SOUTH ROUNDUP : No. 4 Florida State Beats Duke in ACC Debut, 48-21

Charlie Ward might not have been in complete control, but he still had an impressive debut as Florida State’s quarterback.

Ward, a sophomore, passed for four touchdowns and ran for another to offset four interceptions and a fumble during No. 4 Florida State’s 48-21 victory over Duke Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Tallahassee, Fla.

“If he had been consistent, he would have had a great night,” said Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, whose team played its first game as a member of the ACC. “I had forgotten that Charlie’s human, that this is his first college football game.

“He was throwing the fastball when he should’ve been throwing the changeup at times.”

Ward had two passes intercepted, but totaled 353 yards of offense.

“I had some nights in high school the same way,” Ward said. “I might throw three interceptions, but I could counter with four touchdowns.”

Ward finished with a game-high 84 yards in nine carries.

Florida State’s defense forced three turnovers in the first half, including a 94-yard interception return for a touchdown by Leon Fowler to make it 7-0.

The Seminoles limited Duke to 16 yards rushing.

Duke quarterback Spence Fischer completed 11 of 20 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

No. 10 Syracuse 42, East Carolina 21--Qadry Ismail scored on a 64-yard run as the Orangemen cruised at Greenville, N.C.

Syracuse’s option attack made a shambles of the East Carolina defense, and it was a play from the wishbone that got the Orangemen going.

After the opening kickoff, Ismail took a pitch from quarterback Marvin Graves and ran to the end zone 18 seconds into the game.

Graves also passed for three touchdowns as Syracuse gained 634 yards, including 421 on the ground.

The loss ended East Carolina’s winning streak at 11 games, a string that included a victory in the Peach Bowl.

East Carolina completed 36 of a school-record 77 passes for 521 yards.

No. 13 Clemson 24, Ball State 10--Tim Jones, who was suspended for four of Clemson’s final five games in 1991, intercepted a pass during the fourth quarter to set up the go-ahead touchdown at Clemson, S.C.

Jones’ 10-yard return of a pass by Mike Neu, and a five-yard face mask penalty, gave Clemson possession at Ball State’s 18. After five runs by Rodney Blunt, Howard Hall scored from the one for a 17-10 lead with 10:26 left.

Ronald Williams scored on a 17-yard run to make the score 24-10 with 6:44 left. Williams rushed for 58 yards in eight carries. Blunt gained 96 yards in 20 carries.

Clemson had won its last five season openers by a combined count of 206-7, including three consecutive shutouts.

No. 25 Virginia 28, Maryland 15--Terry Kirby gained 120 yards and Virginia’s special teams helped ruin the debut of Maryland Coach Mark Duffner in an ACC game at Charlottesville, Va.

Duffner won 60 games in six seasons at Holy Cross, and brought his no-huddle, run-and-shoot offense to Maryland.

Virginia quarterback Bobby Goodman lost two fumbles and had a pass intercepted during the first 18 minutes. But he completed 16 of 28 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns.

Maryland quarterback John Kaleo completed a school-record 32 of 53 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns.

North Carolina 35, Wake Forest 17--Fullback Mike Faulkerson scored three touchdowns at Winston-Salem, N.C., as the Tar Heels won an ACC opener for the first time in five seasons.

The 240-pound senior, who bench-presses 600 pounds, scored on two one-yard runs and a two-yard dive in the third. Faulkerson had scored only two touchdowns in three seasons.

North Carolina’s Natrone Means, who led the ACC in rushing last season, gained 112 yards in 21 carries and scored once.

Wake Forest has lost 18 of 19 ACC games since defeating the Tar Heels 17-16 in 1989.

Southern Mississippi 23, Memphis State 21--Freshman Johnny Lomoro kicked a 52-yard field goal with 13 seconds left to give Southern Mississippi the victory at Hattiesburg, Miss.

Lomoro’s field goal ended Memphis State’s bid for a comeback from a 20-7 third-quarter deficit. Southern Miss took advantage of three fumble recoveries and an interception.

Tommy Waters passed for two touchdowns and Lance Nations kicked field goals of 45 and 22 yards for Southern Mississippi.

Virginia Tech 49, James Madison 20--Maurice DeShazo passed for 195 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead the Hokies at Blacksburg, Va.