About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2018)
SPORTS The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Thursday, November 8, 2018 3B COLLEGE FOOTBALL NFL Coastal chaos STEVE HELBER I Associated Press Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) slips the tackle of Virginia linebacker Chris Peace, background, during a game on Friday, Nov. 2 in Charlottesville. ACCs Coastal Division as hectic as ever BY TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The only Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Divi sion teams that have yet to appear in the league’s championship game are Pitts burgh and Virginia. Pitt leads the Coastal right now. Virginia sits alone in second place. Go figure. There’s Coastal chaos, again. While the Atlantic Division has a clear frontrunner — Clemson, which can lock up its fourth consecutive berth in the ACC title game if it wins at Boston College on Satur day night — the Coastal is what seems to be its annual mess. Pitt is alone in first at 4-1, and Virginia is a half-game back of the Panthers at 4-2. If Pitt beats Virginia Tech on Saturday the Panthers will grab total division control of the race; if the Hokies win, there will be a three-way tie atop the division with two games left. “I’m not even starting to try to do any kind of math regarding the Coastal,” Miami coach Mark Richt said. Here’s the easy math: If Pitt beats Vir ginia Tech and then tops either Wake For est or Miami, the Panthers win the Coastal. If the Hokies win this weekend, grab your calculators and tiebreaker rule break downs because there will be a three-way tie with two games left — and potentially two teams just one game back in the loss col umn behind that logjam. But the Panthers will not be obsessing about the importance of this weekend’s game against the Hokies from a Coastal perspective. “I’m not going to address it,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “There’s still a bunch of hungry teams sitting below us. Doesn’t really matter. I know they read on Twitter, all that stuff. I guess I don’t have to address it. I’m going to address what we need to take care of, is the business at hand. All that doesn’t matter if we don’t do what we need to.” This will be the 12th time in 14 seasons of ACC divisional play that the Coastal champ has lost at least one league game. There’s been a two- or three-league-loss champion of the Coastal five times in that span. A three-way Coastal tie at 5-3 this sea son? It’s possible if Pitt loses this weekend. Technically, so is a four-way tie at 5-3, but that would require Duke winning out — and Clemson is one of the three teams left on the Blue Devils’ schedule, so that seems unlikely at best. Reigning Coastal champ Miami could still get to 5-3, and if they get into the right tiebreaker the Hurricanes somehow have ways to win the division. Virginia is taking the week off from ACC play. The Cavaliers play host to Liberty this week in their home finale, and Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall insisted he’s not thinking about Coastal permutations. He acknowledged that there’s a two- game “fight to the end” awaiting in the Coastal after this week, and that was as far as he went. “Having said that, I really won’t address anything other than the Liberty game going forward,” Mendenhall said. “That’s what I’ve shared with the team. Now our focus is to play the best football we can this week with that being our only focus. ” Pittsburgh and Virginia are the latest examples of teams that seemed to come from nowhere and announce themselves as serious contenders for a spot in the con ference title game. Neither team got a single Coastal first- place vote out of 148 ballots cast in the ACC preseason poll, and Virginia could be the second team in the last six years to be picked last but end up winning the division. Duke pulled that off in 2013. “We haven’t done anything yet,” Nar duzzi said. “We really haven’t done any thing. We got a long way to go.... Premature victories are no good. We’re not looking for one, either.” If Pitt or Virginia wins the Coastal, it’ll mark a sixth different school winning the division in the last six years. Meanwhile, in the Atlantic it’s been either Florida State or Clemson as division champ in every sea son since 2009 — and the Tigers seem very poised to have that streak reach 10 years and counting. Richt thinks the Coastal is in a cycle where experience matters, and some years some teams just don’t have enough of that. “No one has jumped out in regard to out-recruiting, out-developing the other group,” Richt said. “That’s what we want to become. We want to become that team. ” SEC ■ Continued from B1 Stoops said. “That gets to be the challenge as you get through the grind of the season. You get late in the year here, sometimes that monotony sets in, and we can’t let that happen.” ANOTHER TEXAS A&M NOSEDIVE? One reason Texas A&M fired coach Kevin Sumlin after last season was the Aggies always