first Terrapins coach to win his opener since Tom Nugent in 1959. During the season, Friedgen led Maryland to a surprising 10–2 record, a top 10 national ranking, the first outright Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title by a team other than Florida State since the Seminoles entered the league in 1992 and the school's first conference title since 1985, and an appearance in the 2002 Orange Bowl—the Terrapins' first major bowl bid in more than two decades. Friedgen received numerous "Coach of the Year" plaudits including the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year. Throughout the year, Friedgen had challenged his players with the phrase "Are you in or are you out?" After the dramatic first-year turnaround, he was a high-profile candidate for an NFL position, and his players repeated his question. He remained at Maryland and said, "Last year the kids made a commitment to me and I realized it was my turn. We've got plenty left to do. This program has not yet arrived." 2002 season Friedgen's second year began with a 1–2 record, and he implored his team to consider it the start of a "new season". Maryland then won nine of its remaining ten regular season games, including a come-from-behind homecoming victory against the Philip Rivers-led 15th-ranked NC State team. Sports Illustrated credited a "stifling defense", dynamic special teams play, and an offense that thrived under quarterback Scott McBrien and a simplified playbook despite the loss of leading rusher Bruce Perry to injury. Maryland ended the season with a 30-3 victory over Tennessee in the 2002 Peach Bowl, the school's first bowl victory since the Cherry Bowl in 1985. The team achieved a final record of 11–3, matching the school record for wins in a season first set by the 1976 team. 2003 season In 2003, the Terrapins finished with a 10-3 record, including a 41–7 victory over rival West Virginia in the 2004 Gator Bowl. The University of Maryland football team became one of five programs nationally to reach the ten-win plateau from 2001 to 2003, and Friedgen became the first coach in ACC history to win ten or more games in his first three seasons as a head coach. 2004 season The 2004 season was the first disappointment of Friedgen's tenure,