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BY THE NUMBERS FINAL STANDINGS ACC AU Top 25 PF PA Florida State 7-1 10-2 1-1 405 201 Maryland 6-2 9-3 0-1 365 199 Clemson 5-3 8-4 2-1 338 236 N.C. State 4-4 7-5 0-2 433 365 Virginia 4-4 7-5 1-1 341 249 Georgia Tech 4-4 6-6 1-2 222 256 Wake Forest 3-5 5-7 1-1 335 347 Duke 2-6 4-8 0-3 211 343 North Caro Una 1-7 2-10 0-1 317 459 Records against Top 25 teams reflect rankings for the week that the game was played. TEAM LEADERS Average per game TOTAL OFFENSE N.C. State 436.5 Clemson 422.3 Florida State 419.3 Maryland 413.3 North Caro Una 394.3 PASSING OFFENSE N.C. State 341.6 Clemson 286.8 Florida State 284.1 Virginia 256.7 North Caro Una 243.9 RUSHING OFFENSE Wake Forest 203.3 Maryland 195.5 Duke 172.1 North Caro Una 150.4, Georgia Tech 142.9 TURNOVER MARGIN Florida State +.58 Wake Forest +.58 Clemson +.33 Duke +.33 Virginia +.33 KICKOFF RETURNS Clemson 27.7 North Caro Una 26.6 Florida State . 23.5 Maryland 23.0 Duke 23.0 TOTAL DEFENSE Maryland 314.0 Florida State 328.8 Clemson 329.2 Georgia Tech 337.1 Duke 374.9 PASS DEFENSE Maryland 186.7 Clemson 189.5 Duke 216.9 Florida State 217.6 Virginia 221.1 RUSHING DEFENSE Florida State 111.2 Georgia Tech 113.6 Maryland 127.3 N.C. State 130.0 Clemson 139.7 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS PASSING YARDS Philip Rivers, N.C. State 4,016 Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson 3,315 Chris Rix, Florida State . 3,011 Matt Schaub, Virginia 2,708 Darian Durant, North Caro Una 2,551 PASS EFFICIENCY Philip Rivers, N.C. State 166.7 Matt Schaub, Virginia 141.6 Chris Rix, Florida State 140.9 CharUe Whitehurst, Clemson 138.8 Scott Mcßrien, Maryland 137.1 RUSHING YARDS Chris Barclay, Wake Forest 1,192 P.J. Daniels, Georgia Tech 1,140 Chris Douglas, Duke 1,138 Josh Allen, Maryland 894 Wali Lundy, Virginia 839 RECEIVING YARDS Jerricho Cotchery, N.C. State 1,198 Jonathan Smith, Georgia Tech 1,124 Craphonso Thorpe, Florida State 994 Derrick Hamilton, Clemson 957 Kevin Youngblood, Clemson 833 TOTAL OFFENSE Philip Rivers, N.C. State 4,105 Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson 3,372 Chris Rix, Florida State 3,128 Darian Durant, North Caro Una 2,947 Matt Schaub, Virginia 2,692 SCORING Xavier Beitia, Florida State 105 Nick Novak, Maryland 99 Connor Hughes, Virginia 98 Adam Kiker, N.C. State 84 Aaron Hunt, Clemson 83 INTERCEPTIONS Almondo Curry, Virginia 6 James Butler, Georgia Tech 5 Jamaal Fudge, Clemson 4 Eric King, Wake Forest 3 TACKLES Keyaron Fox, Georgia Tech 150 Terrell Smith, Duke 140 Ryan Fowler, Duke 136 Leroy Hill, Clemson 133 Our local heritage has practically vanished... a lifestyle alive only in the children will now have a chance to learn about the history of their county and perhaps see some of their relatives in this one-of-a-kind book. Ideal for collectors, gifts, history buffs, and family history. This ■KSB 128-page book with more than 300 photographs is of library quality, printed on archival paper and bound with a beautifu hard cover. Hurry, .available while supplies lastl mill iiiiiniii in ii m- P ; Pictorial ■■■■ £ History ot BETmiiJ " E_PorsythCouoty,_j J s ill I ; 11“ I Hr- aHL* Jf S I f 1 ' ' - I^L : . ' • PART TWO Bowl Previews \ \ <lll 1 1\ A \ A. j Jr | iCSI II n I I * T/ I V ijir st I* 1 ® 11 j Illustration by Bruce Plante ® 2003 The ACC goes bowling Orange Bowl (Jan. 1) Miami vs. Florida State (Miami) The Orange Bowl doesn’t represent the end of the 2003 season for Miami and Florida State, but signals the dawning of a new era in Atlantic Coast Conference football. The big story in college athletics before the whole Bowl Championship Series controversy erupted was the issue of conference expansion. Miami, along with Virginia Tech and Boston College, bolted the Big East conference in favor of the ACC this fall. The Hurricanes won the Big East championship in their final year of league play. However, consecutive losses to Virginia Tech and Tennessee cost Miami any chance of playing in its third consecutive national championship game. The consolation prize is a rematch with Florida State, a team Miami beat 22-14 at Doak Campbell Stadium on Oct. 11. With the addition of Miami, Florida State is no longer the sole dominant ACC power. It’s no longer a given that the Seminoles, who have lost four straight to the Hurricanes, will just waltz to the conference title. This is more than a rivalry or a second chance for the seniors to earn their first victory over the hated Hurricanes. FSU has an opportunity to show the new kid on the block that it will stand its ground. Well, at least until the two teams