ACC Game Previews

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ACC action this week

Saturday, November 17th

#23 Georgia Tech (6-3, 3-3) at Wake Forest (5-4, 3-4)
JP-TV - Noon
Betting line: Ga Tech by 7.5
Groves Stadium (31,500)

THE GAME: 23rd-ranked Georgia Tech looks to rebound from Saturday's loss at Virginia when it ventures into Winston-Salem to take on a Wake Forest club looking for its first home conference win of the season ... the Yellow Jackets have won five of the last six meetings and nine of the last 12 and lead the series by a 17-6 count ... the last three meetings in Groves Stadium have been decided by a total of six points.

THE COACHES: George O'Leary is 51-31 in seven seasons at Tech ... Jim Grobe is 5-4 in his first season at WF and 38-37-1 in seven years overall.

BUZZ BITS: Junior PK Luke Manget leads the ACC in scoring (8.8) and field goals (1.78) and has made an ACC-record 122 straight PATs ... Manget is 21st on the ACC's career scoring list with 239 points ... Kelly Campbell is eighth on the ACC's career receiving yardage list (2,798), tied for eighth in career receptions (184), 10th in TD receptions (23) and 21st in all-purpose yardage (4,138) ... Joe Burns is fifth on the school's career rushing list with 2,362 yards and has scored a TD in 13 of his last 17 games ... QB George Godsey completed 39 of 55 passes for a career-high 486 yards against Virginia and leads the ACC in passing yards per game (262.7) ... Godsey has thrown a TD pass in eight straight games and has passed for 200 yards or more in 15 of his last 17 games; is third on Tech's career passing yardage list with 5,416 yards.

DEACON DETAILS: Wake Forest rallied from a 24-0 deficit to beat North Carolina 32-31 Saturday marking their seventh-straight game decided by seven points or less ... TB Tarence Williams ran for a game-high 101 yards against UNC and now has six 100-yard games this season and is third in the ACC in rushing (99.0) ... sophomore Fred Staton is eighth in the ACC in rushing (60.3) ... Wake has rushed for 200 yards or more six times this season and is second in the ACC and 10th nationally in rushing yardage (229.6) ... senior John Stone moved up to sixth place on the ACC's all-time kickoff return yardage list with 1,787 yards ... the Deacs have allowed a league-low 10 quarterback sacks in its first nine games ... freshman Jason Anderson has caught a pass in nine straight games.

Clemson (5-4, 3-4) at #22 So. Carolina (7-3, 5-3 SEC)
JP-TV - Noon
Betting line: SC by 4.0
Williams-Brice Stadium (80,250)

THE GAME: A full-house and a regional TV audience is exepected for this one as the two long-time rivals clash for the 99th time in a series that has gone uninterrupted since 1909 ... this is the third longest active series in college football trailing only Kansas-Nebraska (1906) and Minnesota-Wisconsin (1907) ... Clemson has won the last four meetings and nine of the last 12 and leads the rivalry 59-35-4 ... the Tigers have won the last six meetings in Columbia and have lost just once in Williams-Brice Stadium since 1980.

THE COACHES: Tommy Bowden is 20-13 in his third year at Clemson and 38-17 in five seasons overall ... Lou Holtz is 15-18 in three seasons at USC and 231-113-7 in 30 years overall.

TIGER TIDBITS: South Carolina is the third straight ranked opponent for the Tigers ... Woodrow Dantzler is 10th on the ACC's career total offense list with 7,565 yards and has had 200 yards or more of total offense in 22 of his last 28 games ... Dantzler leads the ACC and is seventh nationally in total offense (312.1) ... TB Travis Zachery is second among school career rushing leaders with 2,924 yards ... Zachery has caught at least one pass in 15 straight games; is tied for fourth among ACC career touchdown leaders (46) ... freshman WR Derek Hamilton leads the Tigers in receptions (47) and receiving yardage (570); set a school freshman mark with 205 all-purpose yards against Maryland ... junior Brian Mance is third in the ACC in punt returns (11.9) and fourth in kickoff returns (24.5).

GAME NOTES: USC is one win shy of posting back-to-back eight-win seasons for the first time since the 1987-88 seasons ... Lou Holtz is the only coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs into postseason bowl games ... over the past two seasons, USC has posted a 15-7 record after compiling a 1-21 mark in the previous two seasons ... the Gamcocks are 18th in the nation in defending the pass (180.2) ... senior QB Phil Petty has thrown for 1,547 yards and 10 TDs and is eighth in the SEC in passing efficiency ... TB Derek Watson leads USC in rushing with 537 yards on 110 carries.

