Maryland made the only score when , in the third quarter , quarterback Frank Tamburello executed an option run and pitched to halfback Ed Vereb , who ran it 15 yards into the end zone . With the victory , the Terrapins became the first - ranked team . The following week , Maryland beat 20th - ranked , 20 – 6 , with Tamburello passing for two touchdowns . Maryland then defeated Wake Forest , 28 – 7 , and held them to nine rushing yards . Against , they allowed 18 yards on the ground . Vereb scored three touchdowns and made an interception , but the Tar Heels scored under unusual circumstances when center Jim Jones stripped Tamburello and returned it 35 yards . The final result was 25 – 7 . The Terrapins , with a perfect ACC record , were named conference co - champions alongside for the second consecutive year . Maryland possessed a perfect regular season record and ranked third in the nation behind ( 8 – 1 ) . The Terps secured an Orange Bowl rematch against first - ranked Oklahoma and a chance to avenge their defeat in 1953 . However , the Sooners beat them again , 20 – 6 , and they finished the postseason with a 10 – 1 record . Awards . Bob Pellegrini was named a consensus first - team All - American , the National Lineman of the Year , and the ACC Player of the Year . Mike Sandusky was also named a first - team All - American . Ed Vereb and Bill Walker were named second - team All - Americans . Four Marlyand players were named to the All - ACC first - team : Jack Davis , Bob Pellegrini , Mike Sandusky , and Ed Vereb . Three were named to the All - ACC second - team : Russell Dennis , Frank Tamburello , and Bill Walker . Tatum ' s departure . In 1954 , Curley Byrd resigned as university president in order to enter state politics , and was replaced by Dr . Wilson Elkins , a Rhodes scholar and former Texas quarterback . Elkins worked to improve academic standards at the school , which had been criticized for overemphasizing football . One year during Tatum ' s tenure , the school awarded 93 football scholarships averaging $ 944 each ( $ adjusted for inflation ) . " The Diamondback " student newspaper said that , while Tatum was at Maryland , it " was an era in which an inadequate stadium became ultra - adequate , and an inadequate library became more inadequate . " During his tenure at Maryland , Tatum became one of the most successful head football coaches in school history . In nine seasons , he led the Terrapins to two national championships , three conference championships , and five bowl game appearances . His teams compiled a 73 – 15 – 4 record without a single losing season . To date , he remains the winningest Maryland football coach of the modern era with a winning percentage of 0 . 819 . After the 1955 season , Tatum took an 18 % pay cut , from $ 18 , 500 to $ 15 , 000 ( from $ to $ in inflation - adjusted terms ) , to return to North Carolina as head coach . There , " The Daily Tar Heel " student newspaper was displeased to see Tatum arrive and called him a " parasitic monster of open professionalism . " After a few years , however , he was accepted by the student body , the faculty , and alumni . Tatum had said , " I ' m going back to North Carolina to die , " and the statement proved prescient . Just four years later , in 1959 , he died of Rocky Mountain spotted fever at the age of 46 .