For the first two decades of the program, the team primarily competed against local universities and high schools due to the prohibitive nature of long-distance travel at the time.

At the time, however, the wire services released their final rankings before the bowl games,[17] and Maryland finished third in the Associated Press Poll.

[19] High points during this period included victories over 14th-ranked North Carolina in 1957, 21–7, in which Queen Elizabeth II was in attendance for her first American Football game while she was in Washington.

[8] After the 1981 season, Claiborne left the program for his alma mater, Kentucky,[26] and was replaced by Bobby Ross, an assistant coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.

[27] This change in tactics and strategy enabled starting quarterback Boomer Esiason the opportunity to excel to a degree not seen under Claiborne the season prior.

Clemson had lost to the 1980 national champions, seventh-ranked Georgia, 13–7, and tied Boston College, 17–17, after the opposing quarterback, Doug Flutie, led a comeback.

In the second half, a favorable wind twice yielded Maryland excellent field position, Esiason threw for two rapid-fire touchdowns and a two-point conversion, and the defense held Clemson at bay.

[8] In 1984, Maryland defeated the defending national champions, sixth-ranked Miami, in what was then the biggest comeback in college football history and judged by some as the most exciting.

Back-up quarterback Frank Reich replaced Stan Gelbaugh and proceeded to throw four touchdown passes, and capitalizing on Miami errors, the Terrapins won, 42–40.

[33] The recovery from the 31–point halftime deficit stood as the greatest college football comeback for the next 22 years, until the record was finally broken by Michigan State against Northwestern.

[34] Reich later repeated the feat in his professional career when he led the Buffalo Bills to overcome a 32-point deficit and set the NFL comeback record.

[8] Maryland entered the 1985 season with a number-one preseason rank, and set its all-time home attendance record in Byrd Stadium with an average of 49,385 over five games.

[37] Ross had shown recruits stadium and facility renovation plans as an indication of the program's direction, and when they did not come to fruition, he felt that he had misled the players.

[38] Ross also stated that he was hurt by "innuendo, insinuation, and guilt by association" with respect to the cocaine-induced death of Maryland basketball star Len Bias.

[8] After that season, athletic director Andy Geiger fired Krivak, one year after having granted him a five-year contract extension, and hired Holy Cross head coach Mark Duffner as his replacement.

[8] Maryland beat 15th-ranked Georgia Tech in overtime when placekicker Nick Novak, the ACC's future all-time scoring leader, equalized and then won the game with 46- and 26-yard field goals, thereby ensuring a winning season and bowl appearance.

[71][72] The Terrapins defeated four of their five ranked opponents—25th-ranked California, 19th-ranked Clemson, 19th-ranked Wake Forest, and 17th-ranked North Carolina—but also lost to heavy underdogs Middle Tennessee and Virginia.

[72] Before the 2009 season, many analysts projected the Terrapins to finish last or second-to-last in the Atlantic Division of the ACC, and expressed particular concern with the inexperienced offensive line.

On October 11, 2015, Edsall was relieved of his duties with offensive coordinator Mike Locksley named as the interim head coach for the rest of the 2015 season.

[92] Following McNair's death and news reports that players "faced abuse and disparagement" from football staff, Durkin was placed on administrative leave on August 11, just weeks before the start of the 2018 season.

[93] One of those football staffers Rick Court, one of Durkin's first hires and the strength and conditioning coach, was dismissed from Maryland due to sources describing his abusive training methods.

[97] Locksley, a D.C. native and former Maryland assistant, previously served as interim head coach of the Terrapins for their final 6 games in 2015 after Randy Edsall's firing.

Locksley is known for his impressive recruiting ability, and has made an effort to keep many of them talented players that go to high school in the DMV in the area by convincing them to come to UMD.

It is also the name of an ancient Roman military tactic, in which soldiers protected their infantry square from projectiles by completely enclosing it with their shields.

In 1951, after being the subject of numerous pranks, the statue was relocated to Maryland Stadium, reinforced with 700 pounds of concrete, and anchored with steel rods.

[135] In the 2000s, under coach Ralph Friedgen, it was a pregame tradition for the football players to walk 200 yards, through what is known as "Terp Alley", to the locker rooms, and touch the bronze Testudo statue.

[142] In the season opener against Miami, the Terrapins unveiled a unique uniform based on the Maryland state flag that received nationwide media attention.

[citation needed] In 2016, the Terrapins lost in a blowout in State College, after keeping it close for most of the first half, the Nittany Lions shut Maryland out in the final 30 minutes to cruise to a 38–14 win.

Maryland was coming off a thrilling OT homecoming win against Minnesota, and Penn State was looking to bounce back after a loss against No.

[162][163] The series ran for five straight seasons from 2010, meeting twice in College Park, twice in Morgantown, and once at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore for a neutral site game.