COLLEGE PARK, Md.--LaMont Jordan lay on his back after the clock ran out on the Maryland season, exhausted, beat up and shocked. He couldn't understand how the Terrapins had racked up 468 yards rushing against Virginia and still managed to blow their chance at a bowl game, a winning season and, most importantly, respect.
On a day when the Cavalier defense let Jordan run rampant for a school-record 306 yards, the Cavs (7-4, 5-3 ACC) were also shaking their heads in amazement. Down 30-27 with 1:40 to go and the ball in Maryland's (5-6, 2-6 ACC) hands, the Cavaliers somehow escaped College Park with a 34-30 victory in front of 32,334 stunned spectators.
"It shows courage that we can come back from adversity," said Cav wideout Billy McMullen, who caught the game-winning touchdown with 26 seconds left on the clock. "We showed strength and proved we're a better team than people think."
Yet the game almost seemed out of reach for the Cavaliers after Maryland battled back to take a 30-27 lead on a 22-yard Brian Kopka field goal with 5:18 remaining in the fourth quarter. On what appeared to be the Cavs' final drive, quarterback Dan Ellis threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-four from the Terps' 37-yard line.
"For a second, I thought, 'Jesus, we lost,'" Ellis said. "But I looked up and we had some time and two timeouts."
Those timeouts, coupled with a mental error by Terrapin quarterback Randall Jones, helped give Virginia an opportunity at the eleventh hour. With 1:27 remaining and the Cavs now out of timeouts, Jones ran the ball out of bounds on the third down, thereby stopping the clock.
"We were trying to run the clock down," Terp Coach Ron Vanderlinden said. "I know nobody intended, including Randall, to run out of bounds. [It cost us] 35 seconds, probably more, maybe 45 seconds. We were going to take a penalty. It was a huge snafu on our part."
After the ensuing punt, Virginia wound up with the ball on its own 24 with 1:12 to get a score. That's when Ellis proved why he's the Cavs' starting signal-caller.
Ellis completed four consecutive passes with speed and precision to set up a Thomas Jones draw for 13 yards that pushed the pigskin to the Maryland 20. The next play, with 32 seconds on the clock, Ellis noticed McMullen matched up against smaller Terp defensive back Tony Okanlawon at the line and called for a fade route.
It was all over after that. The 6-foot-4 McMullen "was all smiles" after he skied over the overmatched Terrapin to haul in Ellis' floater and the victory.
"This is the worst loss I've ever been associated with because of everything that was riding on it," Vanderlinden said. "It's devastating. I feel like our guys played a hell of a game. To battle back from being 17 down ... We had the hearts of champions out there" Saturday.
Few could predict that this game would turn into such a close contest after Virginia jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. But that's when Jordan decided to take over the game.
After totaling minus-four yards on his first four carries, Jordan proceeded to average 9.4 yards per carry on his next 33 attempts, breaking a score of records along the way.
The LaMont Jordan Show featured touchdown runs of nine and 90 yards to give the Terps a 24-17 lead at the start of the third quarter. In the process, Jordan set single-season team records for touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards and 200-yard games.
"Jordan had a great day," said Virginia running back Thomas Jones, who was held to 91 yards on 28 carries (3.3 yards per carry). "He deserves a lot of credit."
The Cavs would come back to regain the lead at 27-24 on a 43-yard David Greene field goal and an 11-yard Casey Crawford reception, his first career touchdown. Yet a struggling running game and a bevy of penalties kept Virginia from ever putting the game out of reach.
It's not surprising, then, that the Cavs were pleased to leave Cole Byrd Stadium with the victory and a bowl berth assured.
"I can't believe that we gave up 450 yards" rushing, Cav Coach George Welsh said. "Usually, you'd get the crap kicked out of you if you even gave up 450 yards passing. They're probably kicking themselves that they didn't get two more touchdowns. Jordan had, what, 300 yards? That's ridiculous."
With the victory, Welsh and the Cavs reached the seven-win plateau for the 13th straight season. But it has not been a cake walk for the injury-plagued squad.
"That's the toughest time I've ever had to seven wins," Welsh said. "It's been a strange year"
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