2009-11-20T17:49:55Z urn:uuid:60a76c80-d399-11d9-b93C-0003939e0af6 CoalEngine CoalSpeak urn:uuid:1225c695-cfb8-4ebb-aaaa-80da344efa6a 2009-11-20T17:49:55Z

N.C. State Defeats Akron 66-45 Associated Press November 20, 2009 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Tracy Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds as North Carolina State beat Akron 66-45 at the Glenn Wilkes Classic on Friday. Dennis Horner also scored 16 points for the Wolfpack (2-0), who took control early and built a 43-21 halftime lead. The Zips (0-2) got 10 points from Anthony Hitchens. Horner had five points, including a 3, and C.J. Williams hit a pair of jumpers as N.C. State jumped out to a 17-4 lead 6 minutes into the game. Smith had consecutive baskets to extend the Wolfpack advantage to 23-7 in the first half. Horner’s second 3 of the game made it 31-12 with 7 minutes left in the half. Smith closed out his 14-point first half on a 3-point play with 25 seconds remaining. Horner had 10 during the opening 20 minutes. Akron pulled within 17, at 56-39, when Darryl Roberts had a 3 with 9 minutes remaining. N.C. State improved to 15-2 in November over the last four seasons under coach Sidne y Lowe. The Wolfpack plays Austin Peay on Saturday. Akron freshman center Zeke Marshall, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds against Austin Peay on Nov. 15 in his first collegiate game, had two points and four rebounds. Zips forward Chris McKnight played just 5 scoreless minutes in the first half after picking up three fouls and finished with four points. Jimmy Conyers, also in foul trouble during the game, didn’t score and fouled out with 3 minutes to play.

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Weekend Preview, Nov. 20 Rob Daniels November 20, 2009 Rob Daniels is back to preview Week 12 in the ACC. Maryland (2-8, 1-5 ACC) at Florida State (5-5, 3-4 ACC) Time: Noon. TV: Raycom. Key for the Terrapins: In a meeting of two former backup QBs elevated by injury, the Terps’ Jamarr Robinson needs to demonstrate early accuracy. Key for the Seminoles: Another big day from RB Jermaine Thomas and the OL. E.J. Manuel was superb against Wake Forest, and part of the reason was that he didn’t have to do it all. Numbers Game: If they win today, the Seminoles will be bowl-eligible. Or, to put it another way, their postseason participation streak will live for another year. … Thomas is the first FSU player in seven years to rush for 100 or more yards in three straight games. … WR/KR Torrey Smith is third nationally in all-purpose yardage (192 a game). Prediction: Seminoles 35, Terps 17. North Carolina (7-3, 3-3 ACC) at Boston College (7-3, 4-2 ACC) Time: Noon. TV: ESPN2. Key for the Tar Heels: Remain opportunistic. In each of its three recent wins, UNC has put up pedestrian offensive yardage totals but has prevailed by snagging eight turnovers and giving away only two in that span. Key for the Eagles: Dismiss the standings and enjoy the moment. Clemson will likely secure the Atlantic Division’s spot in the ACC title game, but with one more win, BC will be the first Atlantic team to win at least five conference games in all five years of divisional play. Numbers Game: The Eagles have allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards in four of the past five games. … BC is 7-0 when rushing for more than 70 yards in a game. … UNC will go bowling in consecutive years for the first time since a run of seven straight from 1992-98. … PK Casey Barth has made 13 straight field-goal attempts, eight of which have come in the past two games. Prediction: Eagles 20, Tar Heels 16. Duke (5-5, 3-3 ACC) at Miami (7-3, 4-3 ACC) Time: Noon. TV: ESPNU. Key for the Blue Devils: Generate a downfield passing game. Thad Lewis hasn’t had time to do much more than throw middle screens lately, and the Hurricanes’ speed generally limits yards after catch. So if Duke can complete passes 10-15 yards downfield, it will have a better chance. Key for the Hurricanes: Keep spreading the ball around. Miami is the only team in the league with two or more 400-yard rushers (Graig Cooper and Javarris James) and two or more 400-yard receivers (Leonard Hankerson, Travis Benjamin and LaRon Byrd.) Numbers Game: Miami’s Damien Berry has run for a TD in five straight games. He has seven TDs on 61 carries for the season. … Duke is one of only three FBS teams with three or more 40-catch guys (Conner Vernon, Donovan Varner, Austin Kelly). The other teams are Houston, which has four, and Indiana, which has three. Prediction: Hurricanes 30, Devils 20. Virginia (3-7, 2-4 ACC) at Clemson (7-3, 5-2 ACC) Time: 3:30 p.m. TV: ABC in the ACC region; ESPN elsewhere. Key for the Cavaliers: Pray for rain. The Cavaliers can hang with people in bad weather but tend to get beaten up on fast tracks. Key for the Tigers: Keep it simple. C.J. Spiller doesn’t need to be throwing the ball this week. Anybody with a brain already knows he’s one of the most versatile players in the land. Numbers Game: The Cavs have scored more than 20 points only twice in 10 games. They have scored fewer than 20 in 28 of their past 47 contests. … The Tigers have scored 40 or more in four straight. That’s the first time any ACC team has done that since Florida State began the 1999 season with five. Prediction: Tigers 38, Cavs 10. N.C. State (4-6, 1-5 ACC) at Virginia Tech (7-3, 4-2 ACC) Time: 3:30 p.m. TV: ESPNU. Key for the Wolfpack: Be prepared for a lot of Ryan Williams. Specifically, be ready to use a bunch of defensive linemen. The Hokies will have no need for glitz. Key for the Hokies: Keep it on the ground and keep everybody healthy. The Hokies know they aren’t going to the ACC title game, and they know they’ll get a decent bowl regardless. Numbers Game: Jarvis Williams of the Pack is tied for eighth nationally with nine receiving TDs. Owen Spencer is No. 1 in yards per catch at 24.39 – a shade above Georgia Tech’s Demaryius Thomas (24.36). … The Hokies have held five straight opponents under 170 passing yards. Prediction: Hokies 24, Wolfpack 6. Rob Daniels went 5-1 last week picking ACC games. He’s now 58-25 for the season.

