Florida State Gets in Licks and Kicks, 42-11

It wasn’t revenge, but getting even was a kick. Actually, lots of kicks.

Sebastian Janikowski booted five field goals and Florida State forced six turnovers as the top-ranked Seminoles defeated No. 20 North Carolina State, 42-11, Saturday at Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida State, 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, is 100-13-1 this decade--the only Division I school to reach the century mark in wins. The Seminoles also are 56-2 in the ACC as they go after an eighth straight league title.

North Carolina State (3-1, 0-1) upset the Seminoles, 24-7, last year behind quarterback Jamie Barnette, who was intercepted four times Saturday.

“Jamie was running for his life,” North Carolina State Coach Mike O’Cain said. “He was getting his butt knocked off after every play.”

Two turnovers by Barnette resulted in Florida State touchdowns.

Abdual Howard returned one interception 47 yards for the game’s final score and Jamal Reynolds recovered a Barnette fumble in the end zone for a third-quarter touchdown that gave Florida State a 32-11 lead. The ball was stripped by David Warren.

“That really turned the game around,” said Barnette, who was also sacked three times.

North Carolina State missed former receiver Torry Holt, who caught six touchdown passes against Florida State the previous two years.

“We could gamble a little more since they did not have Holt,” said Seminole Coach Bobby Bowden.

Barnette, who threw for 287 yards against Florida State last year, was 10 for 25 for 129 yards.

Janikowski, whose 27 field goals last year were two short of an NCAA record, has nine field goals in the first three games. He also kicked five last year against Maryland.

Maryland 33, West Virginia 0--LaMont Jordan ran for a career-high 164 yards in 22 carries and the Terrapins (3-0) matched their victory total of last season with a surprising rout of the Mountaineers (1-2) at College Park, Md.

Calvin McCall threw two touchdown passes for Maryland, which last opened a season with three straight wins in 1995. It was the Terrapins’ most significant victory under Coach Ron Vanderlinden, who went 5-17 in his first two seasons.

Maryland had lost three straight to the Mountaineers by a combined 86-34, but this time the Terrapins stymied an attack that was averaging 33 points per game. West Virginia’s Marc Bulger threw four interceptions and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time in 17 games dating to 1997.

“I’ll take the blame for the way the offense played today. We definitely didn’t show up,” Bulger said. “It makes you mad. The coaches work so hard. We work so hard during the summer, and to come out and perform like we did today, it didn’t look like we had practice yet.”

It was the Mountaineers’ worst shutout loss since a 33-0 drubbing by Penn State in 1976 and their most lopsided defeat since a 41-7 loss to Florida in the 1993 Sugar Bowl.

“We couldn’t have beaten anybody today,” West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen said. “It didn’t matter who we played. We just happened to play Maryland.”

Bulger, who was lifted midway through the fourth quarter, was 17 for 30 for 152 yards. The four interceptions tied a career high, and he also lost a fumble that Maryland returned for a score.

Virginia 35, Wake Forest 7--Thomas Jones ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns in an ACC game at Charlottesville, Va., and Dan Ellis finally played like he was expected to as the Cavaliers bounced back from a humbling loss at Clemson.

It was the 16th consecutive victory against Wake Forest for the Cavaliers (2-1, 2-1).

Wake Forest (1-1, 0-1) hasn’t beaten Virginia since a 38-34 victory at Winston-Salem, N.C., in 1983, Coach George Welsh’s second year with the Cavaliers.

No. 12 Georgia Tech 41, Central Florida 10--Still upset about losing to No. 1 Florida State a week earlier, the Yellow Jackets (2-1) took out their frustration on another team from the sunshine state as senior quarterback Joe Hamilton rushed for a career-best 100 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 161 yards and a score at Atlanta.

Central Florida is 0-3.