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TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Ticker) -- Florida State was more than ready for the Atlantic Coast Conference's latest upstart team. Chris Rix threw five touchdown passes -- three in the fourth quarter -- as the 18th-ranked Seminoles knocked mistake-prone No. 12 Maryland from the ranks of the unbeaten with a wild 52-31 victory. The nine-time defending ACC champions, the Seminoles (5-2, 4-1) entered Saturday in third place in the conference, 1 1/2 games behind surprising Maryland. On Saturday, Florida State showed the Terrapins -- a traditional doormat of the conference -- that it still has more than enough to win the league crown, playing its best game of the season. Rix, who has struggled this season to replace Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, also played his best game. The freshman went 15-of-24 for 350 yards, including TD passes of of nine, 16, 28, 22 and 31 yards. "Our quarterback played good," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. "He's just got to learn to protect the ball. It was really a pretty good performance for a freshman." Rix found Talman Gardner from 28 yards with 12:28 remaining to snap a 31-31 tie. He added two more TD passes in the final 11:17 left as the Seminoles rolled to their latest win over an ACC foe at Doak-Campbell Stadium. Florida State, which had a 37-game winning streak and 54-game unbeaten streak stopped two weeks ago with a loss to Miami, improved to 39-0 all-time at home against ACC teams. In its biggest test of the season, Maryland (7-1, 5-1 ACC) turned over the ball four times and fell to 0-12 all-time against the Seminoles. The Terrapins also failed in a bid for the first 8-0 start in school history. "We turned the game over to them," Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen said. "We just turned the ball over. We made errors that we hadn't made all year long. You can't win when you do that." "Today was another indication that you can't win when you turn it over," Bowden said. "Maryland turned it over. We did too, but not as much. There is no telling what would have happened if they hadn't turned it over." Maryland, which squandered a two-touchdown lead in the first half, battled back and took a 24-21 lead early in the third quarter on Bruce Perry's eight-yard touchdown run. After Xavier Beitia kicked a 31-yard field goal to tie it, Jamal Chance fumbled the ensuing kickoff, putting the Seminoles back in business deep in Maryland territory. Four plays later, Greg Jones barrelled over from four yards, giving the Seminoles a 31-24 lead with 6:50 remaining in the third quarter. But the Terrapins continued to show their resiliency, moving 84 yards in 12 plays. Quarterback Shaun Hill capped the drive with a two-yard run with 1:53 left in the period, tying the game. Hill completed 21-of-37 passes for 214 yards and added 51 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Florida State, which has an abundance of new faces on offense this season, had its coming-out party over the final 15 minutes. Rix started things by finding Gardner in the left corner of the end zone for a 28-yard TD pass, giving the Seminoles a 38-31 lead with 12:28 remaining. Gardner, who is trying to help revive the Seminoles' decimated wide receiving corps, had a huge game with six receptions for 140 yards and three touchdowns. "The big thing was we didn't panic when we got behind today," Gardner said. "We knew if we could go out there and make a couple of plays, we'd be right back in it. " Maryland continued to hurt itself with mistakes, committing its fourth turnover on the ensuing possession when Perry fumbled and cornerback Rufus Brown recovered inside the Terrapins 25. Three plays after the miscue, Rix connected with Javon Walker on a 22-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 45-31 with 11:17 left. "Rix responded great," Walker said. "We always knew he could do it. It was just a matter of time before he came into his own. He threw five touchdown passes. What more do you need to say?" Rix capped the big fourth quarter with a 32-yard TD pass to Atrews Bell with 6:58 to play, giving Florida State the final margin. Bell had four catches for 104 yards. Showing they were not intimidated by the ACC's most dominant team, the Terrapins broke on top late in the first quarter on fullback James Lynch's 65-yard TD run. In the second quarter, Maryland converted on 4th-and-inches from inside the Seminoles 1, then went ahead 14-0 on the next play when Marc Riley plunged over from the 1. The Seminoles quickly found their offense, scoring three touchdowns in less than three minutes to take the lead. Rix had touchdown passes of 16 and nine yards to Gardner around a 23-yard interception return by linebacker Michael Boulware. The Terrapins pulled within 21-17 on Nick Novak's 51-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. "We are still tied for first (in the ACC)," Friedgen said. "We're not out of this by any stretch of the imagination. We have to beat Clemson and N.C. State and there could be a two-way tie or a three-way tie."
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