College Park, Md. ? Kirby Freeman’s voice cracked as he spoke. He swallowed hard and his eyes reddened.

It wasn’t that Miami’s quarterback didn’t want to cry.

He simply had no more tears to shed.

“I’ve cried all I can cry this week,” Freeman said. “I’m really dehydrated right now. … It’s a situation where your throat clogs up and you want to cry, and I just didn’t have anything left. I really didn’t and that’s the way it is with a lot of our team right now.”

Four days after Miami lost senior defensive lineman Bryan Pata, who was shot and killed outside his apartment, the Hurricanes lost a football game – 14-13 to No. 23 Maryland on Saturday.

It was Miami’s third straight loss, one that dropped the team’s record to 5-5 and put its shot of even going to a bowl game in further jeopardy. Yet things like postseason bids and won-lost records have been rendered meaningless, replaced by real-life issues.

“The hardest thing we’ve ever gone through as a team,” defensive lineman Calais Campbell said, “is losing Bryan.”

Pata was a teammate, a brother, a friend, a leader, and the Hurricanes freely admit they’re still in shock. As the sun went down Tuesday afternoon, Pata was on the practice field. Two hours later, he was gone.

“I don’t know how much more we have in the tank,” Miami coach Larry Coker said. “I still think we’re a pretty good football team. … But pretty good football teams win games, also, and we’re not doing that right now.”

There’s two games left on Miami’s schedule – at Virginia next Saturday, then home against Boston College on Thanksgiving night. The Hurricanes have to win one of those, or else they’ll be home for bowl season.

Pata’s viewing is scheduled for Monday night, his funeral is Tuesday and there’ll be an on-campus memorial service Wednesday.

A season that was already disappointing has gotten immeasurably tougher for the Hurricanes to handle – especially Saturday, in a game where Miami rallied from a 14-0 deficit to get within 14-13, then had an interception and a fumbled punt in the final 3:08 to deny itself one last chance at a comeback.

“We looked at it an opportunity to do something great for our community, for our family, for our brother that couldn’t be with us,” linebacker Jon Beason said. “That was definitely the mind-set going in. Those were the words being expressed throughout the game.”