College Park, Md. — Fifth-ranked Florida State was in the process of completing another comeback on the road, and Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen could think of only one course of action.
"I was praying hard," he said. "Our kids played with so much heart, it would have been a shame to lose this game."
The Terrapins held on, and thousands among the sellout crowd of 52,203 charged onto the field Saturday night immediately after the highly improbable 20-17 stunner.
Florida State (6-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) came in with a six-game winning streak and a perfect 14-0 record against Maryland (4-4, 2-3), which had scored a total of 17 points in losing three straight conference games.
But the Terrapins got 333 passing yards from maligned quarterback Joel Statham and a solid performance from the defense in defeating a top-10 team for the first time since 1990.
"Nothing lasts forever. You get 14 wins in a row, and it happens when you least expect it," Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden said.
After a Maryland punt, Chris Rix got the Seminoles in position for field-goal attempt by Xavier Beitia, who was wide left on 45-yard field goal try with 4:45 to go -- his third miss of the game.
"We missed enough field goals to win it," Bowden said. "They made the big plays and we didn't. That was the difference."
No. 1 USC 42,
Washington State 12
Pullman, Wash. -- Reggie Bush and LenDale White each scored two touchdowns, and Dwayne Jarrett caught two more from scores from Matt Leinart. In rolling up 426 yards of offense, USC (8-0, 5-0 Pac-10) extended its winning streak to 17 games and 12 straight in the Pac-10 Conference. The Trojans defense held the Cougars (3-5, 1-4) to 156 yards, sacking quarterback Alex Brink five times, forcing seven fumbles and limiting the Cougars to minus-9 yards rushing.
No. 3 Auburn 35, Mississippi 14
Oxford, Miss. -- Jason Campbell rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another, and Auburn clinched a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game. The Tigers (9-0, 6-0) scored 28 points after halftime to lock up the Western Division title before their first off week of the season. Ethan Flatt was 12-of-20 for 225 yards and two touchdowns for Ole Miss (3-5, 2-3).
No. 9 Utah 51,
San Diego State 28
San Diego -- Alex Smith threw a career-high five touchdown passes, and Utah remained undefeated. The Utes (8-0, 4-0 Mountain West) are attempting to become the first team from a non-BCS conference to participate in the Bowl Championship Series. Utah moved up to No. 6 in the BCS standings last week, putting it in position for an automatic bid to one of the four marquee postseason games. Two of the Utes' remaining three games are at home.
No. 10 Georgia 31, Florida 24
Jacksonville, Fla. -- David Greene threw three touchdown passes, including a big one in the fourth quarter, as the Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) snapped a six-game losing streak against rival Florida (4-4, 2-4). Greene tied Eric Zeier's school record with 67 touchdown passes and matched Peyton Manning for the most victories (39) by a starting quarterback in NCAA Division I-A history.
No. 11 Tennessee 43,
South Carolina 29
Columbia, S.C. -- Erik Ainge threw three touchdown passes as Tennessee overcame early offensive problems to win its 12th straight over South Carolina. Cedric Houston added a career-high 190 yards rushing and a TD as the Vols (7-1, 5-1 SEC) rolled past the Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3), who were thought to be Tennessee's last real roadblock to the Southeastern Conference title game. The Gamecocks continued one of the ugliest streaks in coach Lou Holtz's tenure: they are 0-10 the past three seasons when needing a victory to qualify for the postseason.
No. 12 Michigan 45, Michigan State 37, 3 OT
Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Braylon Edwards caught two touchdown passes to help Michigan erase a 17-point deficit in just 5:44 of the fourth quarter and then grabbed a third TD in triple overtime to lift the Wolverines. Michigan (8-1, 6-0 Big Ten) moved a half-game ahead of idle Wisconsin in the conference and kept its hopes alive for a Bowl Championship Series bid. The Spartans (4-4, 3-2) had a chance to win at Michigan Stadium for the first time since 1990, but could not hold a 27-10 lead with 8:43 left.
No. 15 West Virginia 35, Rutgers 30
Piscataway, N.J. -- Chris Henry caught a 39-yard scoring pass and set up another touchdown with a long catch before being kicked out of the game for two taunting incidents. Rasheed Marshall threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Moutaineers (7-1, 3-0 Big East) beat Rutgers (4-4, 1-3) for the 10th straight time.
Northwestern 13,
No. 17 Purdue 10
Evanston, Ill. -- Noah Herron ran three yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds left to lift Northwestern (4-4, 3-2 Big Ten) to its second victory over a top-25 team this year. Purdue (5-3, 2-3) had a final chance, but Taylor Stubblefield couldn't hold on to a 40-yard pass into the end zone as time expired. The pass came from backup quarterback Brandon Kirsch, who replaced one-time Heisman Trophy favorite Kyle Orton at the end of the third quarter. It was the third straight loss for Purdue, which started the season 5-0.
No. 19 LSU 24, Vanderbilt 7
Baton Rouge, La. -- Alley Broussard ran for 80 yards and a touchdown, spearheading a strong game by LSU. The Tigers (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) rushed for 273 yards, with Joseph Addai adding 77 and quarterback Marcus Randall 68. They also got a 65-yard punt return for a TD by Skyler Green. Jay Cutler completed 10 of 34 passes for 111 yards for the Commodores (2-6, 1-4).
No. 23 Iowa 23, Illinois 13
Champaign, Ill. -- Drew Tate threw a pair of 19-yard touchdown passes to Ed Hinkel and added a five-yard run for a score, sending the Illini to their 14th straight Big Ten loss. Tate's run capped a 16-point third quarter that helped break open a 7-7 game for the Hawkeyes (6-2, 4-1). Illinois (2-7, 0-6) was held to a mere 58 yards rushing and dropped its sixth consecutive game.
Indiana 30,
No. 24 Minnesota 21
Bloomington, Ind. -- Indiana's Will Lumpkin returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown, and Matt LoVecchio threw for two scores as the Hoosiers scored 23 unanswered points. The victory ended Indiana's five-game losing streak. It marked the first time since 1987 that Indiana (3-5, 1-4 Big Ten) has beaten two ranked teams in the same season. Minnesota (6-3, 3-3) lost for the third time in four weeks. The nation's No. 3 rushing team was held to 169 yards, more than 100 yards below its season average.
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