meet in the 2004 season opener on Labor Day. ■ Records: Miami 10-2 (6-1 Big East); Florida State 10-2 (7-1 ACC). ■ Series: Miami leads 27-20. ■ Coaches: Miami’s Larry Coker (34-3); Florida State’s Bobby Bowden (342-98-4). ■ Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. ■ TV: ABC. Keys for Miami: Prevent FSU from running the ball. The Seminoles managed only 61 yards on 37 carries in the earlier loss to Miami.... Quarterback Brock Berlin, who threw three interceptions against the Seminoles, must be efficient or Coker will pull him in favor of Derrick Crudup.... Score points in the red zone. In six chances inside the 20 during the October game, the Hurricanes settled for three Jon Peattie field goals (27,22 and 19) and failed to score on two other possessions. Keys for Florida State: Account for Kellen Winslow, who won the 2003 John Mackey Award for the being the nation’s best tight end. Winslow had seven catches for 106 yards in the first matchup.... Keep the pressure off quarterback Chris Rix. Rix had four turnovers and was sacked three times by the Hurricanes. ... Convert Miami’s mistakes into points. Peach Bowl (Jan. 2) Tennessee vs. Clemson (Atlanta) If Clemson doesn’t bust out the purple jerseys for the third time this season, the Georgia Dome will be awash in orange as the Tigers take on Tennessee. Besides proving who’s the best orange-clad team in the South, conference bragging rights are also at stake with the ACC-SEC season series tied at four. Although the sixth-ranked Volunteers picked up big wins against Florida and Miami, one play prevented them from playing in the SEC Championship Game and getting a chance at a BCS bid. With Georgia leading 13-7, quarterback Casey Clausen fumbled and Georgia’s Sean Jones went 92 yards for a touchdown with no time left in the first half. Fueled by Jones’ touchdown, Georgia proceeded to thump the Vols 41-14. No one expected the Tigers to be playing past New Year’s Day after a devastating 45-14 loss to Wake Forest in early November, but Clemson rebounded and closed the season with three straight wins. Tommy Bowden’s squad looked nothing like a 5-4 team as it blew out Florida State, Duke and South Carolina one after another. ■ Records: Tennessee 10-2 (6-2 SEC East); Clemson 8-4 (5-3 ACC). ■ P .-lies: Tennessee leads 11-5-2. ■ Coaches: Tennessee’s Phil Fulmer (113-27); Clemson’s Tommy Bowden (55-28). ■ Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. EST. ■ TV: ESPN. Keys for Tennessee: Consistency from quarterback Casey Clausen, who’s been up and down all year.... Use punter Dustin Colquitt and his 45.9 yards per kick average to win the field position battle.... Continue to play well against the pass. In the last three games, starting quarterbacks have thrown for a combined 308 yards against Tennessee. Keys for Clemson: Get off to a good start as it has done in the past three games.... Stop the 1-2 punch of Tennessee running backs Cedric Houston and Jabari Davis, who have combined for 1,279 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.... Generate something off the return game. Clemson finished second nationally in kickoff return average (27.7 yards a return). Humanitarian Bowl (Jan. 3) Tulsa vs. Georgia Tech (Boise, Idaho) Going to Boise, Idaho, in early January may not seem like a major reward for a successful season, but it’s a major accomplishment for these two schools. First-year head coach Steve Kragthorpe has led a Tulsa program, which had a record of 19-60 from 1996-2002, to an 8-4 season and the school’s first bowl bid since the 1991 Freedom Bowl. The Golden Hurricane was picked by most to finish at the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference, but has been successful thanks to a ground game that ranked 16th nationally in 2003. Georgia Tech is in a little bit of funk after dropping its final two regular season games, but Chan Gailey has done a remarkable job to get the program to its seventh consecutive bowl game after losing 10 players to grades last spring. ■ Records: Tulsa 8-4 (6-2 WAC); Georgia Tech 6-6 (4-4 ACC). ■ Series: Tied 1-1. ■ Coaches: Tulsa’s Steve Kragthorpe (8-4); Georgia Tech’s Chan Gailey (37-23). ■ Kickoff: Noon EST. ■ TV: ESPN. Keys for Tulsa: Stop Georgia Tech receiver Jonathan Smith. In Tulsa’s regular season finale, San Jose State’s Tuati Wooden had 15 receptions for 179 yards.... Offensive line must be up for the challenge presented by a defense that’s 21st nationally against the run.... Force turnovers. The Golden Hurricane is 16th in the nation in turnover margin, while Georgia Tech was eighth in the ACC. Keys for Georgia Tech: A big game from running back P.J. Daniels, who had 1,140 yards this season.... Protect quarterback Reggie Ball, who suffered a concussion against Georgia. The Yellow Jackets gave up 27 sacks in 2003.... Sophomore defensive end Eric Henderson, who was second in the ACC in tackles for loss, has to get into the Tulsa backfield. FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Wednesday, December 17,2003 I c 2003 Longwing Publications Inc. 11 2-IWINUTE S® «•* ' ®®®«® st t •••■• ®«.