ATLANTIC COAST ROUNDUP : Duke Rallies Past Virginia

Quarterback Spence Fischer ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as No. 23 Duke defeated No. 13 Virginia, 28-25, Saturday at Durham, N.C.

Fischer had to rally Duke from a first-half deficit after it began to look like another beating.

“Just the way things have gone against Virginia in the past, a lot of people would have doubted us,” said Fischer, who was 18 for 33 for 234 yards. “But I believed in myself. I knew I could do the job, and I think if I didn’t believe in myself, we’d be here losing.”

Fischer tossed a nine-yard scoring pass to freshman Matt DeOrio with 10:41 left in the third period to cap a 90-yard drive, and Fischer added his second score with 2:01 left in the period for a 28-17 lead.

Virginia, 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the ACC, replaced starting quarterback Mike Groh with reserve Symmion Willis to spark the offense, and it took two plays to pay off.

Willis, a starter at the beginning of the season, passed to Demetrius Allen, who faked defensive back Jamal Ellis at the Duke 27 and raced to the end zone to complete a 69-yard scoring play with 7:07 left. Willis added a two-point conversion to draw the Cavaliers to 28-25.

The Blue Devils (8-1, 5-1) couldn’t kill the clock and Virginia took its next shot. But Willis’ first-and-10 pass for Bobby Neely was intercepted by LeVance McQueen. On the Cavaliers’ last possession, Willis threw three incompletions and his fourth pass was picked off by Ray Farmer as time ran out.

Clemson 28, No. 19 North Carolina 17--The Tiger defense bottled up the Tar Heels’ powerful running game and Nelson Welch kicked five field goals to become Clemson’s career scoring leader.

The Tigers (4-5, 3-4), playing for pride if not a bowl bid, held the Tar Heels to 11 yards rushing, 230 yards below their league-leading average.

Clemson dropped North Carolina for losses 10 times and knocked quarterback Jason Stanicek out of the game late in the first half because of a sprained left ankle.

The Tar Heels (6-3, 3-3) had the ball for only about eight minutes in the second half.

North Carolina State 47, Maryland 45--Steve Videtich atoned for a crucial missed conversion by kicking a 35-yard field goal with 6 seconds left at College Park, Md.

Carlos King scored three touchdowns for the Wolfpack (6-2, 4-1), which scored on every possession except one cut short by the end of the first half.

But the Wolfpack offense could barely keep up with the defense, which hardly looked like the ninth-best in the nation statistically.

Scott Milanovich threw five touchdown passes for the Terrapins (4-5, 2-5), including the go-ahead score with 2:19 left. He completed his first 18 passes and finished 32 of 37 for 332 yards.