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Brick: Early Signing Period Breakdown Brick Oettinger | Mailbag November 20, 2009 Brick Oettinger, basketball recruiting analyst for the ACC Sports Journal and ACCSports.com, weighs in with his views on the Class of 2010 now that the early signing period has finished. Rob Harrington and I just finished my team rankings for Prepstars.com. So far ACC schools have landed seven of the top 20 classes nationally. North Carolina was No. 2 (behind No. 1 Memphis) and Duke followed at No. 4. N.C. State is at No. 6 but this assumes that verbal commitment Luke Cothron stays with the Wolfpack. If you take him out of the mix, State’s ranking obviously would drop. Then I think there’s a bit of a qualitative gap. I have Wake Forest at No. 14, Florida State at No. 15, Maryland at No. 16 and Virginia at No. 19. Here’s a closer look at the ACC’s top four classes. 1) UNC Harrison Barnes, WF (No. 1); Reggie Bullock, WF (No. 14); Kendall Marshall, PG (No. 21). Most likely all three of these guys will be McDonald’s All-Americans. The major needs this year – point guard and outside shooting – have obviously been filled. 2) Duke Kyrie Irving, PG (No. 4); Josh Hairston, BF/WF (No. 29); Tyler Thornton, PG (No. 86). The key guy is Irving, of course, who is a terrific player. I thought Josh Hairston at the end of the summer was playing his best ball. Because he didn’t play well at some early events I think people dropped him down below where he should be. Some other recruiting analysts don’t have him in the Top 50. 3) N.C. State Ryan Harrow, PG (No. 17); Lorenzo Brown, WG/PG (No. 26); Luke Cothron, BF (No. 36) If Brown had qualified out of high school he would have gotten consideration for the McDonald’s All-American game last year. Harrow I would vote to be a McDonald’s All-American this year. He was terrific in Vegas at the end of the summer. Before that I hadn’t been quite as enamored with him. 4) Wake Forest Travis McKie, WF/BF (No. 45); J.T. Terrell, WG (No. 58); Melvin Tabb, BF (No. 80); Carson Desrosiers, BF/C (No. 104); Tony Chennault PG (No. 107). I think Terrell’s capable of proving us all wrong. When he’s hot he can score on anyone and put up big numbers. But he’s also erratic. BIGGEST GETS You have to start with Barnes and Irving. I think they are clearly at the top of the list in terms of talent. When you factor in needs, you have to include Harrow for N.C. State. Lord knows they needed a top caliber point guard and he is one. BIGGEST MISSES Will Barton (No. 8) – Maryland tried to get in on him but he picked Memphis. Fab Melo (No. 15) – Florida State went after this big man, but he opted for Syracuse. Tobias Harris (No. 16) – Georgia and Maryland were part of a group of schools that finished behind Tennessee in this race. Jelan Kendrick (No. 19) – Georgia Tech was in the mix, but he joined Barton in Memphis’ huge class. UNDERRATED Rion Brown, WG/WF (No. 39 ) Most of the scouting services didn’t have this MIami recruit in the top 50. They have him somewhere in 50-100 range. In Philadelphia at the Reebok All-American Camp, he put on a show. He’s a fine athlete with a very good 3-point stroke and just about an automatic mid-range jumper. OVERRATED The one I’ve got a lower than a lot of other analysts is Desrosiers. I’ve got him at No. 104 and I’ve seen at least one scouting service that put him in the top 40. I saw him play him several times over the summer. He did have a big game in Vegas I didn’t see. He has good skills. He’s 6-10 and he runs the court well. But he’s not a great athlete. He’s also in need of considerable strength to be an effective inside player.

