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Hoakies soar, Spartans fall in conference action

© Chuck Bednar

Michigan State and Virginia Tech were both members of the AP Top 5 coming into this weekend. Were they for real? Both teams had an opportunity to further prove their abilities in high profile games against conference competition. One succeeded. The other faltered.

The fourth-ranked Hokies made a huge statement against No. 15 Syracuse, embarrassing the Big East rival Orangemen 62-0. The Tech defense surrendered an average of just one first down in each of the first three quarters, and Michael Vick completed 8 of 16 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown. It was the biggest win for the Hokies since 1922, and the worst Syracuse loss in 87 years. Virginia Tech improves to 6-0 with the win, marking the school's best start since 1967.

The other unlikely national title condender, No. 5 Michigan State, found themselves on the business end of a 52-28 drubbing by Purdue on Saturday. Chris Daniels set new Big Ten records for receptions (21) and receiving yards (301), and hauled in three touchdowns in the win. Drew Brees completed 40-of-57 passes for a total of five touchdowns, all in the first half, and 509 yards. But the real story was the awesome play of the Boilermaker defense, which forced six Spartan turnovers and sacked quarterback Bill Burke five times for 49 yards.

In this week's other top headlines...

Florida State 33, Wake Forest 10 -- Wake kept it interesting for a half, but the top-ranked Seminoles got a pair of third-quarter touchdown passes from quarterback Chris Weinke to turn a 9-3 halftime lead into a 23-point win. Weinke looked sharp, completing 19-of-35 pass attempts for 354 yards and hitting 10 different receivers on the afternoon. The win was the Seminoles' 104th of the 1990s, breaking the NCAA record for most victories in any single decade. Their home unbeaten streak now improves to 45 games

Penn State 23, Ohio State 10 -- As close as the final score may make this one look, Penn State dominated the game in every way imaginable. They outgained the Buckeyes 422-to-143 while giving only 11 first downs. They hit harder than Ohio State, they ran faster, and they played more aggressively. Eric McCoo dashed for 211 yards on 22 carries, mostly on inside runs, but mental mistakes and an unlikely 10 penalties kept the Nittany Lions from making this the blowout it should have been. It was the 314th career victory for coach Joe Paterno, tying him for third place with Amos Alonzo Stagg for most victories among major college coaches.

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