Maryland to wear 'Triumph' jerseys

Maryland, which has made a name for itself in recent years by wearing boundary-pushing uniforms designed by Under Armour, has come up with a new occasion to commemorate with a bold design: the 200th anniversary of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

When the Terrapins take the field against West Virginiaon Saturday, they'll be wearing uniforms inspired by the Battle of Baltimore at Fort McHenry, which took place from Sept. 12 to Sept. 15, 1814. Francis Scott Key used that battle as the basis for his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry," which was later set to music and became "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The uniform includes facsimiles of Key's handwritten poem on the helmet and jersey sleeves, and the helmet features an outline of Fort McHenry -- which, by coincidence, looks a bit like a terrapin or turtle.

The pants have blue belts, except for team captains, whose belts will be red -- a reference to the Battle of Baltimore, where American military captains wore red belts.

One interesting touch is that "Triumph" will appear on the backs of the jerseys instead of the players' names. NCAA regulations normally bar all schools except military service academies from using slogans on the backs of jerseys, but a Maryland spokesperson said the school had been granted a one-time exemption by the NCAA to wear the "Triumph" jerseys on Saturday.

Vanderbilt's jerseys for the team's season-opening game against Temple had "Anchor Down" on the back but were later ruled to have been in violation of this rule and will not be worn again.