ATLANTIC COAST ROUNDUP : Duke’s Blunder Doesn’t Prevent Seventh in Row

So Fred Goldsmith isn’t quite a genius after all.

It appeared the first-year Duke coach had pulled a great coaching move Saturday when Wake Forest won the coin toss, deferred to the second half and the Blue Devils elected to place their stingy defense on the field first.

That resulted in three fumble recoveries and 21 points in the first six minutes as the 20th-ranked Blue Devils rolled to a 51-26 victory over the Demon Deacons at Winston-Salem, N.C.

But Goldsmith fessed up after the game.

“We had a little boo-boo there. I’d rather not talk about it right now,” said Goldsmith, whose captains were supposed to take the ball first instead of giving it to Wake Forest. “It worked out very, very well.

“We wanted the football but we scored on the first play, so I guess that is OK. I can’t chip real well (in golf) but if one of them goes in I ain’t going to give it back.”

The Blue Devils, 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, scored on the second play, after David Hawkins sacked Rusty LaRue, causing a fumble that was recovered in the end zone by Curtiss Brunch.

One play after the ensuing kickoff, Duke recovered a fumble at the Wake Forest 23 and scored four plays later on an 11-yard pass from Spence Fischer to Jon Jensen. The Demon Deacons drove to the Duke 31 on the next series, but LaRue fumbled after being sacked by two defenders. The ball squirted to the left side of the pile, where John Zuanich picked it up and raced 62 yards for a 21-0 lead.

“We really got in such a bad position, it was tough to come back,” Wake Forest Coach Jim Caldwell said. “We were down, 21-0, before you could bat an eye.”

Duke, with its best record since the 1941 team went 9-0 and played in the Rose Bowl, has put together one of the nation’s best turnaround seasons, but it’s against teams with a combined mark of 13-30.

The Demon Deacons (2-6, 0-5) have lost 28 in a row to ranked opponents. Five Wake Forest turnovers led to 34 points for Duke, which last scored 50 points in a 57-20 victory over Wake Forest in 1990.

Robert Baldwin rushed for 157 yards in 28 carries for the Blue Devils, who play two-time defending ACC champion Florida State next Saturday.

No. 10 Florida State 17, Clemson 0--The Seminoles missed three short field-goal attempts but still recorded an ACC victory at Tallahassee, Fla.

Scott Bentley missed two field-goal tries and was then replaced by Dan Mowrey, who made one of two.

The Seminoles (5-1, 5-0) matched an ACC record with their 21st consecutive league victory.

Three Clemson quarterbacks were sacked five times and the Tigers (2-5, 1-4) were held to 149 yards and nine first downs.

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden not only changed kickers in the game, but also switched quarterbacks. Starter Danny Kanell was benched in the fourth quarter in favor of Jon Stark.

Maryland 42, Georgia Tech 27--Scott Milanovich threw four touchdown passes and Maryland (3-4, 2-4) used a 21-point scoring spree in the second half to overwhelm the struggling Yellow Jackets (1-6, 0-5) in an ACC game at College Park, Md.

Maryland pulled out of a 14-14 tie with three touchdowns in an eight-minute span. The flurry gave the Terrapins their first victory over Georgia Tech since 1988.

Milanovich, who lost his starting job for two games before regaining it last week, completed 22 of 31 passes for 322 yards. It is the fifth time in his career that the junior threw at least four touchdown passes.

Georgia Tech played the fourth quarter without starting quarterback Tommy Luginbill, who suffered a mild concussion.