Gator Bowl

COLLEGE PARK - He was out of breath, he was emotionally exhausted, and he was covered in sweat. Inside Alltel Stadium, 78,892 people had just watched Steve Suter return a punt 76 yards for a touchdown, giving Maryland a 17-0 lead over West Virginia on New Year's Day in the Gator Bowl. But at that moment, Suter wasn't thinking about any of them. He was only thinking about his father, George, 800 miles away, watching the game at home from his couch in Manchester. As fans celebrated, and teammates tried to hug him, Suter ran past a television camera and blurted out what had been on his mind since the moment he crossed the goal line.

The Atlantic Coast Conference will hold its first football championship game in Jacksonville, Fla., the league announced yesterday. The city beat out six others for the honor, including Baltimore, which was considered a long shot to land the game. ACC faculty representatives unanimously chose Jacksonville over Charlotte, N.C., Miami, Orlando, Fla., Baltimore, Tampa, Fla., and Washington in a conference call Wednesday. The agreement calls for Jacksonville to host the game in 2005 and 2006, with the league holding an option to keep the game there in 2007 and 2008.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - With several NFL coaching positions open, Ralph Friedgen's name has come up repeatedly. Asked yesterday about the rumors, the Maryland coach repeatedly said that he was happy. He did say, however, that he wouldn't mind a raise. Friedgen has eight years remaining on a 10-year, $12 million contract he signed in 2001. "I'm happy at Maryland," Friedgen said. "I'm very happy here. I've been to the NFL. I like where I'm at. I would like some more money, though." Friedgen hasn't directly asked for a raise, but Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow has made it clear she's willing to do what it takes to keep him happy at Maryland.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - He could have said superb, and he could have said gracious. Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen could have used the word relieved to describe his senior quarterback yesterday, because clearly that was the case. But after watching Scott McBrien throw for a career-high 381 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-7 Gator Bowl rout of West Virginia, Friedgen found an even better way to describe his senior quarterback. McBrien was, quite simply, divine. "Scott," Friedgen said, "was heaven."

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In September, Maryland's football team defeated West Virginia so thoroughly, so completely, it instantly restored the confidence and swagger of a young football team riddled with self-doubt. Incredibly, Maryland's 34-7 win had the same effect on the Mountaineers. Humiliated by such a poor performance in College Park, West Virginia won seven of its next eight games, and today it can gauge how far its program has come when the two schools meet again in the Gator Bowl.

Maryland has never lost a Gator Bowl. The Terps are 2-0-1 in games in Jacksonville, Fla. Jan. 1, 1948: Maryland 20, Georgia 20 - The Terrapins blew a late 20-7 lead against the Bulldogs, who had the ball on Maryland's 4-yard line as time ran out. Lu Gambino, a future Baltimore Colt, rushed for 175 yards and scored three touchdowns for Maryland, 7-2-2 under first-year coach Jim Tatum. Jan. 1, 1950: Maryland 20, Missouri 7 - Bob Shemonski ran for two touchdowns, and Ed Modzelewski ran for one as the Terps finished 9-1, their best record in 57 years.

GATOR BOWL 12:30 p.m. today Chs. 11,4 Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla. No. 23 Maryland 9-3, No. 20 West Virginia 8-4 Keys to today's game 1. Rasheed Marshall: West Virginia's quarterback had an awful game in College Park three months ago, completing just two of seven passes and rushing for negative yardage in Maryland's 34-7 win. If the Terps load up to stop the run, Marshall will have to make plays in the passing game for the Mountaineers to...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - On the Maryland football team, everyone has a Lamar Bryant story. Some of them are tall tales, some of them will induce belly-aching laughter, and most of them, according to junior center Kyle Schmitt, probably aren't suitable for publication in a family newspaper. But picture, if you can, Bryant - all 6 feet 3 and 315 pounds of him - standing in front of a banquet hall full of people last year, days before the Peach Bowl. He has a microphone in his hand, and he's part of a select group of players prepared to belt out the national anthem to kick off a comedy show that's part of the festivities in Atlanta.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Visiting a children's hospital the week of a bowl game has become something of a cliche for college football players. It's standard now for a team's itinerary to include a parade, banquets, numerous practices and a midweek visit to a children's hospital to sign autographs and spend a little time with the patients. Those are sobering moments in a week filled with pomp and circumstance, but when they're over, most of the players will wave goodbye, knowing future such visits are unlikely.