The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • 89

THE SUN SECTION Scoreboard Racing SUNDAY, fc NOVEMBER 10, 1985 No miracles; Teres left with 'what if? Miami comes back in second half for 29-22 victory; By Don Markus There was no miracle at Memorial Stadium yesterday, no heroic second-half comeback victory to write into the Maryland history books or rewrite into the college football record books. Instead there was only pain. From the 29-22 defeat to eighth-ranked Miami. From the fact that the Terps' last chance for a national ranking this season passed noisily before a crowd of 62,350. But most of the pain came from this unpleasant thought: Maryland could have won the game.

thought we played very hard, very tough," Terps coach Bobby Ross said after Maryland (6-3) saw leads of 13-0 and 22-13 evaporate into another disheartening loss. "We could have played better." That could be the epitaph for trie season itself, one that has been pockmarked by pre-game buildups and post-game letdowns. Yesterday followed a different story line than the previous defeats to Penn State and Michigan, but the ending was the same. "Things were going our way in the first half, but they got the momentum back," said Maryland co-captain Scott Schankweiler. "It happened very quickly.

That's the -way things go in football. Once they got the momentum, it was very tough to get it back." Miami (8-1) nearly put itself in the position of having to erase a rather large deficit, as Maryland was forced to do last year by climbing out of a 31-0 hole at halftime to win 42-40. The Hurricanes could not be buried. The Terps had their chances, however, but they were only able to turn four first half turnovers into a short touchdown pass from Stan Gelbaugh to tight end Ferrell Edmunds and two field goals by freshman Dan Plocki. "If we had scored instead of getting those two field goals, it would have helped," Gelbaugh said later.

"I don't think anybody can blow out a team like Miami. They're not going to lay down. Their offense is just too good." It was the Hurricane passing game namely the combination of quarterback Vinny Testaverde to tight end Willie Smith that started to wear down the Maryland de-See MARYLAND, 10F, Col. 3 11 7cj WCr 'ummm im inurf ininnnnm mtmtm THE SUNGENE SWEENEY JR. Miami's Melvin Bratton dives over the Maryland line for a touchdown Better team won, but look to give the Hurricanes a 29-22 lead in the fourth quarter.

for Terps at stadium again MIKE LiTTWIN Can the Terps win big ones? Don't ask Bobby Ross doesn't want to hear about expectations. He doesn't want to hear about potential. He especially doesn't want to hear about polls, or a certain magazine once celebrated on the Maryland campus. Not now. Not ever again.

But the question had to be asked. Was the Maryland football team overrated, a victim of preseason hype? Did the Terps ever have the material to compete at college football's highest levels? Or, as some have suggested, is Ross' Maryland team incapable of winning the big one? The questions came after yesterday's 29-22 loss to Miami, a loss in which Maryland blew leads of 13-0 and 22-13. The questions came after Maryland (6-3) lost its third game in three tries against a ranked opponent. The questions came over Ross' loud objections. "I don't want to hear that," he said.

"I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it." Someone asked another question, but Ross, obviously shaken, wouldn't listen. He was angry. His voice was raised. He didn't want to hear it, but he felt compelled to answer the charge.

"I want to remind you we have played some big games in this program and we have won some big games. Our kids fought their hearts out tonight against not a good football team, but a great team. A great team. "Some of the time you win because you play well and some of the time you don't win because the other team makes you not play well." Ross doesn't anger easily. He raises his voice only behind closed doors.

He is a man of restraint, who rarely loses control. But he felt this loss. It was a game, like the Penn State See LITTWIN, 11 Col. 4 So long, No. ByJimMartz Miami Herald JACKSONVILLE.

Fla. Dawg gone. As in, there goes the University of Florida's No. 1 ranking after just one week, and there goes the Gators' dream of a national championship. As in, there goes Georgia Bulldog Keith Henderson 76 yards for a touchdown.

And 32 for another touchdown. And there goes Tim Worley for 89 yards and the clinching score. Life at the top of the college football mountain proved short and bittersweet for the Gators. Before the largest crowd ever to see a college football game in the state, 82.327. old nemesis Georgia knocked them off.

24-3. yesterday, at the Gator Bowl. Goodbye talk about whether a team on major NCAA probation deserves to be ranked. Adios the nation's longest unbeaten streak of 1 8 games. "We restored order back to nature," said Bulldogs center Peter Anderson.

"We lacked the extra intensity we usually have," said Florida linebacker Scott Armstrong. "Who knows The guy sitting next to me in the press box yesterday usually covers two football games every weekend, one college, one pro. In the fourth quarter yesterday, after a Miami field goal had been blocked, and the Hurricanes were driving toward another that eventually gave them their first lead of the day. 23-22, he said, "No matter what happens from here, this is the best game I've seen all year." What happened from there was a 29-22 Miami victory, as the Hurri- canes came from behind to keep alive their goal of winning the national championship. Even a staunch Maryland fan, who also happens to be honest with himself, would have to admit the better team eventually won this one.

The Hurricanes had better person- BOB HHAISEL 'Ay1- nel, and even when the Terps were ahead 13-0 early, then 22-13 In the third quarter, there was the feeling that Miami and its excellent quarterback Vinny Testaverde eventually would pull it out. 1: Florida upset by No. 17 They did, which isn't to say the Terps didn't have their chances to win. Several things stand out as to why they didn't. One was getting only 13 points out of the four early Miami turnovers, when the Hurricanes did everything but self-destruct before finally settling down.

