I stood amongst a sea of people decked out in red, black and white (and sadly some orange and blue) as we waited for the UM shuttle bus to take us to the metro station. The clock was to strike midnight soon and all I could hear was a mother trying to console her son. The kid, who looked about seven, was crying. I thought he was cold or hurt with a “boo-boo”, but his dad knew what the real problem was. “Don’t worry when we get home I’ll play NCAA and this time they’ll win,” dad reassured. Oh lil’ buddy, if only it were that easy.

    Students, alumni and every fan in between left Byrd Stadium last night shaking their heads in disbelief as the (4-3,2-2) Maryland Terrapins loss a 18-17 heartbreaker to then No. 16  (7-1, 4-0) Virginia Cavaliers. Like “lil’ buddy”, anyone who knows Maryland football knows that wasn’t just another game. It was the rivalry game, the game that would show the ACC and NCAA coaches that the Cavs and their 6-1 record wasn’t much to talk about. It was the game that would allow a national television audience to see that quarterback Chris Turner and company were capable of knocking off more than one top 25 team in a season. For God’s sake it was Homecoming.

     But with 0:16 seconds remaining in the game it was as if the football god himself was stabbing at the hearts of Terrapin nation with an ice pick as Cavs reserve running back Mikell Simpson scored on a one-yard touchdown to give his team the victory. The final play was one of three that were under review during the game.If you asked anyone other than Simpson, quarterback Jameel Sewell, Coach Al Groh or other members of the Virginia squad, it was definitely a questionable call. It wasn’t so much that Simpson broke the plane, it was the fact that there was a possibility the ball was fumbled. Even after review, the play stood as called on the field, and the Terps’ parade had been super soaked on. "I saw the ball come out on the goal line. I saw it and I don't think he had possession," said Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen of the game changing play.

      I can honestly say despite the one point margin, it could have been worse as the Cavs dominated in every category. Let me just drop the stat line right quick: the Cavs had 439 total yards to the Terps’ 233, Sewell and backup QB Peter Lilich outshined Turner with 248 passing yards to his 103, and Simpson had 119 of his team’s 191 rushing yards while Lance Ball led with 72 of his team’s 130 yards.

     I won’t knock Virginia’s performance, because stats do speak for themselves, but so does the refereeing. While both teams were called for seven penalties each, at one point it appeared the refs were getting a little too flag happy, not to mention the questionable first down call that extended the Cavs  seven minute plus possession resulting in the last second touchdown.

     I won’t keep knocking the refs and call everything “questionable” either, because Maryland did have its fault, including blowing a 14-10 halftime lead and managing to only score a field goal in the second half which came midway through the third quarter. Everything was on the up and up for the fellas in the first half. The crowd was hyped, Testudo the magic turtle was cranking in the shell, and the fireworks were popping off—literally. Turner was showing people that he might have been worthy of the starting spot after all, no offense to Jordan Steffy (hope you get cleared before the season’s over).

     In the end however, the play that killed the Terps came with 0:02 left in the third quarter as Turner was sacked by Chris Long in the endzone that gave the Cavs the safety and closed the gap to a 17-12 deficit.

     The Terps have had comeback scares in their recent victories and losses against Georgia Tech, Rutgers and Wake Forest, but like the overtime loss to the Demon Deacons a few weeks back, the team’s second half inconsistencies is what put them to bed.

     Coming into the primetime match-up Saturday night the campus had been buzzing, not only because it was Homecoming, but because they were ready to see the Terps continue their successful action coming off a bye week. Next Saturday they take on Coach Tommy Bowden and the Clemson Tigers, a team who has been to Maryland what Dennis the Menace is to Mr. Wilson—a serious pain. If Coach Friedgen’s defense led by Erin Henderson knows what’s good, they’ll be ready to battle with QB Cullen Harper and the Tigers who are second in scoring in the conference at 30.6 ppg.

     Tailback Keon Lattimore who finished the game with 16 carries for 75 yards said of bouncing back from the loss, “We've been in this situation before. You can go one of two ways -- you can go down the drain or you can keep fighting and turn this into a positive thing, a learning experience”. But maybe that’s the problem. This situation has happened too often this season and you have to question if the team has learned from the past.

      I know I have. I remember attending my first Homecoming at Maryland in 2004, where we suffered a 13-3 loss to NC State. Three years later as many of the players I came in with will be bidding College Park farewell in 2008, I didn’t think it could happen again. If I didn’t know any better I would’ve been alongside “lil’ buddy” sniffing up sobs, because some things just aren’t supposed to happen. Especially not at the University of Maryland where our motto is “we must protect this house!”