COLLEGE FOOTBALL : ATLANTIC COAST ROUNDUP : No. 1 Florida State Puts On Show, 77-17

Florida State couldn’t stop scoring, and afterward Coach Bobby Bowden couldn’t hold back the praise.

“I guess our offense has a chance to be one of the best,” Bowden said after watching his No. 1-ranked Seminoles trounce North Carolina State, 77-17, Saturday at Tallahassee, Fla.

“It has everything. We’ve got a big strong fullback, two tight ends that can catch and block, wide receivers out the ears, outstanding tailbacks, maybe the best quarterback in the country and a veteran offensive line.”

Quarterback Danny Kanell threw for 310 yards and five touchdowns in a little more than a half. He was 28 of 32, to establish a school accuracy record of 87.5%.

The Seminoles (3-0 overall, 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) rolled up a 42-14 halftime lead and were in command at 56-14 heading into the fourth quarter. They have scored 27 touchdowns in three games and are averaging 64 points a game.

North Carolina State (1-2, 0-2) hurt any hopes it had of making the game respectable by losing four fumbles in the first half.

The Seminoles amassed 737 yards and extended their Atlantic Coast Conference record to 27-0.

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No. 16 Virginia 41, Georgia Tech 14--Georgia Tech’s highly touted run defense proved to be full of holes, and Tiki Barber ran through them for 105 yards and four touchdowns as the Cavaliers beat the Yellow Jackets in an ACC game at Charlottesville, Va.

Barber, who last week ran for a career-best 130 yards against North Carolina State, carried 17 times and scored on runs of eight, 10 and one yards against a unit that yielded an averageof only 30 yards in its first two games.

Virginia (3-1, 2-0), which came into the game averaging 210 yards rushing, had 196 in 44 attempts against the Yellow Jackets (1-2, 0-1).

Clemson 29, Wake Forest 14--Emory Smith became the first Clemson player in nine years to score four touchdowns in a game, leading the Tigers (2-1, 1-1) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The brother of Dallas Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith finished with only 33 yards in 13 carries, but he was Clemson’s main man in short-yardage situations close to the end zone.

Nealon Greene completed 18 of 25 passes for 239 yards, and tailback Raymond Priester rushed for 154 yards in 27 carries.

The Demon Deacons (0-3, 0-1) were trying to win their first ACC game at home since an 18-15 upset of Clemson in 1992, a streak of eight games. They also were hoping to open ACC play with a victory for the first time since 1987.

Maryland 31, West Virginia 17--The Terrapins improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1986 as Brian Cummings threw for two touchdowns and ran for another at College Park, Md.

Maryland senior Jermaine Lewis set school career records for pass receptions (135) and touchdowns (19). He reached both marks with an 11-yard catch that gave the Terrapins a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.

West Virginia (1-2) had seven turnovers.

Duke 23, Army 21--Tom Cochran kicked a 28-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to give the Blue Devils (2-1) a victory over the Black Knights (1-1) in a nonconference game at West Point, N.Y.

Duke’s Spence Fischer, who completed 32 of 50 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns, set up the winning field goal by gaining a first down on a keeper on third and nine at the Army 19.