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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Georgia Tech made it painfully clear by
halftime that Maryland's season would once again conclude without a
happy ending.
George Godsey threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns as Georgia Tech (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) extended its winning streak to six and dashed the
Terrapins' bowl hopes with a 35-22 victory Saturday.
|  | | Kelly Campbell scored on an 18-yard pass from George Godsey to cap the scoring for Georgia Tech in the fourth quarter. |
Godsey scored his first career touchdown and Joe Burns added a
pair of TDs to help stake the Yellow Jackets to a 28-0 halftime
lead. At that point, it was apparent that Maryland was destined to
endure a fifth consecutive losing season and 10th straight without
a bowl bid.
Needing a victory over Virginia in last year's finale to achieve
a winning season and a bowl berth, the Terrapins lost in the final
minute. There was no such suspense this time, thanks to Godsey and
Burns.
"You need to get up on teams that are relying on emotion. A
team that is 5-5 and looking for a bowl bid, you don't want to keep
them in for long," Godsey said. "We scored four touchdowns before
half. That was what really put the dagger in the heart."
Godsey was 19-for-26 in his third straight 300-yard game, Kerry
Watkins had five catches for 147 yards, and Burns carried 28 times
for 109 yards.
The victory, No. 600 in the 108-year history of the football
program, enabled Georgia Tech to finish in a second-place tie with
Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Yellow Jackets (8-2,
6-2) close the regular season next week at Georgia.
Maryland (5-6, 3-5) is done for the year. During the first half
of their most important game of the season, the Terrapins could
muster only five first downs and 95 yards.
Shaun Hill threw three second-half touchdown passes to Guilian
Gary, the last on the final play of the game, but that only made
the score respectable. Senior tailback LaMont Jordan, the leading
rusher in school history, gained only 25 yards on 14 carries in his
final college game.
As he walked off the field for the last time, Jordan used a
towel to wipe the tears streaming down his face.
"It was very painful, knowing this is my last time at Byrd
Stadium," he said. "I looked around, I looked at both
scoreboards. It wasn't just a disappointing day; it was a
disappointing season for me."
It was Maryland's fourth straight losing season under coach Ron
Vanderlinden, who blamed this defeat on untimely penalties, poor
pass protection and Godsey.
The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, gathered more momentum for their
fourth straight postseason appearance. Tech has scored at least 31
points in each of its six straight wins.
"I thought both groups, offense and defense, played well,"
coach George O'Leary said. "Then we subbed in, and they got some
points on some people who probably need to play better than they
did."
Godsey moved the Yellow Jackets 67 yards on their second
possession for a 7-0 lead. The junior twice completed 29-yard
passes, including one to Watkins on a third-and-19, before scoring
on an impromptu 2-yard run.
Godsey couldn't remember ever scoring a touchdown, "even when
my Dad was the head coach of my Little League team."
Georgia Tech got inside the Maryland 5 on its next drive before
tailback Sean Gregory became the first Yellow Jacket to lose a
fumble since Sept. 21.
It hardly mattered. After a Maryland punt, a 64-yard pass from
Godsey to Watkins to set up a fourth-down, 1-yard touchdown run by
Burns.
Scooter Monroe fumbled the ensuring kickoff and Gregory
recovered at the Maryland 11. Burns ran in from the 1 to make it
21-0 midway through the second quarter.
Godsey threw a 5-yard TD pass to Kelly Campbell late in the half
to cap a 98-yard drive.
Gary sandwiched touchdown catches of 32 and 11 yards around
Godsey's second TD pass to Campbell, an 18-yarder with 14:38 left.
That was Godsey's last pass of the day. He has thrown 129 passes
without an interception, 32 short of the school record held by Joe
Hamilton.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Georgia Tech Clubhouse
Maryland Clubhouse
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