THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508270176
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ANN ARBOR, MICH. LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
Four seconds away from the biggest victory in school history, Virginia ended up with another heartbreaking defeat Saturday.
The Cavaliers lost, 18-17, to Michigan on the final play of the Pigskin Classic after failing to protect a 17-0 lead in the final 12 minutes.
Michigan freshman quarterback Scott Dreisbach, after hearing boos through most of the game that opened the college football season, walked off the Michigan Stadium field a hero.
It was his fourth-down, 15-yard pass to Mercury Hayes - who barely kept his foot in the end zone as time expired - that completed the greatest comeback in Michigan's storied history.
Still, some 100,000 Michigan fans, witnessing Lloyd Carr's debut as head coach, sat silently, not knowing whether to cheer or boo, for a couple of long seconds until officials ruled the touchdown good.
``I thought he (Hayes) was out of the end zone,'' Virginia coach George Welsh said. ``It was very close.''
So did a lot of others until video replays showed that Hayes got one foot in bounds.
Virginia defensive back Ronde Barber knew it was a good call all along.
``I had a good look,'' Barber said. ``So did the official. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he knew. He was right there.''
When the official lifted both arms to signal the touchdown, several Virginia players collapsed to the turf they had controlled most of the sweltering hot afternoon.
The last to get up, with the help of a teammate, was kicker Rafael Garcia.
He missed two second-quarter field-goal attempts before nailing a 30-yarder with 12:55 left in the fourth period to give Virginia a 17-0 lead.
``You hope that would be enough to hold up,'' Welsh said afterward. ``But you always have a chance to lose. It's never over until it's over.''
Asked how it felt to lose on the last play, Welsh, who observed his 62nd birthday Saturday, shrugged.
``I have been around too long that I'm not going to have a heart attack,'' he replied.
The Cavaliers already were fighting adversities before Dreisbach cranked up the blue and gold offense for three fourth-period touchdown drives.
Cavaliers' quarterback Mike Groh missed several series in the second half because of leg cramps, and running back Tiki Barber injured a shoulder on an 81-yard touchdown sprint in the opening minutes of the second half.
Both players rushed back into the game after Michigan scored a pair of touchdowns in a four-minute span to pare Virginia's lead to 17-12.
Tiki Barber, his shoulder aching, left the game again after a 1-yard carry on Virginia's final possession.
Groh, back for the final two possessions, was not as effective as he was in the first half. He was at the controls when the offense broke down on Michigan's 28 with three minutes left to play.
Groh tried to check off a play on second down, then had to rush to avoid a delay-of-game penalty and was dropped for a 4-yard loss.
A third-down pass to Pete Allen was incomplete, and Will Brice bounced a punt into the end zone to give Michigan the ball at the 20 for its winning drive.
Welsh said Groh's second-down play, with 2 yards needed for a first down, may have been the most devastating in the collapse.
``We make that play and get a first down and we probably win. We could have run down the clock or scored, and they wouldn't have had time for that last touchdown,'' Welsh said.
As it was, Michigan began its touchdown march with 2:35 remaining, barely enough time for Dreisbach to pass the Wolverines down field to salvage the victory.
The freshman completed passes for 9, 9, 23, 12 and 9 yards before lofting the decisive toss to Hayes in the right corner of the end zone.
``We just didn't have enough left at the end to beat them,'' Welsh said.
``It was hot and our defense wore down.''
Overall, Welsh said he was proud of his players, including Tim Sherman, who filled in for Groh, and Kevin Brooks, who replaced Tiki Barber.
``You don't come into a stadium like this and play like we did and not have guys play well,'' Welsh said.
``We played hard and we held our poise.''
Tiki Barber rushed for 114 yards on 12 carries, including his 81-yard touchdown run that tied for the second-longest in team history.
Groh completed 16 of 25 passes for 138 yards and ended Virginia's first scoring drive with a 1-yard run.
The score was set up by Ronde Barber, who intercepted a pass and returned it 18 yards to Michigan's 29.
In the end, though, Virginia was one play short of stopping the Michigan comeback.
``We kept trying to make the big play, but they were the ones who made them,'' said defensive back Percy Ellsworth, who had stopped one second-half drive with an interception.
No one could recall another game in which Virginia blew a 17-0 lead in the fourth period.
The Cavaliers' worst collapse was a 29-28 defeat to Clemson three years ago after leading 28-0 in the second period.
The previous top comebacks for Michigan were a trio of 14-point rallies, most recently in 1981 when it rallied from 21-7 down to beat Illinois, 70-21. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS COLOR PHOTOS
Barely keeping one foot in the end zone, Michigan's Mercury Hayes
caughta 15-yard pass from quarterback Scott Dreisbach as time
expired to defeat Virginia. ``I thought he was out of the end
zone,'' Virginia coach George Welsh said. ``It was very close.''
Cavaliers defensive back Ronde Barber, right, comforted by Andre
McNeal, knew the winning touchdown was good. ``I had a good look,''
Barber said. ``So did the official...He was right there.''
Photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
With help from teammate Jeremy Raley, Virginia's Kevin Brooks dodges
Michigan defender Chuck Winters in the second quarter.
by CNB