Duke Skid Is Over

Duke Coach Carl Franks won five Southeastern Conference titles and a national championship while he was an assistant at Florida.

Yet few of those victories were as memorable as this one at Durham, N.C.

The Blue Devils ended a 23-game losing streak Saturday, beating East Carolina, 23-16, behind Alex Wade’s 109 rushing yards and Brendan Dewan’s 28-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Blue Devils players dumped a cooler of ice water on the fourth-year coach, who improved to 4-30 at the school.

“We got into territory we hadn’t been in before in a long time,” Franks said. “This has to be one of the biggest wins I’ve been involved with.”

Duke, which hadn’t won since beating Wake Forest in November 1999, ended the nation’s longest losing skid by jumping to a 20-point lead in the first half and holding off the Pirates in a steady rain at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Fans milled around the sideline as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Once the game ended, many charged to the middle of the field to celebrate with the team, while others tore down both sets of uprights.

“It was great to see them excited,” quarterback Chris Dapolito said.

“We’re not really used to that.”

Wade helped secure it for Duke, often requiring several defenders to bring him down behind an offensive line that controlled the Pirates’ front seven.

With his team nursing a 20-16 lead early in the fourth quarter, the 260-pound fullback carried the ball nine consecutive times for 46 yards, leading to Brent Garber’s 41-yard field goal with about three minutes to play.

It was the first 100-yard game for Wade, a junior.

East Carolina had a chance to tie it, but Matt Zielinski sacked Paul Troth on fourth down with 1:15 to play.

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Tailback Greg Jones ran for a career-high 173 yards as the fifth-ranked Florida State racked up 397 yards rushing in a 40-19 victory over Virginia at Tallahassee, Fla.

Jones, who has surpassed 100 yards in four consecutive games, scored two touchdowns and averaged more than eight yards a carry.

Coach Bobby Bowden said Jones is just getting started.

“It’s all in front of him,” Bowden said. “He’s just learning how to change direction, dance around a little.”

Jones’ 173 yards were the most by a Florida State back since 1996, when Warrick Dunn gained 185 yards against Florida.

The Seminoles (2-0, 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped from No. 3 after narrowly defeating Iowa State last week, but they jumped to a 33-0 lead Saturday.

Virginia’s Matt Schaub, who completed 19 of 25 passes for 247 yards, threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns to make the score respectable for the Cavaliers (0-2, 0-1).

Bowden recorded his 325th career coaching victory, leaving him three behind all-time leader Joe Paterno of Penn State.

In other games:

Greg Golden ran for two touchdowns and Lamont Reid returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score as No. 25 North Carolina State (2-0) defeated East Tennessee State, 34-0, at Raleigh, N.C.... A.J. Suggs threw three touchdown passes and Tony Hollings ran for 153 yards, helping new Coach Chan Gailey and Georgia Tech defeat Vanderbilt, 45-3, at Atlanta.... Cal Murray ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and Miami of Ohio forced nine turnovers to defeat North Carolina, 27-21, at Chapel Hill, N.C.

BIG EAST

Ken Dorsey became the winningest quarterback at Miami as the co-No. 1 Hurricanes overwhelmed Division I-AA Florida A&M;, 63-17, at Miami.

Dorsey improved to 27-1 as a starter and moved past Gino Torretta (26-2) on the school’s career list. The Hurricanes also extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 23 games in dominating fashion.

Dorsey played a little more than a quarter, spending part of the first half with his hands on his hips and a towel around his neck.

In other games:

Brett Gordon passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns at Piscataway, N.J., and Villanova defeated Rutgers, 37-19, for its first victory against a Division I-A team since restoring football in 1985.... Rod Rutherford completed two touchdown passes in Pittsburgh’s unimpressive 27-14 victory over Ohio at Pittsburgh.... Rasheed Marshall threw three touchdowns in his first start as West Virginia defeated Tennessee Chattanooga, 56-7, at Morgantown, W.Va.... Brian St. Pierre threw two second-half touchdown passes as Boston College rallied and defeated Connecticut, 24-16, at Boston.

CONFERENCE USA

New Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman completed 13 of 23 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns as the Green Wave defeated Southern, 37-19, at New Orleans.... Derrick Nix ran for three touchdowns in Southern Mississippi’s 55-7 victory over Jackson State at Hattiesburg, Miss.... Barrick Nealy ran for one touchdown and passed for another as Houston snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 24-10 victory over Rice at Houston.... Memphis quarterback Danny Wimprine threw five touchdown passes as the Tigers defeated Murray State, 52-6, at Memphis, Tenn.

MID-AMERICAN

Byron Leftwich threw for 469 yards and four touchdowns as No. 19 Marshall overcame a sluggish start in a 50-17 victory over Appalachian State at Huntington, W.Va.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Quincy Wright set the New Mexico single game rushing record with 265 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Lobos (1-1) defeated Weber State, 38-24, Albuquerque.... Marty Johnson rushed for 176 yards and scored two touchdowns as Utah defeated Utah State, 23-3, at Logan, Utah.

WESTERN ATHLETIC

David Mikell scored three touchdowns and rushed for 108 yards as Boise State defeated Idaho, 38-21, at Boise, Idaho.... Backup tailback Howard Jackson ran for 157 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead Texas El Paso past Sacramento State, 42-12, at El Paso....Navy broke a 10-game losing streak with a 38-7 victory over Southern Methodist at Dallas....Scott Rislov passed for 174 yards and a touchdown as San Jose State defeated Arkansas State, 33-14, at Little Rock, Ark.