seemed to fall apart in November. Turns out the new coach might have the same problem. First-year coach Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies (5-4,3-3) are trying to bounce back from a two- game losing skid when they host Ole Miss on Saturday. “Learning to win is a learned behavior,” Fisher said. “Learning to dominate a game is a learned behavior. And we have to put ourselves in those experiences as much as we possibly can to under stand how to do that.” TENNESSEE, VANDERBILT BOWL ELGIBLITY After going winless in SEC competition last year, Tennessee (4-5, 1-4) has a chance to become bowl eligible in Jeremy Pruitt’s debut season as coach. The Vols must win two of their last three games — they host Ken tucky and Missouri the next two weeks before visiting Vanderbilt. “We worked really hard this off season just trying to make changes from where we made mistakes last year,” Tennessee linebacker Dar rin Kirkland Jr. said. “It was definitely disappoint ing being at home last year during the Christmas and bowl season. We’ve definitely worked really hard to get back on that stage.” Vanderbilt (4-5, 1-4) has similar hopes and travels to Missouri this week before hosting Ole Miss and Tennessee. Don’t be surprised if a bowl bid is at stake Nov. 24 when Vanderbilt hosts Tennessee to end the regular season. “It’s November,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said. “It’s winning time.” ARKANSAS’ LAST CHANCES It’s been a rough season for Arkansas and first-year coach Chad Mor ris, which could finish with a win less SEC record for the first time since 2013. The Razorbacks (2-7,0-5) have been competitive in sev eral league games, especially against Texas A&M and Ole Miss. But their schedule down the stretch is not easy: They host No. 9 LSU on Saturday before travelling to face No. 18 Mississippi State and Missouri in the final two games. DREW LOCK MOVING UP CHARTS Lock has 11,089 career yards passing to rank sixth in SEC history. Lock has no shot at breaking former Georgia quarter back Aaron Murray’s SEC record of 13,166, but the Missouri senior should get to second place on the list. Fisher NELL REDMOND I Associated Press Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton runs with the football in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 4 in Charlotte, N.C. Panthers, Steelers aim to stay hot in primetime BY WILL GRAVES Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Cam Newton spent a portion of the summer studying Ben Roethlisberger and work ing out alongside Antonio Brown, something the Caro lina Panthers quar terback did out of a mix of curiosity and respect. Newton found himself enamored of Roethlisberg- er’s footwork — “The play is never over for Big Ben” — and Brown’s relentlessness. “He’s literally like a noc turnal beast,” Newton said of Brown. “I thought I was bad.... We had late workouts. I’m talking like 10 p.m-.ish. It was like our second or third one of the day. Whenever he feels the urge to work, he works and I respect it.” Newton will get an up- close look at Roethlisberger, Brown and the rest of the Steelers (5-2-1) when the Panthers (6-2) make a rare trip to Pittsburgh. Maybe it’s the workouts with Brown. Maybe it’s the rapport he’s developed with offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Maybe it’s the emergence of running back Christian McCaffrey. Whatever it is, Newton is in the midst of his finest season since winning league MVP in 2015. Maybe that’s why Roeth lisberger just laughed when asked if there’s any wis dom he might pass along to Newton. “I do not need to give him advice,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s Superman.” A Man of Steel who could be a handful for a resilient Pittsburgh defense. The Steelers were a hot mess during the first month of the season but have fig ured out things during their four-game winning streak. Pittsburgh is allowing just 275.5 yards per game over the last month. That’s from a combination of the rapid cohesion of a revamped sec ondary and spending less time on the field thanks to an offense starting to hog the ball behind second-year running back James Conner. Still, the Panthers present their own unique challenge. Carolina might be the NFL’s closest approximation to a throwback. The Pan thers have run for at least 121 yards in seven of eight games, with Newton serving as the catalyst. At 29 he’s on pace for a career high in rushing attempts, a mixture of Turner’s creative play calling and Newton’s pragmatic approach to when he tucks the ball and takes off. While he’s still happy to deliver a shot now and then, he’s more likely to slide before getting hit. Pittsburgh, fourth in the league in sacks, is deter mined to make sure Newton doesn’t get loose. “There’s no way he can duck 10 bullets,” Steelers defensive tackle Cam Hey ward said. “If everybody is shooting their shot, someone is bound to hit. That’s got to be group effort.... It’s a heck of a test.” Some things to watch for as Pittsburgh