The second would have to be the fact that the Terps' offense totally disappeared after Brett Perriman ran a Darryl Wright punt back 74 yards for a touchdown in the third period. The score before that stunner was 22-13 Maryland after the Terps had scored a touchdown and a safety to open the second half. The momentum seemed to belong to them until Perriman got his hands on that punt. Even after that touchdown, the Georgia ASSOCIATED PRESS Terps were still up 22-20, and the way they had run the ball on their 80-yard touchdown drive, there was reason to believe they had found a weakness in the Miami defense. Instead, the offense fell apart and didn't come up with another first down until time was running out at the end.

Even so, it was a tremendous show for the only college game to be played in the stadium this year, one the crowd of 62,350 obviously enjoyed. This represented the largest home crowd in the history of Maryland football, and the one question I heard most often yesterday was, "Do you think the Terps will be playing here again in the future, or is this See MAISEL, 1 IF, Col. 1 Fumble call as Syracuse By Bill Free Sun Staff Correspondent ANNAPOLIS All season long Gary Tranquill has been telling his Navy players: "Tough times never last, tough people do." After yesterday's bitter. 24-20 loss to Syracuse, the Midshipmen (3-6) had to be wondering if those tough times ever will end for them. The defeat on a blustery fall afternoon came despite the fact that quarterback Bill Byrne broke six school passing records and sophomore split end Troy Saunders played the game of his life.

"I think we were said Saunders of the controversial play in the final minutes of the game that took the ball away from Navy at the Syracuse 3-yard line. With the clock winding down toward two minutes and Navy driving for a go-ahead touchdown, Saunders cut over the middle on a third-and-9 play at the Orange 10-yard line. He gathered in a perfect pass from Byrne near the 1-yard line and fell to the ground. However, the ball popped loose. Johnson hypes his Hurricanes '1QF Scoring summary, statistics IF halts Navy wins, 24-20 and Syracuse cornerback David Lee' came up with it at the 3-yard line with 2: 1 1 remaining.

The officials ruled that Saunders fumbled. Saunders and Tranquill disagreed. "I was down when the ball popped out. I felt both knees hit the ground before the ball came out," said Saunders, who caught nine passes for 1 46 yards and two touchdowns. "We're one play away always from winning.

It seems like. Our guys are tired about it. I know I am." Tranquill has defended the officials all season, even when their calls have cost him games, but he couldn't go along with this one. "That's going to be a controversial play," he said. "I thought he was down and then the ball popped out.

I know he was close to a first down, and I was ready to call Napoleonj McCallum's number on the next See NAVY, 4F, Col. 4 McCallum "sad" after home finale 4F Scoring summary, statistics 4F why? Some days you play hard but it's not enough. "It hurts all of us deeply. Being No. 1 and winning the national championship were something we dreamed about." The Gators insisted the No1 ranking was not a distraction nor a burden, "but it might have added a little more Incentive for Georgia," said Florida tailback Neal Anderson.

Perhaps Florida's task of playing Auburn and Georgia back to back took its toll again. The Gators (7-1-1) have beaten both in a row only five times in 32 tries. "Florida was in the difficult position of winning a big game last week 1 4-1 0 at Auburn), being ranked No. 1 by AP and having to play a big rival the next week." said coach Vince Dooley after his 17th-ranked Bulldogs improved to 7-1-1. The Gators hadn't lost since Ber-nie Kosar rallied the University of Miami to a final-minute.

32-20. victory Sept. 1, 1984, at Tampa Stadium. They hadn't lost in the Southeastern Conference since the Bulldogs won, 10-9, in 1983. And they hadn't been beaten by more than 12 points since a 44-0 See GEORGIA, 4F, Col.

4 7 Georgia coach Vince Dooley (left) and Florida's Galen Hall meet on the field after the Bulldogs' victory. INDEX College football 2-1 1 NFL 13-14F Soccer 15.16F jockey. 1819F Baseball 20F Pro basketball 22F State college football oc Golf Auto racing 25F Horse racing Letters 27F Outdoorsboating INSIDE Cowboys-Redskins rivalry never seems to grow old Sports 2, PAGE 13F Are MISL games too boring? Soccer column, PAGE 15F Kansas City Royals drop bid for Kirk Gibson Baseball column, PAGE 20 No. 18 Brigham Young 44 Utah St 0 PAGE 6F No. 19 Tennessee 17 Memphis St 7 PAGE 6F New Haven.

27 Towson St .7 PAGE 4F No. 2 Penn St. 31 Cincinnati 10 PAGE 2F No. 3 Nebraska 49 Iowa 0 PAGE 6F No. 4 Ohio St 35 Northwestern 17 PAGE6F No.

5 Air 45 .7 PAGE 6F No. 6 Iowa 59 Illinois 0 PAGE 6F No. 9 47 0 PAGE 6F No. 12 Arkansas 20 No. 13 Baylor.

14 PAGE 6F No. 15 Louisiana St 14 No. 20 Alabama .14 PAGE 6F N.C. State 23 ...22 ACC roundup, PAGE 2F Ml..