Florida State Is a 35-6 Winner, but Figures to Slip in the BCS

Chris Weinke completed 23 of 36 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns--three to Marvin Minnis--to lead No. 3-ranked Florida State to a 35-6 victory Saturday over Wake Forest at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The margin of victory, however, was probably not enough to keep Florida State--a 48-point favorite--from falling from second place in the Bowl Championship Series standings. Miami, a 35-7 winner over Pittsburgh, will likely pass Florida State based on strength of schedule when the new standings are released Monday. The Hurricanes also beat the Seminoles, 27-24, earlier this season.

“It’s gotten to be that the expectations are so high with this team, that if we don’t win by 50 we didn’t do a good job,” Weinke said. “Winning by 29 is still nice, but we know it’s probably going to cost us. “We’ll probably lose a spot in the standings because you are playing against so many factors these days, too many to even keep track. If we do slip, I would think a win over Florida next week could get us back up there. The ball is in our court now.”

Florida State, 10-1 overall and 8-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, scored on its first possession but led only, 21-6, at the start of the fourth quarter. But Weinke, who also had two interceptions, had touchdown pass plays of four and 14 yards to Anquan Boldin on consecutive series to give the Seminoles a 35-6 lead with 7:22 to play.

Wake Forest (1-8, 1-6) responded with a time-consuming drive, getting to the Florida State 27 before turning the ball over on downs with 2:08 to play.

Seminole Coach Bobby Bowden replaced Weinke with Marcus Outzen, who tried two long passes--the second intercepted by Quintin Williams.

“When you are favored by so much and you take your opening drive in for a score, you tend to let down,” Bowden said. “So I told the team that we’re not on TV tonight, but we are on a computer and the computer puts you in a position where you must hold your opponent down and keep scoring.”

Florida State had four tailbacks come out of the game because of injuries. Soon after Travis Minor came out with a slightly sprained ankle in the second half, backup Jeff Chaney suffered torn knee ligaments that will likely sideline him for the season.

Chaney’s replacement, Davey Ford, left one series later with a fractured collarbone. When fourth-stringer Greg Jones temporarily limped off the field two plays later, Bowden was forced to use receiver Nick Maddox. Maddox had four carries for 52 yards before Jones returned.

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In other ACC games: Ronald Curry’s 25-yard touchdown run on a keeper with 7:24 left in the game lifted North Carolina (5-5, 2-5) to a 13-10 victory--and seventh in a row at Chapel Hill, N.C.--over Maryland (5-5, 3-4). Willie Parker had 158 yards in 21 carries for North Carolina. . . . Freshman quarterback Philip Rivers scored on a seven-yard run with 32 seconds left to give North Carolina State (6-3, 3-3) a 35-31 victory over Duke (0-10, 0-7) at Raleigh, N.C. Rivers completed 32 of 50 passes for 413 yards and three touchdowns.

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In games involving Conference USA teams: Jeff Kelly threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dawayne Woods in the second overtime to give No. 25 Southern Mississippi (7-2, 4-1) a 33-30 victory over Alabama Birmingham (6-4, 4-1) at Birmingham, Ala. It was the third touchdown for Woods, while both of Kelly’s touchdown passes were in overtime. . . . Dave Ragone threw three touchdown passes and Arnold Jackson became the NCAA Division I-A career receptions leader for Louisville (8-2, 5-1) in a 38-17 victory over Army (1-8, 1-5). Jackson broke the record of 298 set by Nevada’s Trevor Insley in 1999. . . . Leonard Henry ran for 167 yards and three touchdowns and David Garrard threw three touchdown passes as East Carolina (6-3, 4-2) was a 62-20 winner over Houston (6-3, 4-2) at Greenville, N.C. Houston had 99 yards in the first half and was penalized for 84 yards. . . . Jonathon Ruffin kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give Cincinnati (6-4, 4-2) a 13-10 victory at Memphis (3-6, 2-4). . . . Patrick Ramsey completed 26 of 40 passes for 380 yards and five touchdowns for Tulane (5-5) in a 50-38 victory over Navy (0-9) in New Orleans. Navy had a school-record 724 yards.

SOUTHWEST

In the Western Athletic Conference: Rocky Perez completed 20 of 29 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns as Texas El Paso (8-2, 7-0) clinched at least a share of its first WAC championship in a 38-21 victory over Rice (3-7, 2-5) before a record crowd of 53,304 at the Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas. UTEP can win the conference title outright with a victory next Saturday over Texas Christian at Fort Worth, Texas. The Miners have been in the conference 33 years. . . . LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 231 yards and his 50th career touchdown and Texas Christian (8-1, 5-1) accepted an invitation to play in the Mobile Alabama Bowl for the second consecutive season after a 24-7 victory over Fresno State (5-4, 4-2) at Fort Worth. . . . Quarterback Josh McCown, benched the last three games because of 11 interceptions in the first four games, passed for one touchdown and ran for another as Southern Methodist (3-7, 2-4) was a 24-20 winner over Tulsa (3-7, 2-4) at Dallas.

WEST

In the Mountain West Conference: Fullback Nate Beard rushed for 149 yards and three touchdowns on a snow-covered field for Air Force (7-3, 4-2) in a 44-40 victory over Colorado State (8-2, 5-1) at Air Force Academy, Colo. At kickoff, the temperature was 17 degrees with a wind-chill factor of minus-25. Light snow fell throughout the game but intensified late in the first half. . . . Former USC quarterback Jason Thomas passed to Nate Turner in the corner of the end zone with 18 seconds left to give Nevada Las Vegas (5-5, 3-3) an 18-14 victory over New Mexico (5-6, 3-3) at Las Vegas. Thomas completed 13 of 21 passes for 148 yards. . . . Adam Tate ran for 72 yards and two touchdowns for Utah (4-6, 3-3) in a 34-0 victory over Wyoming (1-9, 0-6) in frigid conditions at Laramie, Wyo. The temperature was near zero in the first half.

In the Big West Conference: Bart Hendricks completed 21 of 29 passes for a career-high 381 yards and four touchdowns and Aaron Jones had 10 receptions for a school record 297 yards to lead Boise State (8-2, 4-0) to a 66-38 victory over Utah State (5-5, 4-1) at Boise, Idado. Utah State’s Jose Fuentes completed 25 of 56 passes for 509 yards and two touchdowns. The teams combined for 1,236 yards.

SOUTHLAND

Marcus Brady completed 20 of 33 passes for 284 yards and five touchdowns to lead Cal State Northridge (4-6) to a 45-27 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (3-7) at Northridge.