® ® < ! ••• ••• ® «®« « » ®«® ®®®»® ®. • « : «® ® ®«®'. t S «®« *® •••• ®«® * ®*®';< > ® < » ®»® «. *••••«* i »♦ . ®® - e®«® ••• lIMII I - ..... M&EMSDN Associate athletics director and ticket manager Van Hilderbrand said the university has received orders for more than 33,000 tickets for the Peach Bowl. Clemson received an allotment of 20,000 tickets and will have to issue refunds for only the second time in 20 years. "We are delighted with the tremendous interest in this game from our fans," Hilderbrand said. "I haven't seen demand like this since the 1982 Orange Bowl, when we were playing Nebraska for the national championship." fWMIDAST. ® obb A ßow^ e k ndo ! sn ' t think he will have to do much to motivate the Seminoles in the Orange Bowl. "There are a lot of positives to playing Miami," Bowden said. "We thought we would be heading out West. I know our kids are excited. It brings meaning to the game. When you aren't playing for a national championship or a conference championship, the next best thing to motivate you is playing Miami or Florida. That will motivate you." After earning victories in five of six meetings with the Hurricanes from 1993-'9B, the Seminoles have lost four straight to the Hurricanes. TECH Th e honors continue to roll in for quarterback Reggie Ball. Ball was named a second team Freshman All-America by the Sporting News after setting Tech freshman records for passing yards (1,980) and total offense (2,372). Ball, who won the ACC's Rookie of the Week award five times in the 2003 season, was the first Yellow Jacket true freshman to start behind center in a season opener and started all 12 games. Starting defensive tackle Mansfield Wrotto earned third-team Freshman All- America honors from the magazine. Wrotto was credited with three tackles for a loss, one sack and a fumble recovery this season. TENNESSEE Captains Casey clausen Michael Munoz, Constantin Ritzmann and Scott Wells, along with four teammates, were among the 12 student athletes who participated in graduation ceremonies on Dec. 14. Linebacker and co-captain Kevin Burnett earned his degree in sport management last spring and is currently working on his master's degree. "These guys have been great leaders for us, both on and off the field," said head coach Phillip Fulmer, who joked that he missed the eight players, who were excused from practice for graduation. "They helped us overcome a couple of tough early season losses and led this team to a six-game winning streak. I'm proud of them for that and I'm equally proud of their performance in the classroom. Tennessee captains have, nearly to a man, gone on to accomplish great things, serving their communities well.” Tin c; a Head coach steve Kragthorpe was named the Western Athletic Conference's Coach of the Year and eight players were named either first- or second-team all-conference. Tulsa, which averages 408 yards a game including 212 rushing, started the season 0-2 and was 3-5 before ending the season with five straight victories. "Tulsa is a very good football team that is playing very well right now," said Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey. "They are one of the great stories in college football this season with the turnaround they've had. They are a very balanced offense, and they probably run the ball as well as any team we've faced this season." MI AMT For the third time in its history, the Orange Bowl will feature a matchup between two teams that played each other during the regular season. LSU avenged a 28-13 loss to Texas AB.M with a 19-14 victory in 1944 and Oklahoma beat Nebraska by seven in the 1979 contest after falling to the Comhuskers by three in the regular season. The Orange Bowl, which will be played at Pro Player Stadium, will mark the first time that Miami and Florida State have met for a game at a neutral site. "I know our players and our coaching staff relish the challenge to take on one of college football's finest programs," Miami head coach Larry Coker said. "This is a rivalry that is always fierce, but also one in which both programs have a tremendous level of mutual respect." PAGE 3B