South Roundup : Maryland Wins on Late Kick

Dan Plocki was a walk-on when he tried out for the Maryland team. But Coach Bobby Ross awarded the freshman a scholarship Saturday after he kicked a 20-yard field goal with six seconds left to give the Terrapins a 34-31 win at Clemson, S.C.

The victory over Clemson assured Maryland of at least a tie for the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

“That little Dan Plocki has certainly helped turn our season around,” Ross said. “This game was worth a scholarship.”

But Clemson Coach Danny Ford was livid about the outcome, accusing the officials of giving Maryland the touchdown that tied the game, 31-31, with 1:18 remaining.

Ford said the 25-second clock expired before quarterback Stan Gelbaugh tossed the two-yard scoring pass to tight end Ferrell Edmunds. Edmunds dropped the ball after having it briefly in his hands in the end zone.

“I don’t mind a guy missing a judgment call, but there’s no excuse when a clock runs down and all you’ve got is one responsibility and that is to look at it and blow the whistle,” Ford said.

“If I am going to get beat, I want to get beat by Maryland.”

The victory before 75,000 fans raised Maryland’s record to 7-3 overall and 5-0 in the ACC. Clemson fell to 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the ACC.

Maryland must beat or tie Virginia Nov. 29 to win the ACC title outright because Georgia Tech has a 5-1 conference record.

Florida St. 50, Western Carolina 10--At Tallahassee, Fla., freshman Keith Ross rambled for two of Florida State’s five rushing touchdowns, and Derek Schmidt kicked three field goals.

Ross, a 21-year-old who played baseball for three seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system before switching to college football this year, scored on runs of 22 and 3 yards, while teammates Tony Smith, Chuck Wells and Victor Floyd had touchdown runs of 2, 1 and 5 yards, respectively, for the 15th-ranked Seminoles (8-2)

Schmidt converted field goals of 36, 38 and 21 yards.

South Carolina 34, Navy 31--At Columbia, S.C., quarterback Mike Hold scrambled nine yards with 2:21 remaining to even South Carolina’s record at 5-5. Navy sank to 3-7.

Navy tailback Napoleon McCallum, who scored on runs of 1, 3 and 7 yards, rushed for 138 yards in 29 attempts and grabbed 6 passes for 97 yards to set an NCAA record for career all-purpose yards.

His 323 yards rushing, receiving and running back kicks gave him 6,896 for his career, breaking the record of 6,885 set by Darrin Nelson of Stanford in 1981.

McCallum also broke the Navy career scoring record of 31 touchdowns held by Joe Bellino. His three touchdowns gave him 33, with one game remaining against Army on Dec. 7.

Virginia 24, North Carolina 22--Tailback Barry Word, the nation’s eighth-leading rusher, carried 33 times for 170 yards at Charlottesville, Va., to break Virginia’s single-season rushing record with his eighth straight 100-yard game.

With one game left, Word has amassed 1,224 yards, surpassing the school record of 1,214 set by Johnny Papit in 1949.

The win clinched a third straight winning season for the Cavaliers, 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. North Carolina fell to 5-5 and 3-3.

Georgia Tech 41, Wake Forest 10--At Atlanta, tailback Cory Collier and fullback Malcolm King each scored two touchdowns in a victory that boosted Georgia Tech’s record to 7-2-1 overall and 5-1 in the ACC. Wake Forest fell to 4-7 and 1-6.

Collier rushed for 114 yards in 21 carries and scored on a 2-yard run and a 4-yard pass from John Dewberry. King, who had 67 yards in 10 carries, scored on runs of 4 and 13 yards.

William & Mary 28, Richmond 17--Free safety Greg Wharton’s two pass interceptions set up two of tailback Michael Clemons’ three touchdowns as William & Mary upset Richmond at Williamsburg, Va.

Clemons, a 5-5, 180-pound junior, caught touchdown passes of 4 and 15 yards from quarterback Stan Yagiello and ran 15 yards for another touchdown as the Indians closed out a 7-4 season. The defeat dropped Richmond to 8-3.

Duke 31, N. Carolina St. 19--Fullback Tracy Smith ran for two touchdowns at Durham, N.C., as Duke ended its six-game losing streak, raising its record to 3-7 overall and 1-5 in the ACC. N.C. State finished the season at 3-8 and 2-5.