looks to extend its hot streak while Carolina searches for the franchise’s first win in the Steel City: LE’VEON WHO? Wayward Steelers run ning back Le’Veon Bell is nearing the end of his months-long standoff with the club. He has until Nov. 13 to report and sign his one-year franchise tender if he wants to make sure he accrues the service time necessary to hit the open market next spring. After some initial angst, Bell’s teammates have moved on. Conner is thriving in Bell’s absence. He’s second in the league in total yards and is the first player in team his tory to have 10 total touch downs through eight games. “James Conner has been rolling and bulldozing peo ple,” Brown said. GIMME THAT Carolina is winning the turnover battle. The Pan thers have been even or pos itive in turnovers in seven of eight games and are 6-1 in those games. They are 5-0 when winning the turnover battle outright. Carolina is fourth in the league in turnover differ ential with a plus-8, sixth in points off turnovers (51), seventh in total takeaways (15), and tied for fourth in interceptions (11) behind speedy rookie cornerback Donte Jackson, who has four picks. Since 2015, Carolina leads the NFL with 102 take aways and is second with 62 interceptions. FEISTY FEILER Pittsburgh right tackle Matt Feiler will likely make his third straight start in place of injured Marcus Gilbert. An undrafted free agent, Feiler is thriving while opening up holes for Conner and helping keep Roethlisberger clean. Roeth lisberger has been sacked twice during Pittsburgh’s winning streak. Feiler’s suc cess isn’t exactly unprec edented. Three members of Pittsburgh’s current starting offensive line — Feiler, left guard Ramon Foster and left tackle Alejandro Villan ueva — all went undrafted. “It’s how we’re built,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “It’s what we expect, and (Feiler) is just the lat est example of a guy that is meeting that expectation like we talked about. He’s capable, so it’s understand able to expect those types of performances from him.” STOPPING ADDISON Future Hall of Famer Julius Peppers may have more name power, but Mario Addison has been the more productive defensive end for Carolina. Addison leads the team with 7 sacks, including a sack trifecta last week against Tampa Bay. Over the past 38 games, Addison has 28 sacks. “I’m a pretty strong guy,” said the 6-foor-3, 260-pound Addison. “People underesti mate me because I look kind of small, but I pack a punch. By the time they miss and my hands get on the inside of them, I’m running them back and they’re like ‘Dang, this guy’s stronger than I thought.’” FALCONS ■ Continued from 1B for Irvin. “It’s pretty rare you get to play in your home city,” Quinn said. “He recognized that might be a special moment for him and he really is challenged.” Quinn said Irvin also is motivated to show he can be a successful pass-rushing end after being waived by the Raiders. “He really is ready to prove it,” Quinn said, add ing often a player’s “most memorable competitive moments are in prove-it times, so I love it he feels he’s got some things to prove and really wants to play well. That’s what we talked about.” The Falcons’ defense had more good news on Wednesday. Linebacker Deion Jones, who has been on injured reserve since suffering a foot injury in the season-opening loss at Philadelphia, returned to practice. He is not eligible to return until next week’s game against Dallas and has not been placed on the active roster. “It’s going to be awe some,” said Beasley of Jones’ return. “We’ve been waiting on him to come back. He’s a definite leader on the defensive side of the ball and not just the defense, on this team. There are a lot of guys who look up to him.” Quinn said Jones’ snaps in practice will be watched closely this week. He said he has no timetable on Jones being cleared for a game. The Falcons (4-4) have won three straight despite losing starting safeties Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal to season-ending inju ries. Starting guards Andy Levitre and Brando Fusco and running back Devonta Freeman also are on IR. Irvin played with Seattle when Quinn was the team’s defensive coordinator. Irvin had three sacks with Oakland, but played only nine snaps in a 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night. Irvin (6-3, 250) played four seasons with Seattle before joining the Raiders in 2016. He had eight sacks as a rookie in 2012 and matched that career high with Oak land in 2017. He set a career high with six forced fumbles in 2016. His 11 forced fumbles since the start of the 2016 season are the most in the NFL in that span. For his career, Irvin has 40 sacks and 15 forced fumbles. Oakland was expected to enter the season with Irvin and Khalil Mack leading the defense as bookend pass rushers. Instead, Mack was traded to Chicago a week before the season for a package of draft picks following a lengthy holdout. The Raiders rank last in the league with seven sacks.
