South Roundup : Clemson Handles Coach’s Challenge and Duke

Clemson is back.

Not that the Tigers really went anywhere, but their 49-17 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over previously unbeaten Duke on Saturday at Clemson, S.C., should silence some critics--and Coach Danny Ford.

All week, Ford criticized his team, ranked 11th in the nation, saying it wasn’t living up to the tradition of past teams. A week ago, Clemson struggled to beat Virginia, a team it has defeated 28 consecutive times.

“Coach Ford challenged us,” Clemson quarterback Rodney Williams said. “Thank goodness we met his challenge.”

Ford said his team played up to its potential against Duke, which was picked to finish last in the ACC.

Duke came into the game without a loss, but only one of the Blue Devils’ opponents had a winning record.

Fullback Tracy Johnson scored twice and Williams passed for a touchdown and ran for another to lead the Tigers (5-1 overall and 3-0 in the ACC).

Clemson, the two-time defending ACC champion, handed Duke its first loss after 5 victories. The Blue Devils, who haven’t opened the season with 6 wins in a row since 1952, are 1-1 in the ACC.

Quarterback Anthony Dilweg, who has been the key to Duke’s surprising start, was held to fewer than 300 yards passing for the first time this season. He completed 18 of 41 passes for 209 yards and 1 touchdown, but he had 2 passes intercepted.

Florida State 45, East Carolina 21--Running back Chris Parker, getting a rare start, scored 2 touchdowns and rushed for 158 yards, and Chip Ferguson threw 2 touchdown passes as the fifth-ranked Seminoles won the nonconference game at Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida State (6-1) broke a 14-14 tie midway through the second period on Ferguson’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Lewis. Dexter Carter’s 43-yard kickoff return set up the 5-play scoring drive.

East Carolina (1-6) watched Florida State score 24 unanswered points before Travis Hunter scored on a 2-yard run with 2:07 left in the game. Fullback Tim James scored on runs of 1 and 22 yards in the second period to lift East Carolina into the short-lived tie.

Parker, a 216-pound redshirt freshman who began the season as Florida State’s fifth-string tailback, made his first collegiate start because of injuries to Sammie Smith and Keith Ross.

Wake Forest 27, Maryland 24--Tony Rogers scored on a 1-yard run with 1:22 remaining as the Demon Deacons rallied from a 24-12 deficit in the fourth quarter to win the ACC game at College Park, Md.

Trailing, 24-19, Wake Forest drove 60 yards in 11 plays and scored the deciding touchdown when Rogers, diving, was ruled to have reached the end zone before he fumbled. The Demon Deacons added a 2-point conversion on a pass from Mike Elkins to Mark Young for the final margin.

A last-minute Maryland drive reached the Wake Forest 7 before time ran out.

Elkins completed 31 of 43 passes for 345 yards for Wake Forest, which improved to 4-2 and 2-1. Maryland fell to 3-3 and 2-1.

North Carolina State 48, North Carolina 3--Shane Montgomery, starting his first game this season, completed 24 of 35 passes for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Wolfpack in the ACC game at Chapel Hill, N.C., and give the Tar Heels their worst start in the school’s 100-year football history.

The Wolfpack is 5-1 and 3-1, and the victory was also the largest winning margin by North Carolina State in the 78-game history of the series. North Carolina is 0-6 and 0-2.

Montgomery, who came into the game having completed more than 69% of his passes in a reserve role, did most of his damage in the first half, when he completed 19 of 27 passes for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Wolfpack led, 27-3, at halftime.

North Carolina State, which has the No. 3-ranked defense in the country, has held its opponents without a touchdown in 5 of its 6 games.

Louisville 30, Virginia 28--Ron Bell, benched after missing a pair of field goals and an extra-point attempt a week earlier, hit a 39-yard field goal with 10 seconds left as the Cardinals overcame a 14-point deficit to win the nonconference game at Louisville, Ky.

Louisville (4-3) started the winning drive on its 36-yard line with 1:10 remaining after Virginia botched a 32-yard field goal attempt when the snap sailed over the holder’s head. Jay Gruden then completed 4 of 6 passes, the last an 11-yarder to tight end Chad Fortune, to put the ball on the Virginia 22 and set up Bell’s kick.

Virginia is 2-4.