Ranking the Terps' 10 most memorable bowl appearances

10. Military Bowl (Dec. 29, 2010) - RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Maryland 51, East Carolina 20

The Terps out of the ACC trounced the Pirates from Conference USA by putting up 478 yards of total offense. Maryland’s backfield tandem of D.J. Adams and Da’Rel Scott combined for six rushing touchdowns and kept the Terps in control throughout. Maryland was 2-9 the year before but made the jump to an 8-4 regular season record, which resulted in head coach Ralph Friedgen being named ACC Coach of the Year. This game was Friedgen’s last hurrah with the team he had coached for the last decade and the Terps sent him off on a high note.

9. Champs Sports Bowl (Dec. 29, 2006) - Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

Maryland 24, Purdue 7

The Terps took the lead early with a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Hollenbach to tight end Joey Haynos in the first quarter and Maryland didn’t look back from there. Maryland’s Cory Jackson rushed for a touchdown in the second quarter, and with 2:05 before halftime, wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey extended the Terps’ lead to 21-0 with a 46-yard touchdown reception. Purdue’s only score came with 30 seconds left in the first half, and from there, Maryland shut the Boilermakers out.

8. Cherry Bowl (Dec. 21, 1985) - Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Mich.

Maryland 35, Syracuse 18

Syracuse mounted an early 10-6 lead over Maryland, but the Orange then surrendered 22 unanswered points in the second quarter as the Terps ran away with a victory. Maryland quarterback Stan Gelbaugh threw three touchdown passes for the Terps and was named the game’s most valuable player in the only bowl win of his collegiate career. This game was also the last of four straight bowl appearances for Maryland under head coach Bobby Ross.

7. Independence Bowl (Dec. 15, 1990) - Independence Stadium, Shreveport, La.

Maryland 34, Louisiana Tech 34

The Terps and Bulldogs played to the only tie in Independence Bowl history in what happened to be Maryland’s only bowl appearance in a 17-year span. The Terps outscored Louisiana Tech 14-6 in the fourth quarter to tie the game, which was played before the implementation of the current college football overtime rules. Despite virtually playing a road game and looking outmatched for three-quarters, Maryland found a way to tie for the second time in its bowl history--Terps tied Georgia, 20-20, in the 1948 Gator Bowl.

6. Gator Bowl (Dec. 29, 1975) - Gator Bowl Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.

Maryland 13, Florida 0

The 8-2-1 Terps trekked down to The Sunshine State to take on the 9-2 Gators, who were looking for their first 10-win season in school history. Well, Florida had to wait a little longer for that milestone as Maryland blanked the Gators for its only shutout of an opponent ever in a bowl game. Maryland quarterback Larry Dick threw a touchdown pass, tailback Steve Atkins rushed for 127 yards and Mike Sochko kicked two field goals, as the Terps handed the Gators their first shutout loss in more than four years.

5. Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Dec. 31, 2002) - Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga.

Maryland 30, Tennessee 3

Friedgen’s first season in College Park went well but ended poorly. In his second year at the helm, the Terps were sure to finish the job for their head coach. Quarterback Scott McBrien rushed for a touchdown to give the Terps a 7-0 lead, which was followed by a Curome Cox pick-six in the second quarter to put Maryland on top 14-0. The teams then exchanged field goals and went into halftime with the score 17-3. Two more Nick Novak field goals and another touchdown run by McBrien extended the lead for Maryland in the second half as the Terps won comfortably.

4. Toyota Gator Bowl (Jan. 1, 2004) - Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.

Maryland 41, West Virginia 7

There’s never any love lost between these border-sharing foes, but this game didn’t have the looks of a typical meeting between rivals with the Terps completely outmatching the Mountaineers. Friedgen and his team were making their third-straight bowl appearance and looked as sharp as ever, putting up 522 total yards with nearly 40 minutes of possession. Maryland jumped out to an early lead and never took its foot off the gas. The score was 31-0 nothing before West Virginia even put its first points on the board. With the victory, Friedgen became the first ACC coach to ever win at least three games in his first three seasons leading a program.

3. FedEx Orange Bowl (Jan. 2, 2002) - Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Fla.

Florida 56, Maryland 23

Granted, this was a blowout loss for the Terps, but it’s about as memorable and significant as any bowl game Maryland has ever had. Friedgen’s head coaching career got off to a hotter start than anyone expected. In his first year at the helm in College Park, Friedgen went 10-1, won the ACC Championship and brought the Terps back to their first bowl game in 12 years. Although the Orange Bowl didn’t go so well against a Steve Spurrier-led Florida team that was a powerhouse at the time, Maryland’s presence in a game of this magnitude after being in the basement of college football for so long was huge for the Terps’ program. Maryland would go on to have 10-win seasons the following two years that both ended with blowout bowl victories for the Terps, and Friedgen enjoyed a decade of winning football in College Park, finishing with an overall record of 75-50.

2. Sun Bowl (Dec. 24, 1984) - Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Maryland 28, Tennessee 27

Unlike in 2002, the Terps and Volunteers met for a very competitive bowl game that went down to the wire. But what makes this game so memorable is the comeback Maryland mounted on Tennessee to win the game. The Vols sprung out to a 21-0 lead before the Terps knew what hit them. But Tommy Neal sparked the turnaround for the Terps with a 57-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. Maryland fullback Rick Badnajek, who was named as the game’s most valuable player, added another rushing score and tight end Ferrell Edmunds chipped in a 40-yard touchdown reception, which eventually gave the Terps a one-point lead. Tennessee regained the lead at the end of the third quarter with a 100-yard kickoff return, but a missed conversion that would have made it a seven-point lead kept Maryland within striking distance. Badanjek scored his second rushing touchdown of the game with 2:28 left to go and the Terps were victorious.

1. Sugar Bowl (Jan. 2, 1952) - Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, La.

Maryland 28, Tennessee 13

College football used to name its national champion before bowl games were played. As a result, Maryland is the 1953 national champion despite losing its bowl game that season 7-0 to Oklahoma on Jan. 1, 1954. Although Tennessee goes down in the record books as the 1951 national champion under similar circumstances, the Volunteers lost their bowl game on Jan. 2, 1952 to the Terps, who have been retroactively named by several selectors as the 1951 national champions after finishing the season 10-0. The Sugar Bowl victory capped off Maryland’s only fully undefeated season in school history and Terps fullback Ed Modzelewski was named the game’s most valuable player after he rushed for 153 yards on the Vols.