Florida State Gives Duke a Taste of Reality : ACC: Kanell passes for 394 yards, three touchdowns as No. 9 Seminoles romp over previously unbeaten Blue Devils, 59-20.

Danny Kanell wasn’t worried, but he was tired of hearing about Florida State’s offensive problems.

“We knew we had to get something going,” he said after passing for 394 yards and three touchdowns in less than three quarters to propel No. 9 Florida State to a 59-20 victory over previously unbeaten and 16th-ranked Duke on Saturday at Tallahassee, Fla.

“We were sick and tired of all the criticism we’ve been taking,” said Kanell, who was benched in the fourth quarter of Florida State’s last two games after failing to move the team.

Kanell passed for 225 yards in a 32-point second quarter as the Seminoles, 6-1 overall and 6-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, streaked to a 38-6 halftime lead on their way to a conference record 22nd consecutive ACC victory.

“He was much braver with his throws and that’s what we told him to do,” Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said. “We wanted him to let ‘er rip.”

The Seminoles, who haven’t lost in the ACC since joining the league in 1992, surpassed Maryland’s mark of 21 in a row against conference opponents under Coach Jerry Claiborne in the mid-1970s.

“The rest of the league is competitive, but not like this,” Duke quarterback Spence Fischer said. “Until someone can compete with their speed, it’s going to be awhile before they lose.”

Kanell, who hadn’t passed for a touchdown since Florida State’s 31-18 victory over North Carolina five weeks ago, passed for 332 yards in the first half, with Kez McCorvey catching eight passes for 195 yards.

“We got shellshocked in the second quarter on both sides of the ball,” Duke Coach Fred Goldsmith said. “We’ll get over it and grow. That’s part of life.”

McCorvey finished with 10 catches for 207 yards to become only the second receiver in school history to have more than 200 yards receiving in a game. Ron Sellers did it five times.

Duke’s Robert Baldwin, the ACC’s top rusher, gained 96 yards in 22 carries, including a 44-yard run late in the third quarter. He became only the third Duke back to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Duke’s offense didn’t score until late in the third quarter when Corey Thomas pulled Fischer’s pass away from James Colzie in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown play. Baldwin added a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter on a 13-yard pass from Fischer.

The Blue Devils (7-1, 4-1) scored in the second quarter when Tijan Redmon went seven yards with a fumble by Colzie on a punt return.

Zack Crockett scored three touchdowns on short runs for Florida State and ‘OMar Ellison pulled in two of the scoring passes from Kanell on plays covering 24 and 36 yards.

Andre Cooper also caught a scoring pass, Warrick Dunn scored on a 32-yard run and freshman quarterback Thad Busby added a one-yard touchdown late in the game. Dan Mowrey kicked six extra points and a 28-yard field goal in his first start since the 1992 season.