First came the blocked field goal, punctuated by Jeremy Navarre?s mad dash toward the student section. Then, an avalanche of fans cascaded down the seating bowl, uniting with the Maryland football team in a celebration at midfield of Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. The upset victory was sealed with a student-body mockery of Florida State?s tomahawk chop.
And when the field cleared, the Terps had become bowl eligible with a 27-24 win over the Seminoles.
“I ran, I couldn?t breathe,” said Navarre, a sophomore defensive end from Joppatowne, of his reaction after blocking Gary Cismesia?s 46-yard field-goal attempt with 42 seconds remaining.
His excitement was shared by the entire team, including coach Ralph Friedgen, who drew a rousing ovation from his family in the post-game press conference.
“Oh man, what a win,” Friedgen said. “I don?t know where to start.”
Saturday?s win might possibly define Maryland?s season. The Terps raced out to a 20-7 lead in the second quarter before holding on desperatelyin the waning minutes after Florida State rallied to within three.
But Friedgen won?t let the Terps (6-2 overall, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) rest on its character-building victory.
“It?s a big win for our team and a big win for our program, but we?ve still got a long way to go,” Friedgen said. “We?re bowl eligible, but our goals are bigger than six wins.”
Those six wins seemed a distant dream as recent as three weeks ago when Maryland traveled to Georgia Tech. Since then, they?ve gone 3-0 to claim three-way tie atop the ACC?s Atlantic Division.
And with the program?s second-ever win in 17 tries against the vaunted Seminoles (4-4, 2-4), the Terps have again proven the doubters wrong.
“Everyone is still doubting us,” senior corner Josh Wilson said. “We?re doing things that nobody thought was possible. It?s No. 6, and we?re still counting.”
Now Maryland turns its focus to Clemson (7-2, 4-2), which lost to Virginia Tech Thursday night. Four tough conference games loom, but a bowl game is within reach. Representatives from the Dec. 29 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando were present Saturday.
“The rest of the season after that is no joke, either,” senior quarterback Sam Hollenbach said. “The victory feels great, but I think we need to expect to play games like this if we want to get where we want to go.”
