ACC football roundup

RALEIGH, N.C. - Thad Lewis threw for career-highs of 459 yards and five touchdowns in a dazzling one-man show to help Duke beat North Carolina State 49-28 yesterday.

Lewis also ran for a score for the Blue Devils (1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, 3-3), who snapped an 11-game losing streak to their instate rival and earned their first win in a league road game in almost six years. Donovan Varner added 154 yards receiving while Conner Vernon had 10 catches. Vernon was one of five different players to catch a TD pass from Lewis.

Lewis picked apart the Wolfpack's defense, helping Duke roll to 502 total yards and convert 13 of 19 third downs to dominate the Wolfpack (0-2, 3-3) in front of a stunned home crowd.

With the game tied at 28 midway through the third quarter, Lewis directed a 10-play drive that ended with his eight-yard scoring pass to Austin Kelly with 3:41 left. Then the Blue Devils caught a huge break when a Blue Devils punt bounced off blocker Justin Byers and Duke recovered at N.C. State's 11-yard line.

Three plays later, Lewis connected with Vernon for a 5-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 42-28 with 11:02 left.

North Carolina 42, Ga. Southern 12

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Ryan Houston rushed for three touchdowns and Quan Sturdivant returned a fumble 49 yards for a score, one of six turnovers forced by North Carolina during a rout of Georgia Southern.

Bruce Carter returned an interception 41 yards for a TD and the defense set up two quick scoring drives with takeaways for North Carolina (4-2).

Houston scored on rushes of 1, 1 and 7 yards. Shaun Draughn added a 16-yard touchdown run for the Tar Heels, who held the Eagles to 170 total yards and 75 through the air.

Adam Urbano had a 45-yard TD rush - the longest allowed this season by North Carolina's stingy defense - for Georgia Southern (3-3).

The Tar Heels managed only a combined 10 points in consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and Virginia that dropped them out of the national rankings and into last place in the ACC's Coastal Division.

Turned out, a timely visit from another outmanned Football Championship Subdivision opponent was just what they needed. UNC built a 42-7 halftime lead - its highest-scoring first half in nine years.

Wake Forest 42, Maryland 32

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Riley Skinner threw for 360 yards and a career-high four touchdowns Saturday, shattering the Wake Forest record for yards passing in a career in the Deacons' victory over Maryland.

Chris Givens caught five passes for 116 yards and two scores for the Demon Deacons (2-1, 4-2). The winners moved into first place in the Atlantic Division by shredding Maryland's suspect defense.

Wake Forest scored touchdowns on its first five possessions in building a 35-10 halftime lead. Skinner went over 8,000 yards passing in the second quarter to move past Brian Kuklick. A week earlier, he broke Kuklick's career touchdown mark.

It looked easy against Maryland (1-1, 2-4), which couldn't build on last week's surprising win over Clemson. The Terrapins allowed 516 yards and their banged-up offense couldn't keep up.