Seminoles Trounce The Terps
As the game reached a merciful conclusion, Chris Weinke watched the action in a chair beyond the end zone, his left foot immobilized and elevated.
The scene put a damper on an otherwise delightful night for No. 2 Florida State and its record-setting quarterback.
Weinke threw three touchdown passes before leaving early in the third quarter with an apparent sprained ankle, and the Seminoles cruised to a 59-7 victory over Maryland Thursday night.
William McCray scored on two short runs and Atrews Bell caught two TD passes for the Seminoles (5-0, 3-0 ACC), who built a 32-7 halftime lead en route to their 17th straight victory.
Weinke left after his third touchdown pass made it 38-7. With rival Miami next on the Seminoles' schedule, coach Bobby Bowden was probably ready to pull his senior quarterback anyway.
The severity of the injury was not immediately known.
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At least the Seminoles have an extra bit of time for the injury to heal.
"I hope it's a minor thing. Thank goodness it's a Thursday night game," Bowden said.
Weinke went 11-for-15 for 234 yards. His final TD pass gave him 58 for his career, breaking Danny Kanell's school record.
"I didn't even know I set the record, to be honest," he said. "It's a honor."
It was 25-0 before Maryland (2-2, 0-1) got its initial first down, on a 74-yard touchdown run by LaMont Jordan.
Jordan finished with 114 yards rushing, his first 100-yard game of the season, but Maryland managed only eight first downs, four on the final drive of the game. Calvin McCall, who wa victimized by several dropped passes, went 10-for-27 for 100 yards and one interception.
"We had a chance to show the country what we are made of, and instead all those people watching on TV are saying it's the same old Maryland Terps," said linebacker E.J. Henderson.
"Nothing's changed with Florida State," Maryland coach Ron Vanderlinden said. "It's the most talented football team in the country."
Florida State is 11-0 against Maryland, winning by an average of 34 points. The Seminoles have scored at least 48 points in eight of the last nine games between the teams.
After the Terrapins took the opening kickoff and gained only 1 yard in three plays, the Seminoles quickly covered 59 yards to go up 7-0. Weinke went 3-for-3 for 36 yards before McCray ran in from the 1.
"We wanted to set the tempo early tonight. We wanted to score a touchdown on our first drive, and we did that," Weinke said.
Maryland again did nothing on offense, and a 28-yard punt return by Clevan Thomas set up a career-long 44-yard field goal by Matt Munyon.
The Terrapins' next possession featured two dropped passes, and after the Seminoles' first punt, a botched pitchout by McCall was recovered by FSU at the Maryland 16. Although the Seminoles couldn't convert, a coffin-corner punt by Keith Cottrell set up a safety for a 12-0 lead.
Immediately after the free kick, Robert Morgan slipped behind Curome Cox on the right sideline and hauled in a 58-yard touchdown pass.
The Terrapins not only found it impossible to get a first down, but they couldn't help giving the ball away. An interception by the Seminoles' Chris Hope led to a 2-yard touchdown run by McCray and a 25-0 lead.
Maryland ended its first-down drought and snapped the shutout with one play, Jordan's lengthy touchdown run off a block by tight end Jeff Dugan.
Undaunted, the Seminoles made it 32-7 on a 2-yard pass from Weinke to Bell with 14 seconds left in the half.
At that point, a good portion of the 47,044 at Byrd Stadium headed for the exits. It was the biggest crowd at Maryland since 1995.
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