New Cast, Old Story for Florida State

While the cast of players has changed, the results are the same for Florida State.

With Peter Warrick, Ron Dugans, Sebastian Janikowski and Corey Simon off to the NFL, the No. 2-ranked Seminoles showcased some of their upcoming stars Saturday in a 63-14 victory over North Carolina at Tallahasse, Fla.

Ten players scored, many of them unfamiliar names: Atrews Bell, Nick Maddox, Matt Munyon, Greg Jones.

“We tell our players, ‘If you don’t make All-American, it’s your fault,”’ Coach Bobby Bowden said, noting most of Florida State’s games are on television. “That’s the way we feel about it.”

Bell and senior Snoop Minnis, the team’s leading receiver, each caught two touchdown passes from Chris Weinke.

The 63 points are the most scored against North Carolina since Virginia’s 66 points in 1912.

“I don’t want our players and coaches to ever forget the score of this,” North Carolina Coach Carl Torbush said. “We didn’t do much to give ourselves a chance in any fashion.”

Two fumbles in the second quarter led to Florida State touchdowns that turned the game into a runaway for the second straight year.

Florida State took a 36-7 lead midway through the second quarter. A year ago the Seminoles scored 28 points in the first seven minutes in a 42-10 victory in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Seminoles improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in their bid for a ninth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference title. North Carolina fell to 2-1, 1-1.

“You’ve got to learn from this game and move on,” North Carolina quarterback Ron Curry said. “You see who’s going to give up and what type of players you have on your team.”

Weinke, who sat out the fourth quarter, passed for 262 of Florida State’s 540 yards. Travis Minor had 112 yards rushing against a North Carolina run defense that was ranked No. 1 nationally going into the game.

Weinke has thrown for 1,023 yards and eight touchdowns this season while Minnis has 20 catches for 339 yards.

“I’m glad he’s getting some attention,” Bowden said of Minnis. “He’s been in the shadows of the other guys here for the last couple of years.”

No. 16 Clemson 55, Wake Forest 7--Woodrow Dantzler ran for 167 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers (3-0, 1-0) defeated the Demon Deacons (0-2, 0-2) in an ACC game at Clemson, S.C.

Dantzler, who also threw a touchdown pass, showed a dizzying array of spins and escapes, particularly on a 54-yard touchdown run on Clemson’s second scoring drive.

Wake Forest quarterback C.J. Leak was taken off the field on a stretcher after dislocating his left knee in the in the third quarter.

Backup quarterback Anthony Young, who did not play in the Demon Deacons’ first two games, ran 55 yards on his second play from scrimmage to set up a six-yard touchdown pass to Ira Williams.

North Carolina State 41, Southern Methodist 0--After two nail-biting wins to open the season, the Wolfpack (3-0) went up by 24 points at halftime en route to a easy victory over the Mustangs (1-2) at Raleigh, N.C.

Freshman quarterback Philip Rivers had another big night for the Wolfpack, which defeated Arkansas State, 38-31, in double overtime in the season opener and rallied with a 21-point fourth quarter to down Indiana, 41-38, the previous Saturday. The nation’s leader in total offense and passing yardage was 16 for 24 for 271 yards and two touchdowns.

Virginia 26, Duke 10--Dan Ellis completed 20 of 30 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns as the Cavaliers (2-1) overcame a slow start to defeat the Blue Devils (0-3) at Durham, N.C. in the ACC opener for both schools.

It was Ellis’ fifth consecutive game with 200 or more yards and he has 1,554 yards and 15 touchdowns in that span.

Georgia Tech 40, Navy 13--George Godsey, the brother of Notre Dame quarterback Gary Godsey, threw for a career-high three touchdowns and linebacker Daryl Smith recovered two fumbles as the Yellow Jackets (2-1) defeated the Midshipmen (0-2) at Atlanta.

Godsey, who has shared time at quarterback with Andy Hall and Jermaine Crenshaw this season, played into the fourth quarter and was 10 for 19 for 166 yards.