Peter Warrick (right) celebrates his TD with John Jackson. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        Peter Warrick was 45-4 at Florida State, and with Sunday's 31-21 win over Denver is 1-6 as a Bengal. It was hard to say Sunday which felt better, the 45 or the 1.

        “It feels just like Florida State,” the rookie receiver said, grinning.

        A moment later, he caught himself.

        “To tell you the truth, it's not like Florida State. Down there, we were used to it.”

        Warrick had not won a game since January, when he was MVP of Florida State's 46-29 Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech in the national title game.

        Sunday, Warrick set the tone for the Bengals' victory with his breathtaking 77-yard touchdown run late in the first half.

        Warrick took a handoff from Akili Smith and followed a wall of blockers to his right. As the Denver pursuit quickly closed in, Warrick reversed field to the left. With Smith running interference, Warrick went in for the score that cut Cincinnati's deficit to 14-10.

        But, alas, no Paul Brown Leap into the fans' loving arms.

        “I was winded,” Warrick said, flashing another grin.

        It has been a tough year for Warrick. He was so homesick for his Florida State days that, a few weeks ago, he took to wearing jersey No. 9 — his Seminoles number — in practice. His Bengals game number is 80.

        “It's a sense of relief,” Warrick said of Sunday's win. “Maybe people will have confidence in us now and say, "They'll be good.' And we will be good.”

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