COLLEGE FOOTBALL / WEEK 3 : ATLANTIC COAST : Florida State Pulls Rank on Georgia Tech

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden was glad it ended before midnight, Eastern time.

“I didn’t want to play one more second of that game,” Bowden said in the locker room at the bewitching hour moments after his No. 1-ranked Seminoles escaped with a 41-35 victory over 10th-ranked Georgia Tech Saturday night at Tallahasse, Fla.

“I never thought I would see the day that an offense would score that many points on us,” he said. “I think Tech had a chance to win right up to the very end.”

Georgia Tech’s Joe Hamilton threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Kelly Campbell with 1:35 left, but an onside kick was fielded by Florida State’s Travis Minor and the Seminoles (2-0) ran out the clock to win the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

Georgia Tech (1-1) had won six straight games dating back to a 34-7 defeat last October to Florida State.

Hamilton and Florida State’s Peter Warrick lived up to their billing.

Hamilton, who was knocked out of the last two games against Florida State, was 22 for 25 for 387 yards and four touchdowns, completing his final 14 passes of the game as the Yellow Jackets ran up 501 yards.

“I thought it was a track meet,” Georgia Tech Coach George O’Leary said. “We just fell short at the end.”

Warrick caught a touchdown pass, ran for a touchdown and finished with 167 yards as Florida State (2-0) extended its home unbeaten streak to 42 games.

The teams combined for 595 yards in the first half and Florida State scored last to take a 28-21 halftime lead. The game was tied three times in the half.

Florida State, which never trailed in the game, took the lead for good at 28-21 with 1:08 to play in the half when Jeff Chaney weaved 29 yards for a touchdown on a screen pass from Chris Weinke.

Florida State finally got a bit of breathing room on the first drive of the second half when Warrick caught a 26-yard pass from Weinke for a touchdown and a 35-21 advantage.

Hamilton’s 11-yard TD throw to Kerry Watkins shaved the Georgia Tech deficit to 35-28. Florida State countered on field goals by Sebastian Janikowski covering 46 and 45 yards for a 41-28 lead.

“Our defense has been picking up the slack for us, but tonight the offense picked up the slack,” said Warrick, who caught eight passes for 142 yards and ran three times for 25.

Weinke completed 16 of 29 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

Clemson 33, No. 22 Virginia 14--It was vindication for quarterback Brandon Streeter, who threw for a school-record 343 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers surprised the Cavaliers at Clemson, S.C.

Streeter, a senior, took most of the abuse for Clemson’s 3-8 record a year ago. When new Coach Tommy Bowden came in last December, the talk was that versatile junior quarterback Woodrow Dantzler or flashy, smart freshman Willie Simmons would soon be calling plays.

Streeter, a big smile on his face, finally felt like he belonged after the Tigers (1-1, 1-0) ripped the Cavaliers (1-1, 0-1) in the ACC game.

Streeter, who was 24 for 32, broke his own record of 329 yards, set last year in a loss to North Carolina State.

“This is one of my top moments here, it’s got to be, it is,” he said. “Because I got to start this game and beat a team like Virginia. It’s real exciting for me.”

Streeter threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Brian Wofford and a 15-yarder to Pat Cyrgalis for a 20-0 lead at halftime.

Virginia had come in hoping to run Thomas Jones, the ACC’s leading rusher, to its third consecutive victory over Clemson. But Jones was held to 97 yards--21 in the second half.

No. 23 North Carolina State 38, William & Mary 9--The Wolfpack and Jamie Barnette produced the offensive tuneup that was needed, building a 31-point halftime lead en route to a thrashing of the Division I-AA Tribe (0-2) at Raleigh, N.C.

The Wolfpack (3-0) beat Texas and South Carolina the two previous weekends to crack the top 25, but had mustered only a combined 13 first downs and 268 yards and wanted a good showing heading to No. 1 Florida State next Saturday.

Wake Forest 34, Army 15--Morgan Kane ran for 211 yards and scored two touchdowns, lifting the run-oriented Demon Deacons over the Cadets in a season opener at West Point, N.Y.

Ranked last in rushing offense last season with 65 yards a game, Wake Forest gained 320 yards on the ground and 459 overall, scoring its four touchdowns on rushing plays.

Kane averaged 6.6 yards per carry and became the seventh Wake Forest player to run for over 200 yards in a game.

Maryland 51, Western Carolina 10--LaMont Jordan ran for a career-high 158 yards and three touchdowns, and Lewis Sanders returned a kickoff 98 yards as the Terrapins (2-0) beat the I-AA Catamounts (1-1) at College Park, Md.

Western Carolina, a 59-0 winner over Mars Hill in its opener, is 0-21 against ACC teams.

East Carolina 27, Duke 9--David Garrard threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns and the Pirates (2-0) held the Blue Devils (0-1) to 32 rushing yards at Greenville, N.C.

Duke finished with 269 yards, much of that after the outcome was settled.

Garrard, who was 22 of 34, also ran for 41 yards. Garrard threw four yards to Lamont Chappell for a 7-3 lead and hit Rashon Burns for 36 yards for the closing touchdown.