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Crothers: Playing For … Pride? Tim Crothers | Mailbag November 20, 2009 In the dismal moments after Virginia’s 14-10 loss to Boston College last Saturday which dropped the Cavaliers’ record to 3-7 and erased the remote possibility that the team could become bowl eligible, the assembled media quizzed some of the players about how they would motivate themselves for the last two games of the 2009 season. “It’s going to be extremely difficult to do,” said Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell. “Right now, we just have to play with some pride, and not give in.” Said Cavaliers linebacker Bill Schuatz, “We’re going out there for pride right now.” Ugh. We’ve officially reached that distasteful stage of a football season when losing teams start regurgitating the old cliche about “playing for pride,” and sportswriters enable them by printing that dreck. You can’t miss the tipping point. In the ACC it happens right about the time that teams realize they aren’t even good enough to qualify for the frigging GMAC Bowl. Of course, in this roadkill of an ACC football season, Virginia is only one of the league’s teams currently doomed to the pursuit of pride. Maryland, N.C. State and Wake Forest have also reached this circle of football hell. Duke is likely to join these prideseekers next week. All of this pride prattle leads to some obvious questions: Where the heck was your pride, Virginia, when you went belly up against William & Mary in the first game of the season? Same goes for you, Duke, against Richmond in your opener? And Maryland? Proud Maryland. Did you leave your pride in your other pants against Middle Tennessee State? No ACC coach knows more about playing for pride than Virginia’s Al Groh, whose teams have prided themselves on prideplaying a bit too often in recent years. Earlier this week when Groh was asked about his ’09 team playing for pride, he said, “You know, I’ve never said that. I think perhaps players say that because they’ve heard it or it’s the answer to a question. ‘Now that you guys aren’t playing for the championship, are you playing for pride?’ I thought we were playing for pride every week.” Exactly. What else should these guys be playing for? The meal money? The chicks? Are there really some games when they just don’t give a damn? (Note to reader: After reviewing what I’ve written so far I feel compelled to acknowledge that this column is not going to win me a Pulitzer, so from here on out, I am just writing for pride. I’ll try to finish out as strongly as I can despite having nothing left to write for.) I’ve got an idea to give the ACC’s bottom feeders something to play for besides youknowwhat. It’s called “relegation.” It’s an idea borrowed from European soccer. I hereby propose that the team that finishes last in the conference should be stripped of its ACC epaulets and demoted for the following season to say, Conference USA. That team would be replaced in the ACC by the champion of C-USA. Imagine at the end of this season, if the league sent Maryland packing and called up SMU. Or just think how much potential angst next week’s Duke-Wake Forest game might have if they were battling it out to avoid a season full of road trips to Tulsa, El Paso and Hattiesburg. After one season the relegated ACC team could earn its way back into this league by winning the Conference USA championship, but it’s entirely possible that at some point we might never see Virginia again. That’s the fun part. With that in mind, don’t you think that Jameel Sewell would be playing for a lot more in these last two games than pride? Tim Crothers is the author of The Man Watching: A Biography of Anson Dorrance, the Unlikely Architect of the Greatest College Sports Dynasty Ever and he is the co-author of Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court,” the autobiography of Roy Williams.

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Brick: Class of 2011 Update (Part 1) Nov. 17 Brick Oettinger | Mailbag November 17, 2009 Check out part one of Brick Oettinger’s latest update on top Class of 2011 hoops recruits.

