Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8B
By The
NUMBERS
ACC STANDINGS
ATLANTIC DIVISION
ACC All Top 25 PF PA
Florida State 5-3 7- 4 2-1 326 238
Boston College 5-3 8- 3 0-2 283 170
Clemson 4-4 7-4 3-1 297 201
N.C. State 3-5 6-5 2-1 235 212
Maryland 3-5 5-6 1-4 270 275
Wake Forest 3-5 4-7 0-3 269 316
COASTAL DIVISION
ACC All Top 25 PF PA
Virginia Tech 7-1 10-1 2-1 383 117
Miami 6-2 9-2 2-1 322 131
Georgia Tech 5-3 7-4 2-2 212 203
North Carolina 4-4 5-6 2-4 198 288
Virginia 3-5 6-5 2-3 286 248
Duke 0-8 1-10 0-4 177 408
TEAM LEADERS
Average per game
PASSING OFFENSE
Florida State............. 290.1
Maryland............... 249.1
Boston College............ 241.6
Clemson................ 234.0
Miami................. 226.0
North Carolina............ 214.3
Virginia ................ 210.8
RUSHING OFFENSE
Virginia Tech............. 204.6
Wake Forest.............. 197.6
Georgia Tech............. 156.2
Clemson................ 152.4
Boston College............ 146.6
Virginia................ 146.2
Miami................. 345.3
TOTAL OFFENSE
Florida State . 394.6
Boston College 388.2
Clemson. . . . 386.4
Maryland . . . 383.9
Virginia Tech . 380.6
Miami..... 371.3
PASSING DEFENSE
Virginia Tech 142.2
Miami.... 148.2
Florida State 183.9
Maryland . . 184.8
N.C. State . . 194.5
Georgia Tech 198.4
Duke .... 204.0
RUSHING DEFENSE
Virginia Tech. 94.6
Boston College 95.2
Georgia Tech . 98.0
Miami..... 103.9
N.C. State . . . 104.6
Florida State . 111.8
Clemson. . . . 130.0
TOTAL DEFENSE
Virginia Tech . 236.7
Miami..... 252.1
Florida State . 295.7
Georgia Tech . 296.4
N.C. State . . . 299.0
Boston College 307.3
Clemson. . . . 334.1
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Totals
PASSING YARDS
Drew Weatherford, Florida State .... 2,725
Sam Hollenbach, Maryland.......2,539
Matt Baker, North Carolina . 2,345
Kyle Wright, Miami..... 2,303
Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson 2,278
Marques Hagans, Virginia...... 2,134
Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech...... 1,907
RUSHING YARDS
Chris Barclay, Wake Forest...... . 1,127
Lance Ball, Maryland......... . . 903
P.J. Daniels, Georgia Tech...... 821
L.V. Whitworth, Boston College. . . . 748
James Davis, Clemson......... 729
Reggie Merriweather, Clemson .... 707
Andre Callender, Boston College . . . 651
RECEIVING YARDS
Vernon Davis, Maryland........ 871
Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech..... 869
Chansi Stuckey, Clemson....... 761
Deyon Williams, Virginia....... 679
Jesse Holley, North Carolina..... . . 670
Will Blackmon, Boston College .... 619
Sinorice Moss, Miami......... 604
TOTAL OFFENSE
Drew Weatherford, Florida State .... 2,704
Sam Hollenbach, Maryland . 2,521
Marques Hagans, Virginia. . 2,418
Matt Baker, North Carolina . 2,311
Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson 2,307
Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech. . 2,286
Kyle Wright, Miami..... 2,222
SCORING
Jad Dean, Clemson..... 99
Brandon Pace, Virginia Tech 95
Connor Hughes, Virginia . . 89
Sam Swank, Wake Forest. . 86
Gary Cismesia, Florida State 79
Jon Peattie, Miami..... , 76
Dan Ennis, Maryland .... 74
INTERCEPTIONS
Josh Gattis, Wake Forest...... 5
John Talley, Duke.......... 5
Marcus Hamilton, Virginia...... 5
Aaron Rouse, Virginia Tech..... 4
Garland Heath, Clemson....... 4
Philip Wheeler, Georgia Tech . . . . 4
Dawan Landry, Georgia Tech . . . . 4
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Thursday, December 1,2005
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ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
FSU vs. Virginia Tech
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Illustration by Bruce Plante E 2005
Hokies plot ACC coup
W Virginia new ith the era Florida Saturday Tech looks State night football to make as it travels dynasty it official to gasping Jacksonville's and usher for air. in a
Alltel Stadium for the inaugural ACC Championship Game.
