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1951 Maryland

10–⁠0 (5–⁠0 Southern Conference), coached by Jim Tatum, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Maryland, 1951
Photo: University of Maryland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Maryland in 1951, game by game: won at Washington and Lee 54–14; won vs. George Washington 33–6; won at Georgia 43–7; won vs. North Carolina 14–7; won at LSU 27–0; won vs. Missouri 35–0; won vs. Navy 40–21; won vs. NC State 53–0; won vs. West Virginia 54–7; won vs. No. 1 Tennessee 28–13+53Won 54–14 at Washington and Lee+40Washington and …Won 33–6 vs. George Washington+27George Washingt…Won 43–7 at Georgia+36GeorgiaWon 14–7 vs. North Carolina+7North CarolinaWon 27–0 at LSU+27LSUWon 35–0 vs. Missouri+35MissouriWon 40–21 vs. Navy+19NavyWon 53–0 vs. NC State+53NC StateWon 54–7 vs. West Virginia+47West VirginiaWon 28–13 vs. No. 1 Tennessee+15No. 1 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29atWashington and LeeW 54–⁠1453%
Oct 6vsGeorge WashingtonW 33–⁠682%
Oct 13atGeorgiaW 43–⁠758%
Oct 20vsNorth CarolinaW 14–⁠778%
Oct 27atLSUW 27–⁠059%
Nov 3vsMissouriW 35–⁠087%
Nov 10vsNavyW 40–⁠2186%
Nov 17vsNC StateW 53–⁠091%
Nov 24vsWest VirginiaW 54–⁠793%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1TennesseeSugar BowlW 28–⁠1342%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tennessee 28–⁠13 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Southern Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Final: 3

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1951.

Southern Conference champions5–⁠0 in the conference, shared with VMI

Consensus All-AmericanBob Ward, OG

Record
10–⁠0
Conference
5–⁠0 shared first in Southern Conference
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
381–⁠75
Coach
Jim Tatum
Elo
1787 +169 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
25.9 No. 2 of 116 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Bob Ward, Dave Cianelli and John Alderton
Offense
Split-T

Drafted in 1952

The 1952 draft
Rd 1Ed Modzelewski FBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 6Dave Cianelli CNew York Yanks
Rd 6Ed Kensler OGWashington Redskins

All-Southern Conference

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1951 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1951 Southern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Maryland5–⁠010–⁠03
VMI5–⁠07–⁠3
William & Mary5–⁠17–⁠3
Washington and Lee5–⁠16–⁠4
Clemson3–⁠17–⁠319
Duke4–⁠25–⁠4–⁠1
Wake Forest5–⁠36–⁠4
South Carolina5–⁠35–⁠4
George Washington2–⁠3–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1
West Virginia2–⁠35–⁠5
North Carolina2–⁠32–⁠8
NC State2–⁠63–⁠7
Richmond2–⁠63–⁠8
The Citadel1–⁠34–⁠6
Furman1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Davidson1–⁠51–⁠8
Virginia Tech1–⁠72–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.