Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, November 14, 1993                   TAG: 9311140171
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CLEMSON, S.C.                                LENGTH: Medium

SOUTHWEST'S LOSS MAY BE ACC'S GAIN

The directive was prompted by a memo from the John Hancock Bowl, which may not have a host team if the Southwest Conference does not have two teams with six victories over Division I-A opposition.

In that case, two conference teams would go to Tier Two bowls (Fiesta, John Hancock and Gator) before the Peach and Hall of Fame bowls got their picks.

If all Tier Two spots are filled, the Peach Bowl would get third choice of ACC teams and the Hall of Fame Bowl would get the fourth pick.

Clemson appears to be the front-runner to meet a Southeastern Conference team, probably Kentucky, in the Peach. A Hall of Fame scout said N.C. State is the leading contender to represent the ACC in the Tampa, Fla., game.

\ HOLMES CLOSE: UVa coach George Welsh said he came close to using wide receiver Larry Holmes on Saturday and vowed that Holmes would play in UVa's regular-season finale against Virginia Tech.

None of UVa's top three receivers played Saturday. Flanker Patrick Jeffers is out for the season with a broken collarbone, Holmes has missed two games with a separated shoulder and tight end Aaron Mundy underwent arthroscopic surgery Thursday for torn cartilage in his right knee.

The Cavaliers opened the game in a three-wide formation that included Andre Gilbert, a redshirt freshman who had caught one pass before Saturday and did not have a reception against Clemson.

Sophomore tight end Bobby Neely had a team-high six receptions, matching his total for the first nine games. Neely played at Mays High School in Atlanta with quarterback Symmion Willis.

Willis, who was intercepted five times in the first eight games, has yielded eight interceptions in the past two weeks, three in the first half by Wake Forest and Clemson.

\ ROUGHING THE RETURNER: Welsh momentarily lost his composure when asked about a second-quarter exchange in which UVa's Joe Rowe appeared to recover a fumbled punt before being called for interference.

"[The official] said he was already in the 2-yard area, which is the ----damndest thing I've ever heard," said Welsh, who felt Rowe was pushed by Clemson's Darnell Stephens.

\ ALL-PURPOSE: Redshirt freshman Dexter McCleon, who came off the bench to run for one touchdown and pass for another in Clemson's victory, continues to lead the team in passes intercepted with three.

McCleon, a Parade All-America quarterback in Meridian, Miss., practiced at quarterback through the spring but was moved to cornerback this fall. He also started 29 games last year for Clemson's baseball team, batting .299 as a designated hitter.

\ EXTRA POINTS: Saturday's game was the fifth Virginia has lost as a favorite in the past two years. . . . McCleon, who rushed for 127 yards, was closing in on the Clemson record for a quarterback set by Mike O'Cain with 140 in 1976. O'Cain is the coach at North Carolina State. . . . Of Clemson's season-high 361 rushing yards, tailbacks accounted for 59.