INSIDE THE ACC

by J.P. Giglio and Ken Tysiac

It's only the third week of the season, and already the gossip circuit is buzzing with “Skip Holtz to Clemson” rumors. Clemson still is the favorite to win the ACC, and doing so would keep Tommy Bowden in town. But don't you think Holtz would love coaching at Clemson and having a chance each season to spank the rival school (South Carolina) where his career was nearly derailed by a demotion?

Is the Ralph Friedgen who coached Maryland to a 24-14 loss to Middle Tennessee State last week the same guy who directed the Terps to a 31-8 record duringhis first three seasons? Are you sure?

N.C. State coach TomO'Brien's son, Dan, is a graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama, which held Clemson to 0 net rushing yards two weeks ago. This might be the first time dad has asked son for football help.

7,429 Career passing yards for Drew Weatherford, who ranks 16th on the ACC's all-time list but is Florida State's third-team quarterback.

0 Football Bowl Subdivision opponents Florida State will have played after this, the third week of the season. The Seminoles had an open date Aug.30, crushed Western Carolina last week and play Chattanooga on ESPNU today.

0 Career pass attempts for Marc Verica, Virginia's starting quarterback after Peter Lalich was suspended for today's game at UConn.

Cullen Harper, Clemson, QB, 6-4, 225

Harper, the preseason ACC Player of the Year choice, reinjured his shoulder duringthe opener against Alabama, when he spent most of the game dodging pass rushers. He says he is at full strength and will need to be with N.C. State's tough front seven challenging the Tigers' rookie offensive linemen.

Navy brings the nation's top rushing attack and a well-orchestrated option game to Durham. Tauiliili, the senior leader of the Blue Devils' defense, needs to keep his teammates disciplined and in their gaps to keep the Midshipmen and back Shun White from finding running room.

First-year coach Paul Johnson's option attack has helped Dwyer bolt to consecutive 100-yard rushing games to start the season. If Dwyer has a big game at Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech could put itself in great position in the Coastal Division with a 2-0 conference record.

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QBs ON THE RUN. Today's ACC games make drop-back passers an endangered species. Tyrod Taylor (112 rushing yards last week, above) lines up for Virginia Tech against Josh Nesbitt (left) and Paul JohnsonGeorgia Tech's option attack. Coach Johnson's option influence will be obvious when his former team, Navy, visits Duke, and N.C. State will turn loose Russell Wilson in its read-option schemes.

2

FRESHMAN WIDEOUTS. A couple first-year guys in the Triangle are making big contributions. Duke's Johnny Williams (right) made 11 catches for 135 yards last week. N.C. State's T.J. Graham ranks ninth in the ACC in all-purpose yards.

3

REACTING TO A LOSS. Duke lost to Northwestern and Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee last week. How will the two teams respond? If Duke is really different under David Cutcliffe (left), the Devils should fight with Navy. The Terps, who beat a pair of top 10 teams in 2007, get No.23 Cal and desperately need a shot of life after losing to a Sun Belt team.

AROUND THE NATION

By J.P. Giglio and Ken Tysiac

Key Stats

164 Yards per game Ohio State is allowing heading into today's game with Southern California.

558 Yards piled up by Southern Cal's offense against Virginia.

7 Touchdowns in two games for Michigan State running back Javon Ringer.

Unleash the fury

Don't know if Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is down on quarterback Terrelle Pryor or if he purposely was hiding the freshman in the close call to Ohio. Either way, the No.5 Buckeyes need Pryor's game-breaking ability to match top-ranked Southern Cal'sexplosiveness. Beanie Wells

Missouri and quarterback Chase Daniel are putting up ridiculous scoring numbers (52 ppg), but face a Nevada defense that held high-powered Texas Tech to a respectable 35 points.

Penn State and Syracuse get together for the first time in 18 years. Legend has it that Joe Paterno suspended the series – which was played every year from 1922 to 1990 – because the Orange kept the Nittany Lions out of the Big East. Good to see the two sides have reconciled. Too bad the 'Cuse is in the tank.

1 BCS BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SEMIFINAL. The winner of tonight's Ohio State-Southern Cal game almost certainly will be in Miami on Jan.8 in the national title game. For the Buckeyes it's the latest in a series of tests – they've failed all the others – to see if they're fast enough to compete with the nation's elite.

2 DOMINOES FOR ECU. Savvy East Carolina fans hoping for a BCS bid know Brigham Young might be the Pirates' biggest obstacle from a non-BCS conference. We might be getting way ahead of ourselves, but a BYU loss to UCLA today would help the Pirates.

3 CONFERENCE BRAGGING RIGHTS. The Pac-10 sends Oregon to Purdue and Cal to Maryland while the Big Ten could use a boost from Wisconsin (at Fresno State).

INSIDE THE SEC

By Ron Green Jr.

ARKANSAS-TEXAS

Weather forced postponement until Sept. 27. UP

CONFERENCE GAMES

Georgia-South Carolina gets to the heart of SEC football. UP

NO TIM TEBOW HIGHLIGHTS

Tebow and his Florida Gators mates are taking the weekend off. DOWN

1 What form will the South Carolina offense take against Georgia? Coach Steve Spurrier said he expects to use both quarterbacks ñ Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher ñ and likely will be without top receiver Kenny McKinley. It doesn't bode well for the Gamecocks.

2 Rice visits Vanderbilt today in a matchup that doesn't shake the foundation of college football. However, the Commodores are coming off an emotional win against South Carolina and need to handle the Owls if they're going to chase down that elusive winning season.

3 Louisiana State returns to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge today against North Texas State after dealing with the effects of Hurricane Gustav. Despite the area's too-familiar storm-related problems, being back at home will be reason to celebrate.

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Consecutive Tennessee victories at Neyland Stadium, the longest active home winning streak in the SEC.

50.5

Georgia's average scoring output through two games.

259

Number of former SEC players on NFL opening-day rosters, the most of any conference (five more than second-place ACC).

Alabama-Birmingham (0-2) at Tennessee (0-1)

12:30 P.M., NEYLAND STADIUM (WAXN, Ch.64): The Volunteers have had nearly two weeks to stew on their nationally televised loss at UCLA. Expect ìRocky Topî to played over and over in this one.

Auburn (2-0, 0-0) at Mississippi State (1-1, 0-0)

7 P.M., WADE STADIUM (ESPN2): The SEC opener for these teams will feature an Auburn defense that has allowed only 13 points. The Tigers also showed offensive balance last week with 11 players catching passes.

Western Kentucky (1-1) at Alabama (2-0)

7:07 P.M., BRYANTñDENNY STADIUM: After steamrolling Clemson, the Crimson Tide wasn't quite so impressive in a 20-6 win against Tulane. Expect Tide running backs Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram Ingram to get a workout against the Hilltoppers.

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