When comparing Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen and coach Chuck Amato, the two aren’t too different, at least on paper.
Both coach at their alma mater.
Both joined the ACC at a similar time — Amato in 2000 and Friedgen in 2001.
And since the expansion of the ACC, both have seen their team take a dip in success.
Since 2004, when Virginia Tech and Miami joined the ACC, Amato and Friedgen have only one combined bowl game between the two — N.C. State’s 14-0 win against South Florida in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
To get to that game, the Wolfpack had to beat the Terrapins in the teams’ final regular season game — a game State won 20-14.
However, in Amato’s first four seasons, he led the Pack to a bowl game in each year. For the “Fridge,” ditto, except for Friedgen, it was only in his first three years — all of which had at least 10 wins. Between 2001-2003, Friedgen was 31-8 overall. Amato wasn’t quite as good, but went 26-13 during that same span.
But this season and in Maryland’s previous two seasons, Friedgen is 14-14. Amato fares a little better, going 15-14. When asked about comparisons between himself and Amato, Friedgen didn’t know if he saw the two as very comparable.
“I don’t know,” Friedgen said. “I haven’t really thought of it that way. Both of us have lost some good quarterbacks, and I think that has a lot to do with your success more than anything else. I don’t know if I would agree with that or not.”
The year after expansion, Friedgen was without quarterback Scott McBrien, who completed more than three times as many touchdowns as he did interceptions in his senior season. Follow that with Joel Statham, who in the year after expansion had nearly twice as many interceptions as touchdowns.
Same situation for Amato. The year before expansion, quarterback Philip Rivers led State. The year after expansion? Jay Davis.
But Amato didn’t want to place the blame on quarterbacks or any other reason. He said expansion brought a tougher conference.
Amato said he doesn’t think the struggles are limited to just Maryland. When asked about Friedgen’s struggles, Amato said it’s been tough for everyone, and then proceeded to list nearly every team in the conference.
“It’s been hard for everybody,” Amato said. “It’s been hard for Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech — it’s been hard for everybody. North Carolina State, North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, everybody. Everybody.”
He added that the Terrapins’ coach “knows what he’s doing.”
Against each other, Friedgen has a slight edge. He holds a 3-2 record against Amato.
When Friedgen arrived at College Park, Md., in 2001, he led the Terrapins to victories against the Pack in his first three seasons — including a 26-24 win in Rivers senior year.
But since that game, Amato has had his number — taking two straight. The first a 13-3 victory in 2004 at Byrd Stadium, followed with a 20-14 win last season in Raleigh.
Junior receiver Darrell Blackman, who considered Maryland as a possible college destination, took a “couple of unofficial visits to Maryland,” but never took an official visit to the school. On one of his trips, he actually watched State lose to Maryland.
But despite Friedgen’s recent struggles, Blackman said he expects the coach to bring his program back to where it was.
“I thought he was a nice guy,” Blackman said. “He’s a good coach and he runs a good program. They have a good all-around program.”
And Blackman said he expects to see Friedgen show off a talented team this weekend.
“I’m prepared to see a hard-nosed football team,” Blackman said. “They just came off a big win. He knows how to get his team worked up, fired up.”
