Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
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 1934.
[7] 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.
[7][8] Luster had struggled in the position as the Second World War put a continuous and heavy drain on athletes at the University of Oklahoma.
[10] 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.
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 ($1,875, adjusted for inflation).
Whereas his predecessor Clark Shaughnessy had pioneered the T-formation, Tatum installed the split-T offense that his former colleague Don Farout had invented.
[11][12] 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.
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.
[27] After upsetting second-ranked Michigan State, 34–7, Maryland climbed to an AP Poll ranking of eighth in the nation and then defeated Georgetown.
[nb 2] 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.
[12] The Volunteers were led by Heisman runner-up quarterback Hank Lauricella,[12][31] and Neyland's offensive linemen were described as not large but "squatty" and "bruiser[s], not flashy, but slightly murderous."
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.
[12] 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.
[32] Late in the second quarter, Tennessee back Bert Rechichar caught a four-yard pass for a touchdown, but the extra point was no good.
[11] Tatum blamed the Terrapins' late season slide to injuries suffered by star quarterback Scarbath and weariness from the grueling road schedule.
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.
[19][23] 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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
[23] On Thanksgiving Day, Tatum coached Maryland to a pummeling, 74–13, of his former boss Don Faurot's Missouri,[45] and the Terrapins set an ACC record-high for scoring that stood for 27 years.
[11] Frank Tamburello became the starting quarterback, and entered the season with significant game experience from the prior year as a reserve behind Charlie Boxold.
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.
[48] 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.
The Terrapins shutout a mediocre South Carolina, 27–0, and Louisiana State, 13–0, against whom they made four interceptions including one in the end zone by Phil Perlo.
Maryland's reserve quarterback, Lynn Beightol, threw to Ed Vereb for two touchdowns, and in the second half, Clemson was allowed only 22 yards.
Four Maryland players were named to the All-ACC first-team: Jack Davis, Bob Pellegrini, Mike Sandusky, and Ed Vereb.
[23] 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.