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ACC Football Commitment Lists: Atlantic Division, Nov. 17 Chris Hempson | Mailbag November 17, 2009 Jim Grobe and the Wake Forest coaching staff continue to pile on the recruits, with another commitment this week. The Demon Deacons added their 18th commitment with the addition of Georgia-native Ben Emert. Although he currently plays running back for his high school team, he’ll likely see action as a fullback in Winston-Salem. Florida State also appears to be stopping the bleeding with its recruiting class. The Seminoles firmed up a commitment from defensive end Darious Cummings, who had earlier been tagged with the “soft verbal” label. Other than that news, though, there wasn’t much else going on. In fact, there was nothing else going on. So on to the lists we go… Key: # Indicates that the player originally signed with school in 2008, but did not qualify at the time. % Indicates that the player originally signed with school in 2009, but did not qualify at the time. ^ The first star number is from Rivals.com. The second one is from Scout.com.

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Letters To DG: An All-ACC Ballot Rough Draft David Glenn | Mailbag November 17, 2009 To send questions or feedback to David Glenn, just email him at dglenn at accsports dot com. DG: I’ve always believed that All-ACC voting is much easier in basketball than in football, so I look forward to your All-ACC football team. I know you and your writers closely follow all 12 teams, and obviously that’s the only way to cast an informed ballot. In particular, I’m curious about your point of view on Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt. I have seen some writers imply that they won’t vote for Nesbitt because he doesn’t have enough passing numbers and doesn’t play the role of a traditional QB, because of the Yellow Jackets’ triple option. What do you think? Sean Murphy Jacksonville, Fla. Sean: Thanks for your note and your kind words. I agree with you completely about the difference between All-ACC voting in basketball and football. To be blunt, few are truly qualified for the latter. Most ACC media members and even many fans have opportunities to see the league’s basketball players dozens of times, thanks to television, the number of games, and the spread-out nature of the schedule. In football, because most games are played on the same day and most fans and media members follow one team far more closely than they can possibly see the other 11, the voting process is much more of a guessing game, even for many who cast the official ballots. As a member of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) and the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), I vote for the official All-ACC team and an All-American team. Of course, as the editor of the ACC Sports Journal, I also coordinate the voting for our All-ACC teams and awards. I always wait until the end of the regular season to finalize my All-ACC ballot, but my “rough draft” is below. I welcome thoughtful feedback. My point of view on Tech’s Josh Nesbitt is that a quarterback’s main jobs are to (1) win games and (2) play a positive role, personally and as a distributor, in the creation of points and yards for his team. Nesbitt certainly scores extremely well on both counts this season, and his statistics (he’s the league’s fifth-leading rusher and a big-play passer) may be better than you think. Quarterback (2): Josh Nesbitt, Georgia Tech; Christian Ponder, Florida State. Running Back (4): Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech; Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech; C.J. Spiller, Clemson; Montel Harris, Boston College. Wide Receiver (4): Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech; Rich Gunnell, Boston College; Marshall Williams, Wake Forest; Donovan Varner, Duke. Tight End (2): George Bryan, N.C. State; Michael Palmer, Clemson. Offensive Tackle (4): Jason Fox, Miami; Anthony Castonzo, Boston College; Ed Wang, Virginia Tech; Chris Hairston, Clemson. Offensive Guard (4): Sergio Render, Virginia Tech; Rodney Hudson, Florida State; Cord Howard, Georgia Tech; Thomas Claiborne, Boston College. Center (2): Matt Tennant, Boston College; Sean Bedford, Georgia Tech. Defensive Tackle (4): Allen Bailey, Miami (also DE); Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson; John Russell, Wake Forest; Vince Oghobaase, Duke. Defensive End (4): Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech; Robert Quinn, North Carolina; Willie Young, N.C. State; Nate Collins, Virginia. Linebacker (6): Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina; Cody Grimm, Virginia Tech; Luke Kuechly, Boston College; Alex Wujciak, Maryland; Brad Jefferson, Georgia Tech; Vincent Rey, Duke. Safety (4): DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson; Morgan Burnett, Georgia Tech; Deunta Williams, North Carolina; Catron Gainey, Duke. Cornerback (4): Kendric Burney, North Carolina; Brandon Harris, Miami; Chris Cook, Virginia; Ras-I Dowling, Virginia. Kicker (2): Matt Waldron, Virginia Tech; Steve Aponavicius, Boston College. Punter (2): Brent Bowden, Virginia Tech; Ryan Quigley, Boston College. Specialist (2): C.J. Spiller, Clemson; Torrey Smith, Maryland. Thanks for reading! David Glenn, Editor/Publisher

