No. 9 Florida State Struggles to Beat Stubborn Maryland

After Florida State took the opening kickoff and easily moved 69 yards in six plays for a 7-0 lead, it appeared evident that the Seminoles’ annual rout of Maryland was underway Saturday at College Park, Md.

Not this time.

That turned out to be the only touchdown for No. 9 Florida State, which had to overcome 11 penalties and two turnovers to squeeze out a surprisingly difficult 24-10 victory Saturday.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked five field goals and Chris Weinke passed for 261 yards, but the Seminoles (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) hardly resembled the team that had outscored Maryland (2-3, 0-2) by an average of 39 points over the previous six years.

“It’s easy to see where our problems are--it’s in the red zone,” Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said. “We just can’t do it. We’ve got to do it or we’re not going to be in any more ballgames.”

EAST

Marc Bulger threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns and Amos Zereoue rushed for two second-half touchdowns to lead No. 16 West Virginia (3-1)to a 45-24 victory over Navy (1-3) in a nonconference game at Annapolis, Md. . . . Scott Covington threw three touchdown passes to Santana Moss in a 4:02 span to lead Miami to a 53-17 win over Rutgers at Piscataway, N.J. Edgerrin James also ran for two touchdowns and Al Blades returned an interception 60 yards for another score as the Hurricanes (3-1, 1-1 Big East) beat Rutgers (2-3, 0-3) for the sixth time in as many meetings. . . . Matt Lytle threw four touchdown passes, including three to Latef Grim, to lead Pittsburgh (2-2) to a 35-0 nonconference victory over Akron (2-2) at Pittsburgh. . . . Joe Piela returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown and Jim Finn ran for 136 yards to help Penn (2-1) to a 20-10 nonconference win over Bucknell (3-2) at Philadelphia. . . . Brian Colosant, a freshman who had never tried a field goal in college, kicked a tying 42-yarder with 1:37 left in regulation and then made a 38-yarder in overtime to lift Fordham (2-2) to a 20-17 nonconference win over Princeton (1-2) at New York. . . . After trailing, 17-0, late in the second quarter, Lehigh (4-0) scored three unanswered touchdowns to claim a 21-17 nonconference win over Harvard (0-3) at Boston. . . . Ryan Vena ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third to help give Colgate (3-1) a 31-7 nonconference win over Yale (1-2) at New Haven, Conn. . . . Alex Csizinszky kicked a 22-yard field goal in overtime to give Dartmouth (1-2) a 13-10 victory over Lafayette (0-4) in a nonconference game at Hanover, N.H. . . . Cornell quarterback Mike Hood threw four touchdown passes to tie a school record to lead the Big Red (2-1) to a 34-31 nonconference win over Buffalo (2-3) at Ithaca, N.Y. . . . James Jenkins rushed for 154 yards and four touchdowns to lead Rhode Island (1-3) to a 44-16 nonconference win over Brown (1-2) in the Governor’s Cup title game at Kingston, R.I.

