South Roundup : Georgia Tech Routs N. Carolina St.

Jerry Mays said Georgia Tech knew 17th-ranked North Carolina State had some defensive flaws, and the 171-pound sophomore exploited them to the limit Saturday.

Mays ran for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns and passed for another, and Gary Lee returned a kickoff 99 yards as the Yellow Jackets overpowered N.C. State, 59-21, in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Atlanta.

“We thought we could score every time we got the ball,” Mays said.

It almost turned out that way. The Yellow Jackets scored on eight of their first nine possessions.

“It was an embarrassing day for us,” N.C. State Coach Dick Sheridan said. “They blocked well, they ran well, they threw the ball well. In fact, they did everything well.”

Mays, who had 14 carries, scored on a 79-yard run on the third play of the game, on a 2-yard run in the second quarter three plays after his 58-yard scamper to the N.C. State 12 and on a 7-yard run in the final quarter.

He also completed a 30-yard halfback pass to Toby Pearson for a touchdown.

Georgia Tech is 2-2-1 overall, 2-2 in the ACC. N.C. State is 3-1-1, 2-1.

Florida St. 54, Tulane 21--Danny McManus, starting for Florida State for the first time since suffering a head injury last season, passed for 171 yards and ran for a touchdown at Tallahassee, Fla.

McManus, a junior, completed 16 of 25 passes and scored on a one-yard run as the Seminoles improved their record to 2-2-1 and dropped Tulane to 1-4.

McManus was the starter last season until knocked unconscious in two straight games. He suffered from dizzy spells and lost the No. 1 quarterback job to Chip Ferguson.

N. Carolina 40, Wake Forest 30--Jonathan Hall passed for four touchdowns and ran for another as the Tar Heels held off the Demon Deacons at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Hall’s touchdown passes all came in the first half. He threw 7 yards to John Keller, 20 yards to Randy Marriott, 17 yards to Quint Smith and 7 yards to Eric Lewis.

Despite 297 passing yards from Wake Forest’s Mike Elkins, North Carolina (4-0-1) climbed to 2-0 in the ACC. Wake Forest is 3-3 overall, 0-3 in the ACC.

Clemson 31, Virginia 17--At Charlottesville, Va., Terrence Flagler ran for 210 yards, and the 20th-ranked Tigers extended their winning streak over the Cavaliers to 26 consecutive games.

Clemson, which is 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, has never lost to Virginia in the series that began in 1955. The loss dropped Virginia to 2-4, 1-3.

S. Carolina 27, Virginia Tech 27--Quarterback Todd Ellis passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third at Blacksburg, Va., as South Carolina’s Gamecocks erased a 14-point halftime deficit to tie the Hokies (4-1-1).

The Gamecocks (1-4-1) had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Scott Hagler missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt.

Boston College 30, Maryland 25--Shawn Halloran passed for 401 yards and 3 touchdowns as the underdog Eagles held off the Terrapins in a nonconference game at College Park, Md.

A 46-yard touchdown pass from Halloran to Kelvin Martin with 2:07 left clinched the victory for the Eagles (2-3).

Halloran completed 26 of 36 passes, while Dan Henning completed 18 of 33 for the Terrapins (3-2), but he was intercepted three times and was sacked six times for 53 yards lost.