Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 11, 1993 TAG: 9311110019
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"If it's a fast track and the weather is good, I think Florida State is capable of winning by two or three touchdowns," said Welsh, who regularly took teams to South Bend, Ind., as Navy coach from 1973-81.
"If the weather doesn't cooperate and it's cold, or the ground is frozen, or there's sleet and rain, I think Notre Dame will win. I think there's that much of a difference."
The forecast is for showers Friday in the Lake Michigan area, but, good weather or bad, Welsh doesn't think Notre Dame can stick with the run-oriented gameplan it has used to date.
"I don't think Notre Dame can beat them [by] running the option," said Welsh, whose Cavaliers lost to the Seminoles 40-14 after trailing 30-0 at halftime. "I think they'll have to throw the ball, [but] I don't know if they can throw it or not.
"I don't think Notre Dame has the talent or speed Florida State has. I don't think anybody does. It doesn't mean Notre Dame can't beat 'em."
\ SERIES HISTORY: Florida State and Notre Dame have played once previously, when the Seminoles beat a Notre Dame team, coached by Gerry Faust, that finished 5-6 in 1981. Florida State was 6-5 - its worst record in the last 17 years.
"I don't know many schools in the country that wouldn't play Notre Dame," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. "It's like you're appointed, or should I say `anointed.' You're privileged. But we didn't know when we scheduled this game that we'd be in the ACC."
\ BETTER DAYS AHEAD: Barry Wilson, preparing for his final game as Duke football coach, says he can envision the Blue Devils posting a winning record next year and winning an ACC championship in the foreseeable future.
But his most mind-boggling statement Tuesday came when he said, "I think this football team is far better off than when I took it over."
Keep in mind that Wilson was named coach following the 1989 season, when Duke shared the ACC championship.
"I'm not comparing this team to the 1989 team," Wilson said. "That team had 29 seniors. I did not inherit the 1989 team. I inherited the 1990 team. That team was not as talented [and] not as experienced as our team now.
"I could almost write a scenario [for a winning season] next year. For one thing, the schedule will be easier. The three non-conference games . . . it's certainly not the same as playing Tennessee."
The Blue Devils trade non-conference foes Tennessee and Rutgers for Navy and East Carolina.
\ MYSTERY MAN: Clemson's Dexter McLeon, who was an All-America quarterback in high school, has returned to offense after starting at cornerback during the first part of the season. There was a need for McLeon at quarterback when option threats Louis Solomon and Richard Moncrief suffered injuries that will keep them out of Saturday's game with Virginia.
\ GREETING PARTY: Rutgers quarterback Brian Fortay continues to nurse a bruised shoulder suffered three weeks ago against Virginia Tech and may be unavailable when the Scarlet Knights meet Miami, the school he is suing for $10 million.
Fortay began his career at Miami, but transferred to Rutgers when he lost out to eventual Heisman Trophy winner Gino Toretta for the starting job. Fortay sued the school, among other reasons, because he felt he was misled by coach Dennis Erickson.
"He should at least be out there to back up his talking," said Miami defensive end Kevin Patrick, who once roomed with Fortay. "[The suit] doesn't affect me, unless he sues me and Rusty Medearis and Jason Marucci for negligence in keeping the room clean or something."
Miami defensive end Warren Sapp added, "Not too many bad decisions have been made around here about starting people. He sold us out. I'm going to take it out on somebody. Somebody has to pay for it."
\ IN THE BIG EAST: Four Rutgers players have been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team policy, including Jay Bellamy and Malik Jackson, three-year starters in the secondary. . . . West Virginia quarterback Jake Kelchner suffered a pulled hamstring Saturday against Rutgers, a possible reason for holding him out Saturday against lowly Temple.
Pittsburgh defensive lineman Reuben Jones on Miami's Nov. 20 trip to West Virginia: "They were complaining about how cold it was, but I told them, `You haven't seen it cold yet.' They should have been here last weekend when it snowed [7 inches]."
\ CRIST AND `THE GAME': Brian Crist, coming off his best game of the season, will try to lead Hampden-Sydney to a fourth straight victory over Randolph-Macon for the first time since 1961-64 when the teams celebrate the 100th anniversary of "The Game," the oldest small-college rivalry in the south.
Host Randolph-Macon is bidding for an undefeated season and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship; if Hampden-Sydney wins, it will create a three-way tie with Emory & Henry and Randolph-Macon at 4-1.
Crist, a senior from Blacksburg, had shared quarterbacking duties before completing 11 of 15 passes for 182 yards in the Tigers' 35-7 victory over Methodist.
\ STATE HOOPS: Sean Spriggs, who started eight games for VMI last year at point guard, has not practiced after a physical examination turned up a heart irregularity. Spriggs, a senior who plans to enter the Air Force, goes to Langley Air Force Base today for more tests.
Jimmy Allen has been named an assistant basketball coach at Emory & Henry, where he started at point guard the last four seasons. Allen, a product of Northside High School in Roanoke, set the Emory & Henry record for career assists with 455.
\ NON-REVENUE: William and Mary's Brian Eigel, a sophomore from Christiansburg, was recognized as all-conference after finishing 11th in the Colonial Athletic Association men's cross-country meet. The Indians won the men's and women's titles.
by CNB