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| Wednesday, November 8 Notre Dame could take BCS bowl bid from Hokies By Bill Doherty Special to ESPN.com | |||||
Al Gore and George W. Bush weren't the only ones with eyes focused on fluctuating poll numbers early this week. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, whose team dropped six slots in the BCS poll after a 20-point loss to Miami this past Saturday, was campaigning for a spot in a BCS bowl rather than a spot in the Gator Bowl.
Boston College Oddly enough, it's Boston College's 10th game of the season, but Saturday's nationally televised game vs. No. 12 Notre Dame will be the Eagles' first of the year on natural grass. ... For the Eagles, senior quarterback Tim Hasselbeck sprained his right knee vs. Temple in the second quarter last Saturday and will miss at least this Saturday's game at Notre Dame. "Whether it's a two-week, three-week or four-week (layoff), we don't know that yet," BC coach Tom O'Brien said Monday after announcing the MRI on Hasselbeck showed a sprained medial collateral ligament. "He still has swelling and I think we'll know better the Sunday before the Miami game (after Notre Dame and a bye week), but he definitely cannot play this weekend. It's no different than any other sprained knee. It's going to be a question of the swelling going down, mobility and how he feels." ... Sophomore Brian St. Pierre will get the starting nod and was eight for 12 against Temple last Saturday for 118 yards and one TD. St. Pierre had been playing the first possession of the second quarter of each game the past two seasons and has completed 30 of 45 passes for 369 yards and two touchdowns. Miami Despite its impressive win over Virginia Tech, Miami (7-1) remains third in the latest BCS poll, behind No.1 Oklahoma (which faces a toughie this weekend at No. 24 Texas A&M) and 9-1 Florida State (a team the Canes beat a month ago). While Florida State's lead over the Hurricanes has shrunk from 2.44 points to 0.39 points, Miami will be hard-pressed to catch FSU, if both teams win out. Florida State finishes with ACC weakling Wake Forest and then in-state power Florida, which is fifth this week in the BCS. Miami finishes with Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Boston College -- none of which are ranked in the top 40 of this week's BCS. "Obviously, as we've told the kids, if you keep winning that's the ultimate thing," Miami coach Butch Davis said. "That's the only thing we have any control over." ... Cornerback Leonard Myers remains hobbled by a sprained arch on his right foot. "If Leonard played a different position, like linebacker or offensive line, the injury might not be as serious," Davis said. "But, as a defensive back, he pushes off and changes directions so much that it puts a lot of pressure on his feet." ... Miami's 41-21 win over Virginia Tech once again illustrated that the Hurricanes probably have the best set of offensive tackles in the college game in juniors Bryant McKinnie (6-9, 330) and Joaquin Gonzalez (6-5, 290). "They certainly complement each other well," Davis said. "Joaquin came to us as a walk-on and has built himself into a great player. He's extremely smart. He turned down the opportunity to go to several Ivy League schools for the chance to stay home and play for us. Bryant is the puppy of the offensive line. He has limited experience, but he's 6-9, 330 pounds and is a real good athlete. Obviously, he has a bright, bright future." Pittsburgh Things don't get any easier for the Panthers, which must rebound from last Saturday's disappointing 20-17 home loss to North Carolina. Walt Harris' team faces No.2 Miami this Saturday. "We're playing a real good team, rock solid in every area," Harris said. "I love their running backs and offensive line. The defense has great speed and in the secondary it's lights out." .. Pittsburgh is a little banged up at the free safety spot. Starter Ramon Walker suffered a knee injury vs. Virginia Tech a couple games ago and will be unavailable. His backup, Corey Humphries, suffered a stinger against North Carolina, but should be ready for the Hurricanes. ... Quarterback David Priestley came off the bench to relieve a battered John Turman in the North Carolina game, but there is no quarterback controversy in Pittsburgh. "John got pounded pretty good and in the first half," Harris said. "He took some IVs at halftime. He's a diabetic. When he was warming up to start the second half, John didn't seem to be himself. So, I went with a relief pitcher. But make no mistake, John's still our man." ... Pittsburgh's splendid sophomore Antonio Bryant had 212 receiving yards vs. North Carolina, boosting his nation's best average to 148.86 yards per game. Bryant, a Miami native, returns home this weekend needing 90 yards to set the Big East single-season receiving record, which former Syracuse and current Indianapolis Colts standout Marvin Harrison holds with 1,131. Rutgers With the decisions of Rutgers coach Terry Shea and West Virginia's Don Nehlen to step down at season's end, this week's Rutgers-West Virginia game is being referred to as the "Lame Duck Bowl." Nehlen is resigning after 21 years at West Virginia, while Shea is being forced out after five at Rutgers. Nehlen came to Shea's defense, and Shea spoke glowingly of Nehlen on Monday's Big East coaches conference call. Nehlen on Shea: "It cuts my guts out to see a guy like Terry lose his job. It really bothers me." Shea on Nehlen: "The game will miss one of its giants, not just as a coach, but as a human being as well. I've got a great deal for Don Nehlen both as a man and a football coach." ... On the injury front, Rutgers has lost gifted defensive end Will Burnett for the season and will likely be without wide receiver Walter King this week against West Virginia. ... The Newark Star Ledger is reporting that months before Terry Shea announced his resignation that Rutgers athletic director Robert Mulcahy canvassed some of the state's top high school coaches, quizzing them for names of potential candidates and asking about what qualities they