SOUTH ROUNDUP : No. 13 East Carolina Holds Off Cincinnati

East Carolina won its 10th consecutive game with perhaps its most inconsistent performance of the season.

The No. 13 Pirates held off upset-minded Cincinnati for a 30-19 victory Saturday at Cincinnati.

“I don’t know if we ever got in sync all day,” East Carolina Coach Bill Lewis said.

East Carolina improved to 10-1, the first time the school has won 10 games in a season. The Pirates play North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1.

Cincinnati pulled to 21-19 with 4:48 left in the game when Ronnie Dixon and Vaughn Booker sacked quarterback Jeff Blake for a safety.

The Bearcats (4-7) started from their 45-yard line after the ensuing free kick, but stalled when Lance Harp’s pass to Doug Hoog gained only one yard on fourth-and-two at East Carolina’s 34.

No. 14 Clemson 41, South Carolina 24--DeChane Cameron completed a school-record 12 of 14 passes for 206 yards and rushed for 116 yards as the Tigers continued their recent dominance of the intrastate rivalry with the victory at Columbia, S.C.

Cameron’s 85.7 completion percentage broke the school record of 81.8% set by Bobby Gage in 1947 and tied by Mike O’Cain in 1975.

The Citrus Bowl-bound Tigers are 8-1-1; South Carolina is 3-6-2.

No. 20 Virginia 38, Virginia Tech 0--Matt Blundin completed 13 of 23 passes for 222 and capped his record-setting, interception-free season by throwing for three touchdowns in the victory at Charlottesville, Va.

Blundin broke two NCAA marks by extending to 231 his streak of consecutive passes without an interception. Jack Trudeau of Illinois had 215 in a row in 1985, setting both the single-season and career records.

Gator Bowl-bound Virginia (8-2-1) extended its unbeaten streak to eight games with the victory over the Hokies (5-6).

No. 22 North Carolina State 20, Maryland 17--Anthony Barbour rushed for 171 yards as the Wolfpack won an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Raleigh, N.C.

The victory gave the Peach Bowl-bound Wolfpack (9-2, 5-2) its first nine-win regular season in 17 years. The Terrapins (2-9, 2-5) finished with their worst record since going 2-9 in 1971.

North Carolina 47, Duke 14--Natrone Means gained 181 yards and became the 20th Tar Heel running back to top the 1,000-yard mark as North Carolina (7-4, 3-4) beat the Blue Devils (4-5-1, 1-5) in an ACC game at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Means, a sophomore, finished the season with 1,030 yards, giving the Tar Heels more 1,000-yard runners than any other school.