[2] To date, Tatum remains the winningest Maryland football coach of the modern era, with a winning percentage of 0.819.

In total, Maryland won 22 straight games from 1950 to 1952, which remains the longest winning streak in program history.

[7] Respected sports prognosticator Grantland Rice picked North Carolina under Carl Snavely as the frontrunner to win the Southern Conference championship and predicted they would finish as the 18th ranked team in the nation.

[9] The Associated Press later called Maryland's preseason favorite title a "dubious distinction", to which few teams in the Mid-Atlantic had been able to live up.

[10] Another Associated Press article said most people expected a big season from Maryland as the culmination of five years of Tatum's high-caliber recruiting.

[7] A United Press article had high confidence in Maryland, because of its experienced team and what it assessed as an easier schedule than previous seasons.

[11] Maryland lost several players, including fifteen lettermen, from the previous season due to the exhaustion of their college eligibility.

[12] Notably, Maryland did not lose a single back "worthy of mention", and all of the linemen aside from the ends had ready replacements.

"[11] They were led by junior quarterback Jack Scarbath who gained significant experience in the split-T the previous season,[11] in which he started the first six games before suffering an injury.

All told, he served a nine-year tenure at College Park and compiled a 73–15–4 record for a winning percentage of 0.819, the highest among Maryland coaches in the modern era.

[3] Tatum later gained national recognition, with Time magazine later calling him "the most successful major college coach in the game", and 1951 proved to be his breakout season.

This new offensive system sought to emulate the "two-on-one" fast break of basketball, with the aim of creating an undefended back.

[27] To open the game against George Washington, Scarbath led a five-play drive that culminated in a one-yard rush by Ed Modzelewski for a score.

In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Maryland's Joe Petruzzo broke up a pass in the end zone to preserve the victory, 14–7.

Late in the first half, LSU's Jim Barton and Bernie Faloney exchanged several punts, until Maryland gained good field position on the Tigers' 43-yard line.

Ed Modzelewski helped lead a five-play drive capped by a quarterback sneak by Scarbath for the first score of the game.

[32] Missouri was led by head coach Don Faurot, inventor of the split-T offense and former mentor of Jim Tatum.

[33] Early in the first quarter, Navy's Frank Brady returned a punt 100 yards for a touchdown and gave the Mids a 7-0 lead, marking the only time during the entire 1951 season that Maryland trailed an opponent in a game.

[34] At College Park, Maryland sought revenge against NC State for ending their bowl game opportunity the previous year.

[36] 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.

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.

On the kickoff, Bob Ward hit Lauricella and forced a fumble that Maryland recovered on Tennessee's 13-yard line.

[37] After four plays, Jack Scarbath pitched 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.

[40] Late in the second quarter, Tennessee back Bert Rechichar caught a four-yard pass for a touchdown, but the extra point was no good.

Therefore, Maryland held a final ranking as the number-three team in the nation, behind first-ranked Tennessee (10–1) and second-ranked Michigan State (9–0).

[43] In 2002, The Washington Post called the 1951 season the greatest in Maryland football history, ranking it above the 1953 national championship team.

[45] Dave Cianelli, Tom Cosgrove, Joe Petruzzo, and Jack Scarbath were named honorable mention All-Americans.