Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum
From 1947 to 1955, Jim Tatum served as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team, which represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football. Maryland hired Tatum to replace Clark Shaughnessy after the 1946 season. Tatum had created both success and controversy during his one season as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football team. During his nine-year tenure, Tatum became one of the most successful head football coaches in Maryland history, and the Terrapins compiled two national championships, three conference championships, and five bowl game appearances. His teams compiled a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season, and as of the end of 2016, he has the highest winning percentage of any Maryland football coach who coached at least seven games. In 1954, the University of Maryland appointed a new president, Dr. Wilson Elkins, who chose to de-emphasize football. Following the 1955 season, Tatum took a pay cut to coach at his alma mater, North Carolina, and he died four years later.
1951 Maryland Terrapins football team
In the first quarter, Ed Modzelewski rushed 16 yards for the opening touchdown. Maryland scored three more touchdowns on each of its subsequent possessions. Lloyd Colteryahn caught a ten-yard pass from Scarbath for the fifth and final Terrapins' touchdown of the first half. In the second, Maryland scored 19 unanswered points, which culminated in a 77-yard run by Joe Horning.
"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. The Associated Press called it possibly "the greatest bowl game of them all." Tennessee was a period powerhouse and its roster included five All-Americans. Maryland was viewed as a heavy underdog going into the game. Terrapins halfback Chet Hanulak said, "Nobody expected us to get that far. But Jim Tatum was a coach who could work wonders." After mechanical issues delayed Maryland's flight, the team became the first to practice at night for a Sugar Bowl. Tatum said, "[Tennessee is] so much better than we are that they probably don't need the practice. But we do—and we'll get it."
Tennessee was led by triple-threat quarterback and Heisman runner-up Hank Lauricella. Head coach Neyland's offensive linemen were described as not large but "squatty" and "bruiser[s], not flashy, but slightly murderous." Neyland considered the split-T offense used by Tatum gimmicky and relied on the more traditional single-wing formation. He subscribed to the adage that, when the ball was thrown, "three things could happen, and two of them were bad." For the game, Tatum himself abandoned the split-T in favor of a smashmouth approach to run it up the middle, where he thought "they least expected [it]." 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.