This Time, Florida State Has No Problems, 50-7

Playing only in the first half, Thad Busby passed for 308 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as No. 5-ranked Florida State (2-0, 1-0) rolled to a 50-7 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Maryland (0-2, 0-1) at Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida State, which struggled offensively in defeating USC, 14-7, last week, rolled up 559 yards in total offense and held Maryland, playing its first ACC game under new Coach Ron Vanderlinden, to 105 yards and nine first downs.

Florida State used three quarterbacks and 33 freshmen.

“Their mystique was a factor, but I thought we were ready to play,” Vanderlinden said. “It was a tough day at the office. If you can’t run the ball against them, you’re in for a very long day.”

No. 19 Clemson 19, North Carolina State 17--Clemson, known through the years for a bruising ground attack, went airborne for the second week in a row to record an ACC victory at Raleigh, N.C.

Nealon Green completed 20 of 32 passes for 250 yards as the Tigers (2-0, 1-0) rallied to beat the Wolfpack (2-1, 1-1). Green completed seven of 10 passes in the final 8:54 after the Tigers had fallen behind, 17-13. Matt Padgett kicked a 20-yard field goal with 19 seconds left to provide the winning points.

Virginia 26, Richmond 7--Virginia’s defense scored one touchdown and set up another, overcoming a mistake-ridden performance by its offense, as the Cavaliers (1-1) recorded a lackluster victory over Division I-AA Richmond (2-1) at Charlottesville, Va.

East Carolina 25, Wake Forest 24--Dan Gonzalez threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns as East Carolina (1-1) rallied from 21 points down to beat Wake Forest at Greenville, N.C.

EAST

Virginia Tech erased its own nightmare and continued to add to that of Syracuse, notching a 31-3 Big East victory at Blacksburg, Va. The Hokies missed an unbeaten regular season last year when they were battered by Syracuse, 52-21. The revenge was complete as Ken Oxendine ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns and Virginia Tech (2-0, 2-0) smothered Syracuse’s Donovan McNabb. “This was the kind of night I dreamed about when I took the Virginia Tech job,” said Coach Frank Beamer, who is in his 11th season. The Orangeman (1-3, 0-1) continued to self-destruct. They appear to be still reeling from a 32-31 overtime loss to North Carolina State in their second game.

Mike Cloud rushed for 211 yards and scored on runs of 11 and 66 yards as Boston College (1-1) overcame a 17-3 halftime deficit to record a 31-24 victory over West Virginia (2-1) at Newton, Mass. Cloud had only one carry before Omari Walker left the game because of a sprained left knee late in the first half. Cloud had 23 after that. West Virginia’s Amos Zereoue, came into the game averaging 186.5 rushing yards per game, was held to 68 in 19 carries. . . . Quarterback Chris McCoy accounted for 201 yards and four touchdowns as Navy (1-1) overwhelmed Rutgers, 36-7, at Annapolis, Md. McCoy rushed for 83 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 118 yards and a score. Rutgers fell to 0-3. . . . Ty Amey ran for two touchdowns and gained 129 of Army’s 545 rushing yards as the Cadets (1-1) recorded a 41-14 victory over Lafayette (0-2) at West Point, N.Y. . . . Receiver Randy Moss had eight catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns as Marshall defeated Kent, 42-17, at Kent, Ohio.

SOUTHWEST

In a Southern Methodist home game played at Shreveport, La., things didn’t go too well for Arkanas (1-1) in a 31-9 loss to Southern Methodist (1-1). It was so bad for the Razorbacks that they scored a touchdown late in the second quarter without realizing it and then ran another play that turned into a botched two-point conversion that would have tied the game, 7-7. After the failed PAT, Arkansas argued it didn’t realize it had scored on a pass play. SMU’s Donte Womak, who grew up in Little Rock but was not offered a scholarship by Arkansas, ran for 212 yards in 38 carries for the Mustangs.

Pete Gonzalez passed for three touchdowns and Chiffon Allen returned an interception 97 yards with 22 seconds to play as Pittsburgh (2-1) took advantage of big plays for a 35-24 victory over Houston (0-3) at Houston. . . . Benji Wood ran for 190 yards and four touchdowns and Rice (1-1) came back to beat Tulane, 30-24, at New Orleans. Rice ran for 413 yards. Tulane (1-1) led at halftime, 17-14.

WEST

Moses Moreno threw for three touchdowns and Kevin McDougal ran for two more as 25th-ranked Colorado State (2-1) held on for a 35-24 victory over Utah State (2-1) at Logan, Utah. Moreno finished 12 for 22 for 183 yards, while McDougal racked up 104 yards in 22 carries. . . . Two of Jonathan Crosswhite’s three three touchdown passes went wide receiver Daniel Jones as Utah (2-1, 1-0) romped over Texas Christion (0-2, 0-1) at Fort Worth, Texas. Crosswhite completed 10 of 14 passes for 209 yards in the first half alone as the Utels built a 19-3 lead. . . . New Mexico fell behind early, then cranked up its ground game behind Dion Marion and Reginal Johnson, who combined for three touchdowns in a 38-20 WAC victory for the Lobos (3-0, 1-0) over Texas El Paso (0-2, 0-1) at El Paso. . . . Tim Curry blocked two kicks and Spanky Gilliam scored on a one-yard plunge with 2:35 left to give Air Force (3-0, 2-0) a 25-24 WAC victory over Nevada Las Vegas (0-2, 0-1) at Air Force Academy, Colo. “It all came down to the kicking game,” Air Force Coach Fisher DeBerry said. “Usually in a close ballgame like this, the kicking game decides the outcome.” Curry blocked a field goal in the first quarter and blocked a punt in the third, the latter setting up an Air Force touchdown.

SOUTHLAND

Denvis Manns rushed for 221 yards and former Nebraska assistant Tony Samuel got his first victory as a head coach in New Mexico State’s 28-18 victory over Cal State Northridge at Las Cruces, N.M. New Mexico State (1-2) scored on its opening possessions of each half and never trailed against the Division I-AA Matadors (1-2). . .Antonio Warren rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo defeated Western Montana, 45-3, at San Luis Obispo. . . . La Verne took a 20-3 halftime lead and held on for a 34-13 victory over Whittier in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at La Verne. . . . Claremont’s Ryan Mele gained 100 yards in eight carries, but Puget Sound defeated the Stags, 20-3, in a nonconference game at Tacoma, Wash.

Pacific Lutheran Coach Frosty Westering won his 250th game as his team beat Cal Lutheran, 45-23, at Thousand Oaks. . . . Hardin-Simmons (1-0) spotted Azusa Pacific (0-2) a 14-0 first-quarter lead before coming back to defeat the Cougars, 28-21, at Azusa. . . . Chad Rorabaugh of Western Washington (1-0) returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a 35-0 victory over Chapman (0-1) at Bellingham, Wash. . . . Sean Laird passed for two second-half touchdowns as St. Mary’s (1-1) pulled away from San Diego (1-1) for a 30-20 victory at San Diego.