ACC Roundup: FSU rolls to win past Duke
by The Associated Press
Oct 27, 2012 | 883 views | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Florida State’s EJ Manuel
Florida State’s EJ Manuel
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — EJ Manuel tossed two touchdown passes and Devonta Freeman ran for two more scores to lead No. 11 Florida State to a 48-7 victory over Duke on Saturday.

Florida State’s win coupled with North Carolina State’s loss to North Carolina puts the Seminoles back in control of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division while Duke (6-3, 3-2) dropped out of the undisputed lead in the league’s muddled Coastal Division.

Florida State (8-1, 5-1) rolled up 560 yards in offense while limiting Duke to 232.

Tyler Hunter returned a punt 75 yards for a score and Dustin Hopkins kicked a career-best 56-yard field goal to help the Seminoles offset four fumbles.

Duke quarterback Sean Renfree completed 13 of 21 passes for 92 yards before being knocked out of the game in the second quarter with an unspecified head injury. Anthony Boone was 3 of 15 for 37 yards against a Florida State defense that leads the ACC in virtually all categories.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe said after the game that Renfree would be further evaluated by medical personnel, but still wasn’t feeling very good after the game.

Florida State, which has an open date before returning to action Nov. 8 at Virginia Tech, is unbeaten in 18 games against Duke and has won by 19 or more points in each of those games. It became clearly quickly Saturday that things weren’t going to change.

The Seminoles scored on their third play of the game when Manuel hit Rashad Greene in stride for a 71-yard touchdown and didn’t let up, racing to a 31-0 lead just four minutes into the second quarter.

But after adding two quick touchdowns in the first five minutes of the third quarter to take a 45-7 lead on Manuel’s 35-yard scoring pass to Kelvin Benjamin, Florida State bogged down with mistakes and managed just Hopkins’ record-breaking field goal in the final 25 minutes.

Hopkins had appeared to have broken the conference record for career field goals held by former Maryland kicker Nick Novak with a 51-yarder, but Florida State was whistled for delay of game and he then drilled his career best with ease for the new mark of 81. He is six shy of former Georgia kicker Billy Bennett’s NCAA mark of 87.

Hopkins has already smashed the previous ACC scoring record and his 429 points are 10 points shy of the NCAA record held by former Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman.

North Carolina 43,

N.C. State 35

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Gio Bernard returned a punt 74 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 13 seconds left, helping North Carolina stun rival North Carolina State 43-35 to end a five-year losing streak in the series.

Bernard’s punt return capped a huge day for the sophomore tailback, who ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns. He also had eight catches for 95 yards to lead the Tar Heels (6-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed 35-25 entering the final period in a back-and-forth game that lived up to the rivalry hype.

North Carolina hadn’t beaten the Wolfpack (5-3, 2-2) since Tom O’Brien took over in Raleigh in 2007, but finally halted that skid under first-year coach Larry Fedora.

Mike Glennon threw for a career-high 467 yards and five touchdowns to lead N.C. State, which led 35-25 on Glennon’s 55-yard pass to Bryan Underwood with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.

N.C. State entered the afternoon with two straight wins — including an upset of then-No. 3 Florida State on Oct. 6 — that had put the Wolfpack in control of its own destiny in the ACC’s Atlantic Division. Instead, the Tar Heels, who are banned from a bowl for NCAA violations, knocked their rivals back in the league race with a stunning finish after blowing their own big lead.

After leading 25-7 late in the first quarter, the Tar Heels tied the game at 35 on Casey Barth’s 34-yard field goal with 1:24 left, then forced the Wolfpack to punt with about 30 seconds left. Bernard fielded the punt inside his own 30, then avoided a diving tackler as he started running to his right where his blockers had set up a wall. Bernard broke free down the right sideline in front of the Wolfpack bench, scampering into the end zone to set up off a wild celebration in Kenan Stadium’s blue-filled end zone.

UNC punter Tommy Hibbard then managed to complete his second two-point conversion pass of the day to Jack Tabb to push the lead to 43-35. And when Tobais Palmer fumbled the ensuing kickoff, the Tar Heels were finally in position to celebrate.

Boston College 20,

Maryland 17

BOSTON — Chase Rettig completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Johnathan Coleman with 52 seconds left to give Boston College a 20-17 victory over Maryland on Saturday.

The victory snapped a five-game losing streak for the Eagles (2-6, 1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) and helped them avoid their worst start since 1989.

Former fourth-stringer Caleb Rowe completed a 66-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs midway through the fourth quarter to give Maryland (4-4, 2-2) its first lead of the game. But on the first play after BC’s go-ahead touchdown, Rowe was intercepted by Spenser Rositano.

A freshman making the start because of injuries to Maryland’s top three quarterbacks, Rowe completed 23 of 42 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns. But he was also picked off three times.

Wearing stars-and-stripes uniforms for Military Appreciation Day, Boston College opened a 13-0 lead early in the third quarter thanks to a pair of interceptions and then came back after giving up the lead.

Rettig was 21 for 39 for 287 yards and two touchdowns, completing his last six passes on the game-winning drive. Alex Amidon caught nine passes for 137 yards.

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