Virginia wide receiver Demetrius "Pete" Allen has electrified crowds before with his explosive speed, but never quite like this.

The 5-foot-10 senior -- who already had given the Cavaliers a seemingly comfortable 24-6 second-quarter lead with an 82-yard touchdown reception -- ranks among the best wide receivers in school history in receiving yards and all-purpose yards. The Norfolk native registered the longest run from scrimmage by a wide receiver this season (49 yards) and had an 82-yard touchdown catch that topped the Atlantic Coast Conference this season.

But as he prepared to play in the Peach Bowl, the last college football game of his career, there was something missing. Allen, named Virginia's most improved player last season, had never taken a kickoff back for a touchdown.

"We came so close all year. It always seemed like we were one or two blocks away or I would make the wrong cut," said Allen, who had fumbled a kickoff earlier in tonight's game.

The void was filled tonight, in the most dramatic of fashions, as his 83-yard kickoff return with 57 seconds left gave No. 18 Virginia the 34-27 victory, and saved a Cavaliers team that looked as though it had blown one too many chances against a Georgia team charged with emotion and full of momentum.

"I was just trying to get us into field goal range. It feels good to finally break one," said Allen, who finished with 246 all-purpose yards, and broke Peach Bowl records with each of his touchdowns. "I did the easy part, I just followed my blockers and ran as fast as I could."

Allen's run followed a 10-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Georgia tackle Jason Ferguson that tied the game at 27. This season, Virginia already had lost three games on the final play and had played in a total of six games that were close in the fourth quarter.

But while Ferguson's score uplifted the Bulldogs, their exuberance afterward helped the Cavaliers, when Georgia was penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration on the kickoff.

"I think that celebration penalty helped us," said Coach George Welsh, who admitted that the Cavaliers' numerous close finishes this season had "aged him".

Outgoing Georgia coach Ray Goff declined to put too much importance on the penalty, and cited "numerous mistakes" that helped the Cavaliers.

Allen's run, which took him past Georgia place kicker Kanon Parkman, forced him to navigate the left sideline before he reached the end zone that was surrounded by a stunned Georgia crowd.

"I think Pete made the right decision to outrun the kicker down the boundary," Welsh said. "When I first saw him split {the pursuit} I thought `Oh boy, we're at the 50, a couple of first downs and we're in field goal range.' But it was better this way."

Said Allen: "I didn't even think about stepping out of bounds until I saw it on the replay. I thought I was in all the way."

In no time, Welsh -- sounding like a coach who has had a game or two snatched away and wasn't totally convinced that this victory was for real -- replied, "You were."