Coaches have been preparing him for one game, maybe even one kick, for months. The game is Saturday, against No. 1 Miami. Which kick? If it comes to that, you'll know.

Maybe by then you'll know how to say his name. Maybe you think you know it now. Well, you're wrong. Xavier Beitia doesn't pronounce his name the way you'd think -- however it is you'd think someone named Xavier Beitia would pronounce his name.

Say it with us: Sah-vee-ed Bay-thee-ah.

	“	I came here expecting this was my time. I'm pretty confident. I felt I could go in anywhere I wanted and compete, even if they had an All-American coming back. ”
		— FSU kicker Xavier Beitia

Or you could call him "X-man," as do his teammates at Florida State. Beitia is the No. 13 Seminoles' kicker, which means his destiny is to stare down a manageable field goal in the final seconds of a close game with Miami. It's not a destiny that has been terribly polite to three of his predecessors -- Dan Mowrey, Gerry Thomas and Matt Munyon -- all of whom were wide right with last-second kicks against the Hurricanes.

Beitia knows all about it. He watched Wide Right I on television. He has been asked about all three misses this week. He's not sure why.

"I wasn't part of it, know what I mean?" he said. "I'm answering questions based on other people's actions."

Those past misses have spurred the FSU coaching staff to prepare Beitia for this day since August, during two-a-days. They'd take a normally mundane practice drill and spice it up by shouting, "Gotta have this one -- three seconds left!" Or, when they really wanted to get nasty, they'd yell, "Miami's got a speed demon coming off the corner!"

This is Beitia's background music. This is also why the Seminoles recruited him, and why they recruited Scott Bentley years ago. Bentley paid off, hitting the game-winning field goal in the final minute to beat Nebraska for the 1993 national championship.

Bentley was replacing Mowrey and Thomas. Beitia is coming in for Munyon, Brett Cimorelli and Chance Gwaltney, all of whom kicked last season -- sometimes, agonizingly enough, in the same game -- but none well enough to earn coach Bobby Bowden's trust.

"We didn't need to sign another kicker who couldn't kick," Bowden said.

They signed Beitia, the Spanish-American son of a professional Jai Alai player, a true freshman from Tampa, Fla., with solid high school credentials. As a senior he was perfect on field goals inside 50 yards, and was 31-for-32 on extra points. Beitia reported to Florida State expecting to start, and start this season.

"I came here expecting this was my time," he said. "I'm pretty confident. I felt I could go in anywhere I wanted and compete, even if they had an All-American coming back."

Beitia may have won the job on his first day, when he drilled a pair of kicks through the uprights and over the netting behind them -- a feat Bowden wasn't sure had been done by the Seminoles' last great kicker, Sebastian Janikowski. Beitia was perfect in his first game, the opener against Duke, hitting seven extra points and two field goals.

Since then, though, he has given Bowden a scare. Beitia hit all three of his ensuing field goals, but has gone just 9-for-11 on extra points. One miss was blocked; one good kick, though, ricocheted in after hitting an upright. Beitia says the problem was one of timing, him getting to the holder a split-second too soon.

"No one's worried," he said.

FSU's coaches have turned up the background music this week. The Miami game looms.

"They started doing it again this week," Beitia said. "One time, it was, 'Ten seconds left, down by two, we have to beat Miami to go to the national championship.'"

The kick was 43 yards.

"I made it," he says.

Sweet music.

Around the ACC

Clemson
Clemson quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain was the head coach at N.C. State, the Tigers' opponent Saturday, from 1993-99. … Quarterback Woodrow Dantzler had produced 610 yards of offense and three touchdowns in the past two seasons against N.C. State. … The Tigers' victory two weeks ago at then-No. 9 Georgia Tech was their highest-ranked win on the road in 20 years.

Duke
Linebacker Jim Scharrer (hamstring) didn't play against Georgia Tech but is expected to play Saturday against Wake Forest. … Freshman Giuseppe Aguanno (leg), who replaced Sharrer and had six tackles, is listed as doubtful. … The Blue Devils have a nearly one-in-four shutout rate against the Deacons, posting 20 shutouts in 81 all-time games.

Florida State
Miami leads the all-time series with FSU, 24-20, but the Seminoles have won five of the last six. … The Seminoles have the nation's longest current home winning streak at 37 games. Miami holds the all-time home record of 58. … Coach Bobby Bowden's next victory will tie him for third with Pop Warner at 319. … A total of 19 players on the FSU and Miami rosters attended high school together.

Georgia Tech
The Jackets' offense is ranked ninth nationally in scoring (39.8 points per game) and total yardage (460). … Georgia Tech has won its last six home games with Maryland, only once by less than 18 points. … The teams have never met with national rankings for both sides. … With seven catches, Kelly Campbell would tie Harvey Middleton's school career record total of 165.

Maryland
First-year Terps coach Ralph Friedgen was the Jackets' offensive coordinator the previous nine seasons. … The last Maryland team to better this squad's 5-0 start was the 1978 bunch that opened 8-0 and reached No. 5 in the polls before losing three of its final four games. ... Friedgen is the only Maryland coach to open his first full season at 5-0. … In three of the first five games, national rushing leader Bruce Perry has reached the 100-yard mark by halftime.

North Carolina
Offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill held that position the last two years at Virginia, the Tar Heels' foe Saturday. … Before hiring Tranquill, UNC coach John Bunting considered former Carolina Panthers' offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave -- who now has that position at, yup, Virginia. … In an about-face, UNC quarterback Ronald Curry now says he probably will play basketball this season for the Tar Heels -- or at the least, report to practice when football season ends, and "get a feel."

N.C. State
Defensive end Corey Smith has forced six fumbles in four games, tying the Wolfpack single-season record and leading the country. … Sophomore receiver Jerricho Cotchery has caught five of quarterback Philip Rivers' last 11 passes of at least 20 yards. … Cornerback Brian Williams has picked off a pass in each of the last three games. … Tailback Ray Robinson's 31 carries against Wake Forest were the seventh-most in school history.

Virginia
The Cavs have beaten their foe Saturday, North Carolina, the last four times they have come into this game after a loss. … Most recently in Chapel Hill, Virginia won with a 50-yard field in the final 30 seconds in 1999. … At 106 years old, this is the fifth-longest rivalry in college football. … Coach Al Groh was a UNC assistant from 1973-77.

Wake Forest
Someone gets its first ACC win this week at Durham. Both Duke and Wake Forest are 0-3 in the league. … The Deacons were Duke's last victim, losing 48-35 in Durham after the Blue Devils jumped to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter. Duke has lost 17 straight since then. … Quarterback James MacPherson (leg) barely played against N.C. State and receiver Ira Williams (shoulder) didn't play at all, but both are expected to go against Duke.

Gregg Doyel covers the ACC for The Charlotte Observer and is a regular contributor for ESPN.com. He can be reached at gdoyel@charlotteobserver.com.