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Colleges
ACC notebook
By Brian Landman
Published August 31, 2007
Special day
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer knows this year's opener will be more meaningful than any other in the school's history.
Sorry East Carolina. It has nothing to do with you.
The noon game in Blacksburg will be the first time Hokie fans will be able to huddle en masse since the tragic shooting on campus in April left 33 people dead, including the troubled student who went on the rampage that stunned the tight-knit community and the nation.
"When you kick off, it's going to be Virginia Tech and East Carolina and whoever plays the best is going to win the football game," Beamer said, "but I think the fact that you've got 66,000 people in (Lane) Stadium caring about each other and however many we have out there for (ESPN's) GameDay showing their care and concern for each other, that's going to be the biggest thing."
Back when I worked with Brett ...
You'll have to forgive new Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski if, from time to time, he mentions to senior quarterback Matt Ryan how his old quarterback did things.
His old QB? Brett Favre; Jagodzinski was the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator last year.
"Coach Jags has learned a lot from coaching Brett Favre and he's incorporated that into teaching the quarterbacks now," said Ryan, the ACC preseason player of the year after leading the league with 2,942 passing yards last season. "I'm very appreciative of that."
While Jagodzinski admits to sharing funny stories about Favre occasionally, he doesn't constantly preface his teachings with, "Well, at Green Bay, we did ..."
"Why would I?" he asked. "We're B.C. I don't think the guys need to hear that stuff. I want them to know I'm with them."
Rampage of runners
Georgia Tech senior Tashard Choice led the ACC in rushing last season (1,473 yards), but he's not exactly a household name. Blame former teammate, receiver Calvin Johnson.
"Calvin was amazing; he was a freak of nature," Choice said of the No.??2 pick in April's NFL draft. "That type of player only comes (once) every 30 or 40 years. He's going to be one of the great ones to play in the NFL. He overshadowed everyone and rightfully so."
This year, Choice will be the offense's first choice. But he might not be the best in the league. Consider this roster of backs around the league and their stats from 2006:
Player (team) Yds Avg. TDs
Tashard Choice (Georgia Tech) 1473 5.0 12
James Davis (Clemson) 1187 5.8 17
Branden Ore (Virginia Tech) 1137 4.7 16
C.J. Spiller (Clemson) 938 7.3 10
Lance Ball (Maryland) 815 4.7 8
Javarris James (Miami) 802 4.6 4
L.V. Whitworth (BC) 791 4.5 4
Toney Baker (NCS) 688 4.4 6
Andre Brown (NCS) 658 5.3 4
Antone Smith (FSU) 456 5.2 5
Micah Andrews (WF)* 256 4.4 2
* Injured and missed last 11 games.
Cover guy
After sitting in the darkened studio for a while, waiting for the photographer to frame the perfect portrait, Virginia senior defensive end Chris Long just tried to look normal.
That means his powerful arms are crossed and an unshaven Long is glaring straight at you threateningly.
"The mean face just naturally comes out," he said with a gentle laugh of the picture that serves as the cover for the Virginia media guide.
And he seems like a natural to be the face - mean or otherwise - of this year's Cavaliers' team. He's more than a name (you might have heard of his famous football-playing dad, Howie). He has the game. The 6-foot-4, 279-pound Long, a captain for the second straight year, is up for almost every major defensive award.
"It's great. I never would have imagined being in this position," he said. "I can't say it enough. It's a testament to the people around me. If I can represent my teammates well, then I'd love to be the face of the team. But I think there's a lot of guys who can represent our team equally as well."
By the numbers
0 - Career head coaching wins by Boston College's Jeff Jagodzinski and Miami's Randy Shannon.
5.5 - Games Wake Forest improved by last year (11-3) from 2005 in winning the ACC title. The Demon Deacons own the ACC record for single-season turnaround with a 6.5-game improvement in 1979.
17 - Consecutive ACC losses by Duke.
198 - Career wins by Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, third among active Division I-A coaches.
366 - Career wins by Florida State's Bobby Bowden, first all-time among Division I-A coaches.
Games for respect
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden will tell you the ACC is every bit as tough, top to bottom, as any other league. But if he and his brethren want to convert the skeptics, here are some image-making - or image-breaking - September non-conference games:
Date Game
Sept. 8 Virginia Tech
at LSU
Miami
at Oklahoma
Wake Forest
vs. Nebraska
Sept. 13 Maryland
vs. West Virginia
Sept. 29 FSU-Alabama
Maryland
at Rutgers
N.C. State
vs. Louisville
He said it
"Usually, a father helps his son. In my case, I made him what he is because he's ahead of (Joe) Paterno by three games. He's beaten me five games. So if it weren't for me, he wouldn't be where he was. It's supposed to be the other way around. I've assisted him tremendously and get no help; I get no thanks." - Clemson's Tommy Bowden, joking about his father.
Brian Landman, Times staff writer
[Last modified August 29, 2007, 10:07:07]
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