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ACC Football Power Rankings, Nov. 16 Rob Daniels November 16, 2009 That old car is neither Ramblin’ nor a Wreck. It’s an efficient machine that’s headed to Tampa, where it will meet Clemson unless the Tigers’ bus gets lost between the dressing room and the stadium entrance nearest Frank Howard’s Rock on Saturday. Many happy returns, one of which was a fortuitous fumble, lifted North Carolina over Miami and into bowl certainty. Look who’s 15th – one spot out of possible consideration for a BCS bowl – in those wacky standings. It’s the Virginia Tech Hokies, who have allowed 12 points per game in their seven wins. If they beat N.C. State and Virginia in their final two games, they’ll be in the mix. Boise State might have to lose, but the Broncos must still play Nevada, which is 6-0 in the WAC. Florida State now appears bowl-bound, a distinction that should toss sand on the fire surrounding Bobby Bowden. Unless Duke wins at Miami – a longshot but not an impossibility – the ACC will fall two teams short of filling its allocated bowl spots.

urn:uuid:1225c695-cfb8-4ebb-aaaa-80da344efa6a 2009-11-15T07:17:25Z

ACC In The Pros: The Links Chris Hempson | Mailbag November 15, 2009 We’re back again with another edition of ACC in the Pros: The Links, in which we provide a a range of stories about pro athletes from each ACC school. The format is similar to the Daily Links. We start today with Boston College graduates and hunt for links until we reach Wake Forest. Jared Dudley may have been lightly recruited coming out of high school, but he’s risen to the highest level in basketball. And with him, it’s always about the blank">little intangibles. Former BC defensive lineman Ron Brace hasn’t made a huge impact with the Patriots just yet, but Bill Belichick certainly thinks Brace has blank">improved greatly since the preseason. Matt Ryan hit his first bumpy patch of sorts in the NFL, though his teammates don’t seem worried. And oh Canadian Press, with your leads. So silly. Ty Hill had fallen out of favor in St. Louis. But now that he’s blank">finally healthy and with the Atlanta Falcons, he’s making plays and starting at cornerback. Good story. Gaines Adams has seen only blank">situational action in Chicago thus far, even getting in on a punt return. Brian Dawkins wasn’t signed for just his leadership in Denver. He was signed for his playmaking ability. The Broncos are getting plenty of both. Grant Hill becoming a blank">Boston Celtic almost happened this summer. But as Doc Rivers attests, Hill didn’t want to come off the bench, which likely caused Hill to remain in Phoenix. Another former Duke forward, Carlos Boozer, missed a shot early against the Spurs, but then he got hot and had his blank">best performance of the early season. I didn’t see this one coming, but Elton Brand is finding himself on the bench during the fourth quarter. Really Eddie Jordan? I’m not seeing it. Even though Jason Kapono is a former Bobcat. According to Anquan Boldin, no one was blank">man enough to tell him he wasn’t playing against Chicago. Oh, disgruntled NFL wide receivers. They make the world go round. Boldin’s teammate, Darnell Dockett is trying to get the Cardinals focused on practice. To stop worrying about personal issues, regular-life situations and blank">financial things. What financial things? Walter Jones may be coming to the end of his career, and one columnist thinks that Jones should just retire. He came into the season saying he was going to take a shot at blank">winning the MVP and Chris Bosh certainly has. And what a photo above the article. Calvin Johnson blank">was back for the Lions, but Matthew Stafford threw five interceptions. Thus, Detroit did its usual thing and lost. Keith Brooking was extremely emotional after Dallas beat Atlanta last month. Still even with the huge win, Brooking says the Cowboys need to continue eating the humble pie. Well, Terrell Owens is gone so there’s no dramatic receiver around to cause trouble. Oh, wait. Roy Williams. Nevermind. Media members and fans were beginning to doubt “Lights Out”, but Shawne Merriman is really blank">starting to play like his old self. Ask Eli Manning if you don’t believe me. What in the world has happened to Vernon Davis? He went from blank">click clacking and not much else, to playing like a freaking stud at tight end. I’m so impressed right now. Kris Jenkins is practically giddy when he talks about the possibilities for the Jets’ defense next year. Come back to Carolina, Kris. Come back. Please! Jon Beason thinks the New Orleans Saints are a blank">pretty good team – not a great one. And that’s why I love Beason so much. Such honesty. If only the Panthers had some interior defensive lineman to make Beason’s job easier. Phillip Buchanon thinks he was benched in Detroit blank">due to injury. His coach might think differently. All I know is Buchanon gave me a great interview for a feature on future Hurricane Jeremy Davis, so he can do no wrong in my eyes. Now here’s an oddity: Ray Lewis was nowhere to be found after a game. Guess Cedric Benson might really have left Lewis speechless. I’m not sure how people can doubt Ty Lawson after his play last season, but they are. And he’s blank">turning heads. I’m glad to see ESPN is running with Tyler Hansbrough’s acting-ability. I mean, blank">WOW. So Rashad McCants isn’t making huge waves on the basketball court but that hasn’t kept him out of the entertainment news. I’ll keep the hints going: It involves a Kardashian. Philip Rivers is a pretty emotional guy on the field in case you hadn’t noticed. And in the blank">postgame interview he summed up his feelings about the Chargers’ win over the Giants. Adrian Wilson was named the NFC’s blank">defensive player of the week a couple weeks ago for his play against the Giants. Raise your hand if you missed Julius Hodge in America. Well, it doesn’t look like he’s returning soon. Hint: Australia. ACCSports.com editor Jim Young will like this one. Ronde Barber takes the award for best link of the year and my new favorite NFL player. The avid Manchester United fan thinks blank">Wayne Rooney could be an NFL running back. Or the best soccer player in the world. Ok, the second part was me. Thomas Jones and the Jets still have a lot of work to do this season. There’s blank">no time to celebrate just yet. (Free Registration Required) Hey, it might have taken eight games, but Chris Long got his first sack of the year. Michael Vick has let it be known that he’s not a Wildcat quarterback. And according to Tony Dungy, Vick might find a blank">good fit with Buffalo. Oh, DeAngelo Hall. You running over to the Falcons’ sideline is nothing less than comical. And tussling with Mike Smith? Apparently, that was the blank">wrong decision. Good to see that Eddie Royal is everything that is right with the NFL. Huge talent. Huge heart. Good read. Tim Duncan’s numbers have dropped to start the year, but that’s also because he’s getting more rest. And when I say more rest, I mean blank">blowouts have allowed him to sit on the bench. Cory Redding believes Aaron Curry has got it – whatever it exactly is – but it’s just going to be a little time before he blank">shows it. NBA analyst Mark Jackson called out Josh Howard for not returning early enough from an injury. And Howard’s not happy about it. Oh, NBA feuding. It’s another thing that makes the world go round. That’s all for now. Check back in a few days for another John Delong feature and then a few weeks later for a fresh batch of links!

