South Roundup : Florida State Routs South Carolina

Quarterback Peter Tom Willis, starting for the first time this season, passed for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns Saturday night as No. 5 Florida State routed 15th-ranked South Carolina, 59-0, at Columbia, S.C..

It was the worst home loss for South Carolina, which had a 13-game home winning streak.

Willis, a junior who has started five games, threw two touchdown passes in the first half and two more in the third quarter before leaving the game.

His first scoring pass, a 44-yarder to split end Terry Anthony on Florida State’s second play of the game, gave the Seminoles (8-1) all the points they needed.

That touchdown, which followed a South Carolina fumble, was the first of four Florida State scores in the first half that followed mistakes by the Gamecocks (7-2).

The Seminoles took a 14-0 lead when Phil Carollo blocked a punt and linebacker Anthony Moss scooped up the ball and ran 8 yards into the end zone.

Florida State made it 21-0 three plays into the second quarter, after Leroy Butler intercepted a Todd Ellis pass and returned it 37 yards. Willis hit tight end Dave Roberts in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown.

Dedrick Dodge’s 17-yard return of a pass from halfback Mike Dingle set up another Florida State touchdown, and the Seminoles led, 31-0, at halftime.

It went to 38-0 when Willis capped the Seminoles’ first possession of the third period with a 12-yard pass to flanker Lawrence Dawsey.

Clemson 37, North Carolina 14--Terry Allen rushed for a season-high 167 yards and 1 touchdown as the 17th-ranked Tigers defeated the Tar Heels at Clemson, S.C., to move into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Tigers (7-2 overall, 5-1 in the ACC) are seeking a third straight ACC title.

Clemson began the game tied with North Carolina State and Maryland for first place. But the Wolfpack lost, 19-14, to Virginia, and Maryland lost, 17-10, to Penn State in a nonconference game.

As a result, the Tigers have a half-game lead over the Terrapins, who play host to Clemson next Saturday.

“I don’t think our team took advantage of all of our opportunities early in the game,” Clemson Coach Danny Ford said. “We looked like we weren’t ready to play in the first half.”

Said North Carolina Coach Mack Brown said: “You have to give our young guys credit for forcing the Clemson mistakes,” “But they came right back and hit us with some big plays.

“We won the turnover battle, but they dominated time of possession. We never got the necessary rhythm offensively.”

The Tar Heels, 1-8 and 1-4, made a game of it for a while mainly because of Clemson’s turnovers.

Virginia 19, North Carolina State 14--Mark Inderlied kicked 4 field goals as the Cavaliers beat the Wolfpack at Charlottesville, Va., and knocked them from atop the ACC standings.

N.C. State (6-3, 4-2) lost its second straight. The Wolfpack began the game tied for the lead with Clemson and Maryland.

Virginia (5-4, 3-2) won its third straight despite a sloppy first half. The Cavaliers fumbled five times in the first half, had two passes intercepted and a punt blocked, but still led, 9-7, at halftime.

Inderlied, who tied the school single-game record for field goals, kicked field goals from 45, 48 and 29 yards in the first half.

Wake Forest 35, Duke 16--Mark Young scored 2 first-half touchdowns and the Demon Deacons took advantage of 16 Blue Devil penalties for 131 yards to claim an ACC victory at Durham, N.C.

The Demon Deacons (5-4, 3-3) also relied on a opportunistic defense. A fumble recovery and interception by linebacker Levern Belin both led to Wake Forest scores--one in each half.

Quarterback Anthony Dilweg completed 30 of 49 passes for 475 yards to lead Duke (6-3, 2-3).

Georgia Tech 34, VMI 7--Jerry Mays ran for 151 yards, and T.J. Edwards scored 2 touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets’ defense came up with five turnovers in a non-conference victory over the Keydets at Atlanta.

Georgia Tech is to 3-6. VMI, a Division I-AA school, is 1-8.