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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Virginia coach Al Groh isn't interested in talking about whether his time at his alma mater is soon to end.
In his mind, it's Miami week, and that means grinding into the wee hours planning schemes to beat the No. 16 Hurricanes and abiding by the sign on his desk: "Just coach the team."
Athletic director Craig Littlepage told The Associated Press that Groh will be evaluated at the end of the season on his "full body of work," and he cast an ominous cloud on that process considering the steady decline in fan support for the struggling Cavaliers.
"Our goal is to have our fans support the team realizing that the players continue to respond to their coaches," he wrote in an e-mail. "The players are working hard every day to represent the University of Virginia. Fans have various options for how they spend their Saturday afternoons; we'd like for our fans to be in the stadium supporting our program."
ELSEWHERE
ACC: The ACC will send teams to the Sun and Independence bowls starting next year. The league said Thursday it renewed six bowl deals and reached agreements with two others for the four-year period from 2010 through 2013.
COLORADO STATE: Coach Steve Fairchild has shaken up his coaching staff, reassigning offensive coordinator Greg Peterson to concentrate full-time on recruiting. Fairchild made the coaching change in the midst of a six-game skid that dropped the Rams to 3-6.
Peterson's duties of coaching wide receivers also were stripped.
GEORGIA: After taking one day this week to consider benching quarterback Joe Cox, coach Mark Richt is sticking with the starter for Saturday's game against Tennessee Tech.
Cox, a former Independence High star, threw three interceptions in Georgia's 41-17 loss to top-ranked Florida last Saturday.
"It meant a lot, but at the same time I still had in the back of my mind that they were still considering making a change," Cox said. "That's a reality check."
N.C. STATE: Receiver and kick returner T.J. Graham is out for the season with a stress fracture in his leg. He also missed last week's loss at Florida State, but it wasn't determined until this week that he would not play the rest of the season. He was injured on Oct. 17 at Boston College.
Linebacker and leading tackler Ray Michel, who also did not play at Florida State, might return for Saturday's 1 p.m. home game against Maryland. He is questionable, with an ankle injury. Ken Tysiac
OKLAHOMA STATE: The NCAA rejected a final appeal to reinstate Dez Bryant and Oklahoma State has probably seen the last of its All-American receiver.
An attorney for Bryant said the one-year penalty handed down by the NCAA amounted to a "death penalty" for his client's college career, considering that he's likely to enter next year's NFL draft.
Bryant sat out the past five games after the school ruled him ineligible for lying to an NCAA investigator looking into his offseason meeting with former NFL player Deion Sanders.
WAC: The Western Athletic Conference has suspended a replay official for one game after he failed to overturn a call in a game last weekend between San Jose State and Boise State.
Official Michael Goshima's one-game suspension will go into effect this weekend.
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