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Media Watch: TV Listings, Week 11 Brett Friedlander | Mailbag November 14, 2009 If Virginia Tech’s football team was a contestant on American Idol, it would now officially be in the bottom two. That’s because in the past two weeks, the Hokies have produced the two lowest-rated telecasts on ESPN’s Thursday night football package. At least for the first of those back-to-back games, when it played North Carolina, Virginia Tech was up against a World Series involving the always popular New York Yankees. There were no such excuses last week, when the Hokies’ workmanlike 16-3 win against East Carolina drew just a 1.6 rating and 2.3 million viewers. In an unrelated ratings note, Nielsen Media Research reports that ESPN’s documentary on the death of former Maryland basketball star Len Bias, which aired last week, became the first in five episodes of its series “30 for 30” to be seen by over a million viewers. Here’s the rundown this week’s schedule, and where and when you can find your favorite ACC teams on the airwaves: Noon Clemson at N.C. State, Raycom, XM 191, Sirius 217 (Tim Brant, play-by-play, Rick “Doc” Walker, analyst, Mike Hogewood, sideline). Georgia Tech at Duke, ESPN2, XM 190, Sirius 211 (Pam Ward, play-by-play, Ray Bentley, analyst). Florida State at Wake Forest, ESPNU, XM 193, Sirius 215 (Clay Matvick, play-by-play, David Diaz-Infante analyst). 1 p.m. Virginia Tech at Maryland, ESPN 360, XM 192, Sirius 212 (Dave Weekley, play-by-play, Charles Arbuckle, analyst). 3:30 p.m. Miami at North Carolina, ABC/ESPN, XM 191 (Bob Wischusen, play-by-play, Brian Griese, analyst) Boston College at Virginia, ESPN360, XM 190, Sirius 211 (Ryan Rose, play-by-play, John Gregory, analyst)