The Seminoles dominated conference play for more than a
decade, winning at least a share of the league title 11 times from
1992-2003. Florida State appeared to be on the verge of
reclaiming supremacy by clinching a spot in the title game in early
November, but three consecutive losses to end the regular season
have forced it out of the national polls for the first time since late
November 2001 and out of contention for an at-large berth into the
Bowl Championship Series.
The Hokies received an early Christmas present front Georgia
Tech, which posted a 14-10 victory at Miami to put Virginia Tech
hack in contention for a second straight league championship.
Although Frank Beamer’s squad has won 14 of its 16 ACC games
in two years, it finally gets the opportunity to prove itself against
the conference's long-time standard bearer.
■ Records: Florida State 7-4 (5-3 ACC); Virginia Tech 10-1 (7-1
ACC). 81 Coaches: Florida State’s Bobby Bowden (358-106-4);
Virginia Tech’s Frank Beanter (187-101-4). ■ Series: Florida
State leads 20-10-1. » Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET Saturday in
Jacksonville, Fla. ■ TV: ABC.
Keys: With a change of the guard in the works, here is how
each team fares in the three phases of the game.
Offense
Florida State. The Seminoles were a victim of the Sports
Illustrated cover jinx after a 28-17come-from-hehind victory at
Boston College. The magazine’s Sept. 26 cover had a headline
(above a story touting the newfound respect between Philadelphia
Eagles teammates Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens) that read
“Florida State is rolling again.”
Just when it appeared that former quarterback Chris Rix would
become the scapegoat for the Seminoles’ woes the last four
seasons, the offense reverted back to its old fonn. and many are ■
calling for the head of coordinator Jeff Bowden. Redshirt
freshman Drew Weatherford leads the ACC in passing yards, but
an inability to run the ball effectively has placed too much
pressure on Weatherford,
In order to have a chance at regaining the ACC crown. Florida
State must keep turnovers to a minimum and compensate for an
injury-plagued offensive line that gave up five sacks in last week's
34-7 loss at Florida.
Virginia Tech. Hokies quarterback Marcus Vick knows what
the Sports Illustrated jinx feels like.
Before this year's showdown against Miami, the publication
proclaimed that the junior was better than his older brother and
former Virginia Tech standout Michael Vick. After having led the
Hokies to eight consecutive wins, Vick committed six turnovers in
an embarrassing 27-7 loss at Lane Stadium.
Vick ranks only eighth in the conference with 1,855 passing
yards, but he is the league's most efficient passer with a rating of
150.01.
Since the loss to Miami, the Hokies have gone back to playing
smash-mouth football. The conference's top-ranked ground game
accounted for 333 rushing yards and five touchdowns in a 52-14
dismantling of state rival Virginia, and 277 yards and three
touchdowns in last week’s 30-3 victory over North Carolina.
Defense
Florida State. Despite being ranked I !th nationally in total
defense, this unit has struggled over the last four weeks.
Mar yland scored 24 straight points and built a 10-point lead
before falling 35-27, N.C. State’s Andre Brown ran for 179 yards
in a 20-15 win. Charlie Whitehurst and Clemson broke a 14-14
halftime tie by lighting the Seminoles up for 21 unanswered third
quarter points, and the offense’s four turnovers last week against
Florida killed any fight left in the defense.
Since the Seminoles can’t depend on the offense, the defense
will have to come up with a couple of big plays to swing the
momentum in Florida State’s favor.
Virginia Tech. According to statistics, the Hokies have the
country’s best defensive unit.
Virginia Tech ranks first nationally in scoring defense, rushing
defense and total defense. The main objective this week will be
stopping the run and preventing the Seminoles from gaining any
semblance of balance.
Florida State averages nearly 41 pass attempts per game. If it
approaches that number, the nation’s second-best unit in terms of
passing efficiency defense should have a field day.
Special Teams
Florida State, The only saving grace for the Seminoles against
N.C. State and Clemson were the special teams.
Florida State hied to rally by blocking two punts by the
Wolfpack in the fourth quarter and forcing a safety on N.C. State's
last attempt of the game. Down 14-6 at Clemson, Lawrence
Timmons blocked a punt that Geno Hayes recovered for a
touchdown.
The Seminoles suffered a special teams breakdown last week at
Florida as Marcus Thomas blocked a 45-yard field goal attempt in
the second quarter that Reggie Lewis scooped up and took 52
yards to give the Gators a 14-0 lead. Kick protection will be
extremely crucial against Virginia Tech, a team that has built its
reputation by blocking more punts and field goals than any other
Division I-A program over the past 16 years.