Duke (0-9, 0-6) at North Carolina (5-5, 4-3)
1:30 p.m.
Betting line: UNC by 27.0
Kenan Stadium (60,000)

THE GAME: North Carolina has held the upper hand recently in this long-time rivalry since the two teams first met on the gridiron in 1888 ... UNC has won 11 straight over the Blue Devils, the longest winning streak in the series history ... Duke's last win against the Tar Heels was a 41-0 win in Chapel Hill in 1989 ... the ACC series' totals does not include a 1889 game in Durham that both schools claim as a forfeit victory.

THE COACHES: Carl Franks is 3-28 in three seasons at Duke while John Bunting is 5-5 in his first year at UNC and 43-19-2 in six seasons overall.

DEVIL DATA: QB D. Bryant had career-highs in pass completions (31) and passing yardage (400) in the loss to NC State (N3) ... Bryant is sixth in the ACC and 43rd nationally in total offense (225.7) ... Chris Douglas has had 100-or-more yards in all-purpose yardage in 12 straight games and is fifth nationally in all-purpose yards (177.8) ... Douglas is fifth in the ACC in rushing (84.0) and 17th on the ACC's career kickoff return yardage list with 1,399 yards ... TE Mike Hart had 10 catches for a career-high 165 yards and two TDs against NC State and extended his consecutive game streak of catching at least one pass to 21 straight games ... seven of Duke's nine TD passes have been to the team's tight ends, Hart (4) and Nick Brzezinski (3) ... the Blue Devils are the least penalized team in the ACC (53.8).

HEEL HYPE: Freshman QB Darian Durant threw for 361 yards and four TDs - both school freshmen records - in Saturday's 32-31 loss to Wake Forest; the 361 yards were the fourth most in school history ... Durant is second in the ACC and 11th nationally in passing efficiency and his 16 TD passes are the third most by a freshman in league history ... in five games versus ranked opponents, Durant has completed 59 of 100 passes for 697 yards and eight TDs ... Ronald Curry is UNC's all-time leader in total offense mark with 5,832 yards and is second in passing yardage (4,654) ... Curry is 22nd on the ACC's all-time total offense yardage list ... Kory Bailey is fourth on UNC's all-time reception list (130) and fifth in receiving yardage (1,826)... Bosley Allen is 10th on the ACC's all-time punt return yardage list (751).

#17 Virginia Tech (7-2, 4-2 Big East) at Virginia (4-6, 3-5) ESPN - 3:30 p.m.
Betting line: Va Tech by 14.5
Scott Stadium (61,500)

THE GAME: The Cavaliers and the Hokies renew one of the nation's most competitive rivalries when they meet for the 83rd time in a nationally-televised affair on ESPN ... Virginia Tech has won the last two meetings, including a 42-21 victory a year ago in Blacksburg, and leads the series 41-36-5 ... UVa is 17-15-3 against the Hokies in Charlottesville.

THE COACHES: Frank Beamer is 106-63-2 in his 15th season at Tech and 148-86-4 in 21 years overall ... Al Groh is 4-6 in his first year at Virginia and 30-46 in seven seasons overall.

HOKIE HIGHLIGHTS: VaT has posted four shutouts on the season and leads the nation in total defense (218.2) ,,, the Hokies are 11-1 in non-league road games since 1993, with the only loss a 34-20 decision at Virginia in 1997 ... true freshman Kevin Jones ran for 155 yards on 21 carries against Temple Saturday in his first collegiate start ... only three current Division I-A head coaches - Joe Paterno, Penn State (35), Bobby Bowden, FSU (25) and Fisher DeBerry, Air Force (17) have been at their current schools longer than Beamer and his 15 years at VaT.

CAV COPY: Virginia snapped a four-game losing streak with a 39-38 victory over Georgia Tech, in a game that featured 43 points and seven lead changes in the fourth quarter ... sophomore QB Bryson Spinner completed 32 of 46 passes for 327 yards and five TDs against Tech ... Spinner is fourth in the ACC in passing efficiency and has thrown 14 TD passes (one every 13.6 pass attempts) ... as a team, UVa has thrown 23 TD passes this season, almost tripling the total of eight all of last season ... Matt Schaub has passed for 1,239 yards while Bryson Spinner has 1,260 yards passing ... junior WR Billy McMullen leads the ACC in receptions (7.3) and is second in receiving yardage (88.9); has scored at least one TD in eight of UVa's 10 games ... with 10 receptions against Georgia Tech, McMullen became Virginia's all-time leader in receptions (131); fifth in receiving yardage (1,913) ... senior Antwoine Womack ran for 56 yards on 13 carries ... LB Angelo Crowell is fourth in the ACC in tackles per game (12.5).

