COLLEGE FOOTBALL : THE ONE-TWO PUNCH : Florida State Kicks Central Florida, 46-14

Bobby Bowden couldn’t believe his eyes. Division I-AA Central Florida giving his top-ranked Seminoles a hard time Saturday night.

“I thought it would be one of those games when they wouldn’t be able to stop us,” the Florida State coach said after a 46-14 victory over the feisty Knights. “We had them outweighed 20 to 30 pounds a man and they took it to us.”

Despite being outplayed for much of the first half, Florida State (4-0) took advantage of Central Florida’s problems in its kicking game to take a 23-7 halftime lead. “We should’ve whipped them physically, but it didn’t happen that way,” Bowden said. “You just hope your kids have enough pride to go out there and get that win.”

Pooh Bear Williams scored three touchdowns and E.G. Green added two to lead the Florida State offense, which totaled 541 yards.

Central Florida (2-1) missed two field-goal attempts and also surrendered a safety when an errant punt snap sailed into the end zone or it might have trailed by only a touchdown at halftime.

The Seminoles tacked on another safety in the third quarter when Daunte Culpepper was called for intentional grounding in his own end zone.

“We gave them two touchdowns and two safeties with our offense,” said Central Florida Coach Gene McDowell, a former longtime Bowden assistant. “Obviously you’re not real happy when you lose to anybody, but we played well in a lot of cases.”

Culpepper, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound freshman, was 14 for 28 for 161 yards and drew rave reviews from Bowden.

“When he’s gone, we might play them again,” Bowden chuckled. “He’s as good as I’ve seen as a rookie.”