Virginia Tech. While the Hokies have been known to change
the complexion of a game with big special-teams plays, the most
important thing against Florida State will be winning the field
position battle.
Virginia Tech ranks third in the conference and 28th nationally
in net punting, but the Seminoles counter with the league's top
punt return unit. Virginia Tech averages nearly 3 yards less per
punt return than Florida State, and both teams rank in the bottom
tier of the conference in kickoff returns, averaging less than 20
yards an attempt.
Junior kicker Brandon Pace has heen the Hokies' most
consistent weapon over the past two seasons. After converting 16
of 21 field goal attempts last season and earning first team All
ACC honors. Pace needs just five points to surpass Clemson’s Jad
Dean for the conference scoring lead.
2-MINUTE
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DRILL
^WSTONCOLL Head coach Tom
• O'Brien attended
the funeral of former Naval Academy
assistant coach Steve Belichick last week.
O'Brien played under Belichick, whose son
Bill has led the New England Patriots to
three Super Bowl titles in the last four
years. "He was very hard-nosed, very
demanding, but everybody knew all he
wanted to do was make you the best
possible football player, the best possible
midshipman," O'Brien said.
RUMSDN Senior quarterback
CharUe Whitehurst's
right shoulder won't keep him out of the
Tigers' bowl game. Whitehurst was
examined by famed orthopedic surgeon Dr.
James Andrews last week, and an MRI
revealed no structural damage in
Whitehurst's right shoulder. "We certainly
would not want him to play in a bowl
game if it was going to risk injury and
affect his draft status," head coach Tommy
Bowden said.
Head coach Ted Roof was the
guest speaker at a Touchdown
Club of Atlanta banquet on Nov. 28. It was
a bit of a homecoming for Roof, who
graduated from Georgia Tech and nearby
Central Gwinnett High School.
-FLORIDAST ^ or -* ustt * le fourth time
ynju . Bobby Bowden's 30
years as Florida State head coach, the
Seminoles lost games this year. Last week's
34-7 loss at Florida gave Florida State its
first three-game losing streak and first
winless November since 1981, when the
Seminoles finished 6-5.
GA. TECH Standout wide receiver
Calvin Johnson was held
to two receptions, including the Yellow
Jackets' only touchdown, for 14 yards in
last week's 14-7 loss to Georgia. "(The
Bulldogs) were rolling up to him and
doubling him is basically what they were
doing," Georgia Tech head coach Chan
Gailey said.
MARYLAND After putting together
three 10-win seasons
fr om 2001-03, the Terrapins will spend the
holidays at home for the second straight
year. In a season-ending 20-14 loss at N.C.
State, Maryland (5-6) committed four
turnovers and was credited with minus-6
yards of offense in the third quarter.
IMEAMI Place-kicking woes
continued for the Hurricanes
in last week's 25-17 victory over Virginia.
Junior Jon Peattie missed two extra
points against the Cavaliers and has failed
to convert four of his last nine attempts.
Peattie nailed the first 99 extra-point
attempts of his career.
1I€AR0LINA A 30-3 loss at VirgMa
Tech gave the Tar
Heels (5-6) their third losing season in the
last four years. "We had a tough
schedule," quarterback Matt Baker said.
"Maybe if we got a I-AA school or N.C.
State's schedule, we'd probably go to a
bowl game."
STATE A ^ eI reC01( ^ n 9 f° ul
sacks and five total
tackles for loss against Maryland,
Wolfpack defensive end Mario Williams
was named the Walter Camp Football
Foundation's National I-A Defensive Player
of the Week. Williams' 14 sacks this season
axe a school record.
OTGINIA Wide receiver Emmanuel
Byers threw a 90-yard
touchdown pass to Deyon Williams on a
reverse in the first quarter against Miami.
"We didn't see anything in the Miami
defense, we were just determined to use
all the ammo that we had and use it (the
play) when the situation arose," said
Virginia head coach Al Groh, whose
pr ogram remained winless in Florida.
TECH For the first time since the
2002 season, the Hokies
have had a pair of 100-yard rushers in
consecutive games. Senior Cedric Humes
had a career-best 134 yards on 20 carries
against North Carolina, while freshman
Branden Ore added 104 yards on 17
attempts.
MMftKE FOREST Demon Deacons
punter Ryan
Plackemeier is the consensus favorite to
win this year's Ray Guy Award.
Plackemeier, who leads the country in net
punting and average per attempt, was
named one of three finalists for the award
last week. Plackemeier had 20 of his 67
punts land inside the 20.