Maryland gets upset win over Florida State

The Terrapins shocked the fifth-ranked Seminoles, 20-17.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- 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 upset.
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.
Statham leads way
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.
Florida State trailed 20-10 before Bowden summoned former starting quarterback Chris Rix at the start of the fourth quarter. On his second series, Rix moved FSU to the 35 before a 52-yard field goal try by Xavier Beitia hit the left crossbar.
Rix leads comeback
On his next drive, Rix threw his first touchdown pass of the season, a 16-yarder to Chauncey Stovall with 7:43 remaining that made it 20-17.
After a Maryland punt, Rix got the Seminoles in position for another field goal attempt by 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."
Final chance falls short
Rix got one final chance two minutes later, but his fourth-down pass from the FSU 27 soared over the head of Lome Sam with 1:38 to go.
At game's end, Terrapins fans rushed the field and embraced the players -- but spared the goal posts, which were guarded by police officers.
"To beat the No. 5 team in the nation should be a benchmark for this program," Friedgen said. "I think we can make tremendous strides from this win."
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