South Roundup : Virginia Drops N. Carolina St. Out of ACC Lead

Virginia Coach George Welsh, in his first losing season in four years, turned to Durwin Greggs for help Saturday. The freshman fullback responded by leading the Cavaliers to a 20-16 victory over 15th-ranked North Carolina State in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Charlottesville, Va.

Greggs ran for 177 yards in 29 carries as Virginia posted its third win against six losses and improved to 2-3 in the ACC.

“He made some subtle cuts inside, and he runs low. That helps him bounce off tacklers,” Welsh said of the 5-11, 215-pound Greggs, who led a ground attack that netted 324 yards.

North Carolina State, which entered the game tied for the conference lead, dropped to 6-2-1 and 4-2. The Wolfpack had won or tied five of its previous games with second-half comebacks.

“We can’t expect, week after week, to put on a rush at the end and win the game,” North Carolina State Coach Dick Sheridan said. “We put ourselves too deep in a hole to come back this week.”

Virginia’s Don Majkowski ran for one touchdown and threw for another before Jeff Gaffney’s 21-yard field goal gave Virginia a 20-16 lead with 5:22 to play. Defensive back Mike Pettine killed the Wolfpack’s final three drives with interceptions, the second coming at the Cavaliers’ goal line with 1:11 left, and the last in the end zone on the game’s final play.

Welsh, who broke his left leg in practice Thursday, watched the game from a wheelchair on the sideline.

North Carolina State’s starting quarterback Erik Kramer gave way to Cam Young but came in to relieve the redshirt freshman in the third quarter. Kramer, who did not start because of leg injuries, had to leave the game in the fourth period after being intercepted twice and reinjuring his leg.

Clemson 38, North Carolina 10--With an assist from Virginia, the No. 20 Tigers took sole possession of first place in the ACC by defeating the Tar Heels at Clemson, S.C.

The victory gave Clemson a conference record of 5-1. N.C. State is 4-2 and North Carolina 3-2.

The Tigers, 7-2 overall, trailed early but rallied for a 17-3 halftime lead on an overcast day dubbed “Orange Day, USA,” by Clemson, which wore its orange pants for only the 12th time.

Tailback Terrence Flagler, the ACC’s top rusher going into the game, ran for 114 yards and scored 2 touchdowns for the Tigers. He has rushed for 1,078 yards this season, becoming the first Clemson runner to reach 1,000 yards in nine games.

Florida St. 45, S. Carolina 28--Tailback Victor Floyd scored three touchdowns, two during a wild third quarter, as the Seminoles overcame a sluggish first half at Columbia, S.C.

Florida State, trailing, 21-13, scored 29 consecutive points in the third quarter, while South Carolina’s usually effective run-and-shoot offense fell apart.

The win improved the Seminoles’ record to 5-3-1, and assured the Gamecocks (2-6-1) of their second straight losing season.

Floyd led all rushers with 115 yards in 24 carries.

Chip Ferguson, who took over in the early going when freshman Peter Tom Willis faltered, completed 15 of 22 passes for 228 yards for Florida State.

Duke 38, Wake Forest 36--Doug Peterson kicked a 31-yard field goal with seven seconds left at Durham, N.C., as the Blue Devils ended a four-game losing streak and climbed to 4-5 overall, 2-3 in the ACC. The loss dropped the Demon Deacons to 4-5 and 1-5.

Peterson had his first conversion kick blocked and didn’t kick another until the fourth quarter, but the Blue Devils drove from their 18 to the Wake Forest 15 to set up his game-winning kick.

Louisville 23, Tulane 12--Ed Rubbert threw for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 51-yard fourth-quarter hookup with Eric Vaughn, to lead the Cardinals to an upset of the Green Wave at New Orleans.

Tulane (3-6) lost quarterback Terrence Jones, No. 2 in the nation in total offense, with a bruised elbow at the outset of the second quarter.

Louisville (3-6) was clinging to a 16-14 lead when Rubbert connected on his bomb to Vaughn with 6:45 left.

William & Mary 32, Princeton 14--Ken Lambiotte completed 18 of 25 passes for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns at Williamsburg, Va., as the Indians improved to 8-1 while the Tigers fell to 2-6.

Virginia Tech 17, Richmond 10--At Richmond, Va., Virginia Tech’s Maurice Williams rushed 22 times for 149 yards, and Eddie Hunter added 139 yards in 14 carries as the Hokies boosted their record to 7-2-1. The Division I-AA Spiders are 4-5.

Georgia Tech 52, VMI 6--Darrell Gast, a redshirt junior making his first start at quarterback for the Yellow Jackets, threw for two touchdowns, and tailback Jerry Mays ran for two more scores in a rout of the Division I-AA Keydets at Atlanta.

Tech improved to 5-3-1 in winning its third straight game. VMI fell to 1-8.