SOUTH

Joe Hamilton passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns and Matt Uremovich returned a fumble 54 yards for another score to help Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-0 ACC) to a 41-13 win over Duke (2-3, 0-3) at Atlanta. . . . Tim Rattay passed for 539 yards and seven touchdowns, five of them to Troy Edwards, to give Louisiana Tech (3-3) a 63-28 nonconference win over Boise State (3-2) at Ruston, La. . . . Quarterback Daniel Jeremiah’s one-yard run in overtime gave Division I-AA Appalachian State (4-0) a 30-27 nonconference victory over Wake Forest (2-2) at Winston-Salem, N.C. . . . North Carolina’s offense scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and the defense came up with two late stands to help the Tar Heels (1-3, 1-1) escape with a 21-14 ACC victory over Clemson (1-4, 0-3) at Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . Tulane’s defense, anchored by cornerbacks Tim Carter and Alphonso Roundtree, forced six turnovers and the Green Wave remained unbeaten with a 21-7 victory over Southern Mississippi (1-3, 0-1 Conference USA) at New Orleans. Quarterback Shaun King played with a cast on his broken left (non-throwing) wrist and completed 14 of 25 passes for 123 yards for the Green Wave (4-0, 2-0). . . . Bobby Weaver threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score to lead East Carolina (3-1, 1-0 Conference USA) to a 30-25 win over Army (1-3, 0-1) at Greenville, N.C. . . . Chris Redman threw for a Conference USA-record 431 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another to lead Louisville (3-2, 1-0) to a 62-19 win over Cincinnati (0-5, 0-3) at Louisville. . . . Lee Jolly threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 94 more to lead Alabama-Birmingham (2-2) to a 24-13 comeback nonconference win over Southwestern Louisiana (0-5) at Birmingham, Ala. . . . Chad Pennington passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns to lead Marshall (5-0) to an easy 31-17 nonconference win over Miami of Ohio (3-1) at Huntington, W.Va. . . . Cleo Lemon threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and Andy McPherson kicked a 27-yard field goal in overtime to give Arkansas State (3-2) a 34-31 nonconference victory over New Mexico State (2-3) at Jonesboro, Ark.

MIDWEST

Daunte Culpepper completed 36 of 49 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns to give Central Florida (4-1) a 31-24 nonconference win over Toledo (2-3) at Toledo, Ohio. . . . Robert Sanford rushed for a career-best 205 yards and Tim Lester threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns to lead Western Michigan (2-3) to a 27-14 nonconference victory over Northeast Louisiana (2-3) at Kalamzoo, Mich. . . . LeAndre Moore’s two touchdown runs helped Ball State hold off Northern Illinois, 18-13, in a Mid-American Conference game at Muncie, Ind. Ball State (1-4, 1-2) extended the losing streak of Northern Illinois (0-4, 0-2) to a nation-leading 22 games. . . . Freshman Godfrey Lewis ran for 191 yards to lead Bowling Green (1-3, 1-0) to a 35-7 win over Ohio University (1-4, 1-1) in a MAC game at Bowling Green, Ohio. . . . Walt Church threw for 357 yards and a touchdown for Eastern Michigan (2-3, 2-1) in a 26-17 MAC victory over Kent (0-5, 0-2) at Kent, Ohio.

SOUTHWEST

Larry Ned carried 32 times for 167 yards and San Diego State shut down Tulsa’s passing game to win its Western Athletic Conference opener, 24-14, at Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa (2-2, 0-1) led, 14-10, at the end of the third quarter but twice turned the ball over in the final seven minutes, resulting in two San Diego State (1-3, 1-0) touchdowns. . . . Matt Farmer scored on a 55-yard punt return and a six-yard flanker reverse, and quarterback Blane Morgan ran for two scores as Air Force rolled to a 56-14 victory over New Mexico at Air Force Academy, Colo. The Falcons (4-1, 3-1 WAC) scored seven consecutive touchdowns after an early score by New Mexico (2-3, 0-2). . . . Marques Brigham rushed for 106 yards and scored the winning touchdown with 4:03 remaining to lead Wyoming (3-1, 1-0 WAC) to a 27-24 victory over Utah (3-2, 1-1) at Laramie, Wyo. . . . Tailback Ketric Sanford ran for a career-high 177 yards and threw a touchdown pass to help Houston (1-4, 1-0 Conference USA) end an eight-game losing streak with a 35-14 victory over Memphis (0-4, 0-1) at Houston. . . . Kevin McDougal rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns and Derek Franz added a 39-yard field goal with 1:02 remaining to give Colorado State (4-2, 2-1 WAC) a 20-17 win over Texas-El Paso (0-4, 0-1) at El Paso, Texas.

SOUTHLAND

Freshman Marcus Brady passed for 257 yards and three touchdowns to lead Cal State Northridge (3-1, 2-0 Big Sky) to a 44-17 victory over Southern Utah (1-3, 0-2) at Northridge. . . . GP Muhammad rushed for 171 yards and one touchdown to help lead UC Davis (4-1) to a 34-24 nonconference road win over Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (1-4).