1956 Maryland Terrapins football | |
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Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
1956 record | 2–7–1 (2–2–1 ACC) |
Head coach | Tommy Mont |
Offensive scheme | Split-T |
Home stadium | Byrd Stadium |
1956 ACC football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
#19 Clemson $ | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Duke | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South Carolina | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maryland | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
North Carolina | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NC State | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wake Forest | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 5 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Virginia | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll |
The 1956 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football in its fourth season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Tommy Mont, who had been promoted from backfield assistant after Jim Tatum left to take over at North Carolina. Preseason hopes were high for the team, but it suffered numerous injuries and other misfortunes. Maryland finished with a 2–7–1 record, and the Associated Press called it "one of the year's most disappointing football teams".
Maryland head coach Jim Tatum resigned on January 8, 1956, to take the same post at his alma mater, North Carolina, and he was replaced by backfield coach Tommy Mont. Mont was a former quarterback for Maryland and the Washington Redskins. Mont came with the personal recommendation of Tatum. Tatum also instructed his former players to stay at Maryland rather than follow him by transferring to North Carolina.
As head coach, Mont was unable to recruit the highly skilled athletes that Tatum had consistently secured during his tenure.Rod Breedlove, who played on freshman team in 1956 and started on the varsity squad thereafter, was an exception as one of the best guard prospects in the nation. Due to the pressures associated with coaching a major college program, Mont eventually resigned as head coach after the 1958 season in order to take the same position at DePauw University.