GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A little bit of Warrick and Weinke, a little bit of Janikowski and a whole lot of Florida State defense has the top-ranked Seminoles poised to play for the national championship.
Peter Warrick ran for one touchdown and set up another with a 38-yard catch. Sebastian Janikowski kicked three field goals - one from 54 yards - as No. 1 Florida State beat No. 3 Florida 30-23 to complete its third perfect regular season.
The win all but clinched a spot for coach Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles (11-0) in the Sugar Bowl, the site of the Bowl Championship Series' national title game.
''Every time Florida and Florida State play, it puts someone in the national championship game. We're just happy we're there,'' Bowden said.
The Gators fell to 9-2, and lost for just the fourth time at home in ten years under coach Steve Spurrier. Florida will play in the SEC title game on Dec. 4, needing a win to qualify for either the Orange or Fiesta bowls.
For the past seven years, this series has turned into a sort of playoff-elimination game, and the Gators weren't knocked out until the very end.
No. 2 Virginia Tech 62, Temple 7: Michael Vick could have run all the way to New Orleans.
He ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns and passed for two more scores as the Hokies allowed Temple a brief early lead, then stormed back for a 62-7 win Saturday.
Vick completed seven of his 10 passes for 171 yards and two long touchdowns to Andre Davis, and made two spectacular touchdown runs. He eluded trouble in the backfield with scoring runs of 53 and 75 yards.
If they can overcome Boston College next week, Virginia Tech will likely be Florida State's opponent in the Sugar Bowl.
No. 7 Tennessee 56, Kentucky 21: Travis Henry, filling in for injured Jamal Lewis, ran for 179 yards and a career-high three touchdowns as Tennessee routed Kentucky.
After Tennessee built a 27-0 lead in the first half, Kentucky scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to close to 27-14 at halftime. But the Volunteers scored four second-half touchdowns to put the game away.
Wildcats quarterback Dusty Bonner completed 32 of 50 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted five times. Kentucky also lost a fumble, giving the Wildcats six turnovers.
Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns, one to Cedrick Wilson and one to David Martin before leaving early in the fourth quarter.
No. 8 Alabama 28, Auburn 17: Auburn knew that its opponent's top player wasn't at full strength, but they soon found out an angry Shaun Alexander can be just as lethal as a healthy one.
Alexander scored three touchdowns and ran for 182 yards - 101 in the fourth quarter - as Alabama stormed back for a win over rival Auburn.
Alexander became Alabama's career leading rusher, passing Bobby Humphrey's mark of 3,420 yards.
Trailing 14-6 in the third quarter, Alabama inserted back-up quarterback Tyler Watts, who got the Crimson Tide back into the game.
No. 9 Kansas State 66, Missouri 0: Kansas State had no problem rebounding from the disappointment of last week's lost to Nebraska, as the Wildcats rolled to their third shut-out of the season.
Jonathon Beasley threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and cornerback Dyshod Carter scored twice as Kansas State kept its Big 12 title game hopes alive by handling Missouri.
Frank Murphy added two touchdown runs and Adrian Beard recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.
No. 22 Arkansas 14, No. 12 Mississippi State 9: Clint Stoerner and the Arkansas offense got the help they needed from their defensive pals.
Stoerner completed seven of 10 passes on one touchdown drive and threw a 33-yard pass to Anthony Lucas to set up a second TD as Arkansas beat Mississippi State.
Matt Wyatt guided Mississippi State (8-2, 5-2 SEC, 8-2 overall) to the Razorbacks' 18 with 20 seconds to play, but Wyatt misfired on second down, Carlos Hall hit the quarterback's arm on third down, and Orlando Green defended perfectly on a pass to C.J. Sirmones.
Wake Forest 26, No. 14 Georgia Tech 23: Wake Forest hasn't qualified for the postseason since 1992, and the bowl gurus apparently didn't think the Demon Deacons would end that drought this year.
Morgan Kane rushed for 224 yards and a touchdown as Wake Forest posted its first winning record in seven years, holding off Georgia Tech.
Even though the Atlantic Coast Conference has tie-ins with five bowl games, just one postseason contest, the Peach Bowl, sent a scout to Groves Stadium, and he was there to see the Yellow Jackets.
No. 21 Georgia 20, No. 16 Mississippi 17: Georgia had no problems maintaining possession or accumulating yardage, but an inability to punch the ball in the end zone nearly cost the Bulldogs.
Hap Hines made up for it, though, and the Bulldogs left Oxford with a victory over Mississippi.
Hines kicked four field goals to provide most of the points and the Bulldogs (5-3 Southeastern Conference, 7-3 overall) held on to edge the Rebels (4-3, 7-3) behind Quincy Carter's 349 yards passing and a late pick by Terreal Bierria.
No. 18 Southern Mississippi 30, Louisville 27: In a game featuring two of Conference USA's best quarterbacks, it was a punter's arm that decided Southern Mississippi's league-clinching win over Louisville.
Facing fourth-and-5, Jamie Purser dropped back to kick, but instead threw to Shawn Mills for a 26-yard gain to the Louisville 11. A few moments later, Brant Hanna kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:07 left to give the Golden Eagles a victory.
The win assured Southern Mississippi (6-0 Conference USA, 8-3 overall) its second trip to the Liberty Bowl in the past three years.
Utah 20, No. 19 Brigham Young 17: Two weeks ago, Utah was struggling with a two-game losing skid. T.D. Croshaw and Andre Dyson made sure the Utes ended their regular season in the best way possible.
Croshaw threw for two second-half touchdowns and Dyson ended a late Brigham Young comeback attempt with his second interception as the Utes beat the Cougars in the "Holy War."
It was a sweet victory for Utah (5-2 Mountain West, 8-3 overall), which won its fourth straight on BYU's field. The Utes also earned a share of the Mountain West title and returned to the postseason picture.
No. 23 East Carolina 23, North Carolina State 6: David Garrard ran for three touchdowns, and Steve Logan became the winningest coach in East Carolina history as the Pirates beat North Carolina State.
Garrard, who lost a fumble in the end zone on East Carolina's first possession, more than made up for it, sealing the triumph with a 46-yard dash off the option with 4:51 left.
The victory also earned East Carolina an invitation to the inaugural Mobile Alabama Bowl. An official announcement is expected next week.
No. 25 Boston College 31, Notre Dame 29: Tim Hasselbeck threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as Boston College dealt another blow to Notre Dame's collective psyche.
Trailing 31-17, Notre Dame scored two touchdowns, but missed a two-point conversion pass with 3:27 left.
- Compiled by Daily Sports
Writer Dan Williams
11-22-99
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