#9 Maryland (9-1, 6-1) at NC State (6-3, 4-3) ESPN - 7:45 p.m.
Betting line: Maryland by 3.0
Carter-Finley Stadium (51,500)

THE GAME: Maryland, assured of at least a share of its first ACC title since 1985, visits Carter-Finley Stadium to take on a NC State club that has a three-game ACC winning streak, highlighted by Saturday's 34-28 win at FSU ... State has won eight of the last 10 meetings to take a 28-25-4 lead in the rivalry ... the Terps' won a year ago in College Park 35-28 in double-overtime.

THE COACHES: Chuck Amato is 14-7 in his second year at the helm of the Wolfpack ... Ralph Friedgen is 9-1 in his first season with the Terps.

TERPITUDES: With Saturday's 37-20 win over Clemson, Maryland clinched at least a tie for its first ACC title since 1985 ... Bruce Perry and Marc Riley are the first Terp duo to score at least 10 rushing TDs in the same season ... as a team, Maryland leads the ACC and is third in the nation in rushing TDs (32) ... Perry leads the ACC and is 19th nationally in rushing (115.1); also 10th in all-purpose yardage (159.2) ... the Terps have rushed for 200 yards or more in four straight games and seven times this season ... PK Nick Novak has made nine of his last 10 field goal attempts, including all nine attempts from inside of 60 yards ... LB E.J. Henderson has 25 TFLs breaking the school mark of 24 set by Randy White in 1974 ... Terps lead the nation with 23 interceptions and is second in turnover margin (+1.70).

PACK POINTS: The Wolfpack became the first team in conference history to beat Florida State twice and the first ACC team to beat the Seminoles in Tallahassee with Saturday's 34-28 win ... QB Philip Rivers is fifth in the ACC in total offense (225.7) and third in passing yards (232.2) ... only a sophomore, Rivers is already fourth on State's career passing yardage list (5,144), fourth in total offense (5,028) and second in career TD passes (39) ... Ray Robinson leads State in rushing (660 yards) and receiving (41 receptions) and has posted back-to-back-to-back 100-yard games rushing and is sixth in the ACC in rushing (73.3) and fourth in all-purpose yardage (116.7) ... Robinson has led the Pack in rushing in 10 straight games and moved from seventh to fourth on the school's career rushing list (2,708), is fifth in all-purpose yardage (3,743).

#20 Florida State (6-3, 5-2) at #3 Florida (8-1, 6-1 SEC)
CBS - 8:00 p.m.
Betting line: UF by 15.0
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (83,000)

THE GAME: A full house and a national television audience will be on hand as the 3rd-ranked Gators and the 20th-ranked Seminoles tangle for the 46th time in a series that started in 1958 ... FSU has won the last three meetings and four of the last five, but still trails in the series by 26-17-2 count.

THE COACHES: Bobby Bowden is 321-90-4 in 36 years overall, including a 248-58-4 mark in 26 seasons at Florida State ... Steve Spurrier is 120-26-1 in 12 years at Florida and 140-39-2 in 15 seasons overall.

GATOR BYTES: The Gators have been ranked in 197 of a possible 198 weeks since the start of the 1990 season ... Florida has outscored its opponents 413-108; its scoring margin of +33.9 ranks as the best figure in the nation ... the Gators are 108-6 since 1990 when they rush for 100 yards or more ... Florida is 119-26-1 in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium ... the Gators lead the nation in total offense (549.2) and have totaled 500 yards in seven of their nine games to date ... QB Rex Grossman leads the nation in total offense (363.2) and passing efficiency (182.3 rating) ... Florida has allowed only three TD passes all season.

NOLE NOTES: FSU has been ranked in every AP poll since the fifth week of the 1989 season spanning 208 consecutive weeks ... sophomore RB Greg Jones is seventh in the ACC in rushing (67.4) and over his last five games has rushed for 467 yards ... freshman QB Chris Rix leads the ACC and is third nationally in passing efficiency; is second in the ACC and 11th in the nation in total offense (288.6) ... over his last three games, Rix has thrown for 1,021 yards, 12 touchdowns while averaging 18.9 yards per pass completion ... Rix has thrown a TD pass in each of his first nine career games ... as a team, FSU (17.2) is second nationally to Rice (17.3) in yards per pass completion ... senior Javon Walker leads the ACC in receiving yardage (90.2); is averaging a league-high 21.4 yards per catch ... junior WR Talman Gardner has 11 TDs in 31 catches ... freshmen PK Xavier Beitia has made 11 of 12 field goals and leads the ACC in field goal percentage (91.7).

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