Cavaliers Lose It in a Hurry

Texas Tech Scores 17 Points in Final 31/2 Minutes to Beat Virginia

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 1 -- The football twirled inside the right upright, piercing the wind whipping over the field. Coach Al Groh calmly removed his headset, turned away and walked several paces down the Virginia sideline, as if he could make it all disappear simply by looking somewhere else.

But the final moments of the season's final game were so cruelly real and unavoidable for Groh. One of Virginia's best efforts in one of its best seasons had unraveled as improbably and as suddenly as so many of the Cavaliers' victories had materialized. After leading by two touchdowns with 3 1/2 minutes remaining on Tuesday, Virginia lost the Gator Bowl, 31-28, to Texas Tech when Alex Trlica's 41-yard field goal sailed through with two seconds left.

The kick completed a stunning ending for a team that had burnished a reputation for playing its best in the clutch. With quarterback Jameel Sewell out because of an injured knee, the Cavaliers fell apart in all three phases of the game. Texas Tech scored 14 of its final 17 points in a 21-second span, aided greatly by backup quarterback Peter Lalich fumbling inside his 5-yard line while facing instant pressure. The collective collapse prevented Virginia from winning 10 games for the second time in school history and winning a New Year's Day game for the first time.

"We had our opportunity," Groh said. "Probably, frankly, we gave the thing away."

With 5 minutes 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Texas Tech took over at its 49-yard line, and Graham Harrell began flicking passes all over, including a 14-yard dart to Danny Amendola on fourth and four from the 34.

Two plays later, Harrell lofted a pass in the right corner of the end zone to Michael Crabtree, the Biletnikoff Award winner. Ras-I Dowling blanketed Crabtree but did not turn around as the ball arrived, allowing Crabtree to outmaneuver him and snare it. Officials reviewed the play to see if Crabtree was out of bounds but, despite Groh's protests, did not change the ruling. Dowling suppressed Crabtree for much of the game; he still finished with nine catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Leading by a touchdown with 3:31 showing, Groh kept Lalich in, for the sake of both Sewell's health and offensive execution. Sewell asked to go back into the game, but "I wasn't needed at the time," he said. Lalich, after all, had thrown a touchdown pass on his first drive, on a screen to Mikell Simpson.

After a false start by Branden Albert and a failed running play set Virginia back to second and 14 from its 16, coaches called a screen pass.

"You figure that's pretty safe," Groh said. "You don't see too many guys get sacked on screen passes."

The play is designed to lure defensive linemen into the backfield, where they won't be able to chase the running back catching the ball. Offensive linemen vacate their position, but only after blocking for a moment at the line before sprinting away.

As Lalich dropped back, the left side of Virginia's line darted to the flat, in front of Simpson. Afterward, Albert admitted he didn't think his man, Rajon Henley, was rushing. So he left early.

"I made a mistake," Albert said.