would want to see in the head football coach of the state university. Syracuse Syracuse's redshirt freshman quarterback R.J. Anderson made his first collegiate start last week at West Virginia, completing 18 of 33 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning connection with sophomore wide receiver Malik Campbell on a 13-yard fade pattern with 10 seconds remaining in the game. Anderson, who wears Donovan McNabb's old number 5, reminds some of the former Syracuse great, thanks to his ability to pressure a defense with his arm and his legs. Against West Virginia, Anderson carried the ball 14 times for 64 yards, including a four-yard touchdown run, and had one reception. "Robin looked like a real quarterback against West Virginia, demonstrating great poise on that game-winning drive," said Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni, whose team is 4-4 overall and 2-2 in Big East play. "He has a chance to be a real good one, but he has to keep working and improving." ... Pass rusher supreme Dwight Freeney (13 sacks in 2000) will definitely return to action this week after missing the West Virginia game due to an infection and high temperature. Freeney has notched at least one sack in eight consecutive games. Temple With its 31-3 loss to Boston College last Saturday, Temple fell below the .500 mark for the first time this season. Next up is a noon date with Syracuse (4-4, 2-2), a team that Owls haven't beaten since 1983. ... Quarterback Devin Scott left the BC game in the second quarter with what was initially thought to be a jaw injury. "Devin suffered a concussion against Boston College," said Temple coach Bobby Wallace. "At first, we thought he might have broken his jaw but he suffered a concussion. We'll continue to evaluate him over the course of the week and make a decision on our starting quarterback later in the week." If Scott can't go, then fellow junior Mike Frost, who is far less mobile than Scott (read: and would seem to be a sitting duck for Syracuse's sensational set of rush ends Dwight Freeney and Duke Pettijohn) will get the nod. Neither Scott nor Frost (both 5 for 12 passing for a combined 126 yards and three INTs) was successful against Boston College. ... While on-the-field success has been tough to come by the past month-and-a-half (the Owls have lost four of their past five games), Temple picked up a huge off-the field "W" when 6-5, 330-pound Yohance Perry from Iona Prep in New Rochelle, N.Y. verbally committed to the Owls late last week. Perry, one of the top players in Westchester County, picked Temple despite visiting Penn State, Boston College and Wake Forest. Virginia Tech Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer doesn't expect to have receiver Andre Davis available for the eighth-ranked Hokies' game Saturday at Central Florida (7-3) on Saturday in Orlando. He's not sure yet about quarterback Michael Vick either. Both played sparingly and ineffectively in the Hokies' 41-21 loss to Miami. Both are dealing with ankle sprains. Davis has also been hobbled by bursitis near his left heel. The good news? Tech is off after the Central Florida game. It closes the regular season Nov. 25 against Virginia. "I don't think Davis will play this week," Beamer said. Beamer called Vick "questionable" for Saturday. Senior Dave Meyer is expected to start at quarterback. ... Beamer is more than concerned about Central Florida, which took Georgia Tech to the wire in a 21-17 loss in Atlanta on Sept.2 and upset Alabama 40-38 in Tuscaloosa a week ago Saturday. "They haven't lost at home, this is their last game. They've got good players because most of their players are from the state of Florida and there's just lot of players in that state. This is just a good, good football team," Beamer said. "Meanwhile, we're still scrambling around here with injuries and trying to figure who's playing and who's not playing. So there's a lot for me to worry about." West Virginia Don Nehlen's sudden retirement announcement, which takes effect at the end of the season, sent shock waves through the Big East coaching fraternity. Nehlen, who needs one victory to become the fifth active coach with 200 career victories, had offered nary a hint of his move. The Mountaineers have three games left. Nehlen, who said his staff has gotten 10 solid verbal commitments and is close on four or five others, said he made the announcement now so WVU could move quickly. "We wanted to have a coach ready," Nehlen said. "We didn't want to wait until two, three weeks after the season." ... Nehlen was asked the obvious question: Why leave now? "You know, it's hard to coach any place for 21 years," he said. "And it's especially hard at a small state like West Virginia. My last report on recruits said the only state that had less high school football players sign Division I contracts was Maine. And we don't play them." Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said he hated to see Nehlen go. "I think that's going to be one of those deals where they're going to realize how important Don Nehlen was to West Virginia after he's gone," Beamer said. Beamer's right. Despite the lack of a strong in-state talent base, Nehlen put West Virginia football on the map, got a top-notch stadium and weight room built, and consistently has done more with less. ... Of course, Nehlen wants the job to stay within the "West Virginia family." That means Clemson offensive coordinator Rich Rodriquez (who played at West Virginia between 1982 and 1984), George Henshaw (Tennessee Titans assistant head coach and a former WVU teammate of the athletic director), North Carolina assistant coach Doc Holiday (an assistant coach to Nehlen at West Virginia from 1983-99) and current WVU defensive coordinator Steve Dunlap will be in the pool of guys to replace Nehlen. Bill Doherty covers Big East football for ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE ACC notebook Northwestern still in the running for the Roses Big 12 notebook Big West notebook Mountain West notebook Pac-10 notebook WAC notebook | ||||
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