ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609130028
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
In its ongoing quest for football prominence, the ACC may have taken a step backward in 1995.
Many were impressed by Virginia's performances against Michigan and Texas, both of whom beat the Cavaliers on the last play of the game, but the ACC's record against non-conference Top 25 teams was 0-6 during the regular season.
In that context, it was hard to overlook the events of this past weekend, when North Carolina defeated ninth-ranked Syracuse 27-10 at the Carrier Dome and Wake Forest upended No.13 Northwestern 28-27 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
``Does anybody deserve it more than Wake Forest?'' said Bobby Bowden, Florida State's coach. ``I was glad to see that, not just because I'm a Southern Baptist. Those two wins were very big for ACC prestige.''
Florida State won the national championship in 1993 and has an 11-game winning streak in bowl games, but the Seminoles have dominated the conference since joining the ACC for the 1992 season.
The last time an ACC team other than Florida State had beaten a non-conference top-10 team was 1988, when a Georgia Tech team that finished 3-8 stunned ninth-ranked South Carolina 34-0 and Clemson beat No.10 Oklahoma 13-10 in the Citrus Bowl.
``You hear all the talk about how strong some of the other conference are, [but] we were in four bowl games last year and won three of them,'' said North Carolina coach Mack Brown, whose Tar Heels beat No.24 Arkansas in the Carquest Bowl. ``I think it's one of those deals where we're fighting some tradition. Some people have been really stubborn and have not given this conference the credit that it deserves.
``I think all of the teams have improved with the addition of Florida State. Everybody has to start recruiting at a level to compete with them. If you can compete with Florida State, you can compete with anybody.''
IN THE ACC: Brown awarded one of the game balls for the Syracuse victory to North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt and released his 22 starters from practice Wednesday to help the campus clean up from Hurricane Fran.
Brown said he was awakened at 1:15 a.m. Thursday when a tree crashed through the window of his bedroom. In Raleigh, North Carolina State quarterback Jose Laureano spent Friday night in an apartment with a foot of water on the floor and no electricity.
* Wake Forest had lost 30 consecutive games to ranked opponents before beating Northwestern. The Deacons have won back-to-back games for the first time in coach Jim Caldwell's four seasons and are 2-0 for the first time since 1988.
STATISTICAL ODDITY: Florida State, which had 797 yards in total offense against Duke last year, managed only 221 on Saturday in a 44-7 victory over the Blue Devils.
The total offense was a 15-year low for the Seminoles, who failed to pass for 100 yards in a game for the first time since 1984. Florida State, benefiting from five Duke fumbles, did not go more than 42 yards on any of its five touchdown drives.
WELL-TRAVELED KNIGHT: Rutgers will have its third starting quarterback in as many games when three-time walk-on Mike Stephans makes his debut tonight against Miami (8, ESPN cable).
Stephans, from Somerset, N.J., began his career at Tennessee and played in one game before realizing Peyton Manning was the Vols' quarterback of the future.
After transferring to Rutgers, Stephans earned a scholarship and threw a touchdown pass in the spring game before learning his grant would not be renewed. He quit the team before the 1995 season.
Stephans joined the Knights' baseball team and started at third base last season before Rutgers named Terry Shea as its new football coach. Stephans rejoined the team and this week moved ahead of Corey Valentine and Ralph Sacca on the depth chart.
IN HOOPS: North Carolina has received an oral commitment from Max Owens, a 6-foot-5 guard from Mount Zion Academy in Durham, N.C., who picked the Tar Heels over Kentucky, Georgia, Wake Forest and N.C. State.
* Wake Forest guard Jerry Braswell suffered a broken foot in a pick-up game and might miss the start of the season. His backcourt partner, Tony Rutland, underwent reconstructive knee surgery early in the summer.
* Former Virginia basketball signee Melvin Whitaker will be sentenced today in Albemarle County Circuit Court in a malicious-wounding incident. Whitaker reportedly has changed lawyers for the second time.
HOKIES TO FACE HASSELBECK: Boston College quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who made no effort to hide his discontent when he did not start the Eagles' opener Aug.31 at Hawaii, has moved ahead of Scott Mutryn on the depth chart.
``We'll see how [Hasselbeck] does,'' said BC coach Dan Henning, whose Eagles entertain Virginia Tech on Saturday (12:30 p.m., ESPN cable). ``I saw Matt come in as a relief pitcher and do a hell of a job. I've also seen him as a starter [in 1995] and not do as well.
``People play differently in the heat of the battle. As they separate themselves, maybe one of them is going to jump out. I don't have any misgivings right now about playing either one of them.''
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Michelle Graham, older sister of Virginia Tech kicker Shayne Graham, was named NCAA Woman of the Year for South Carolina after a distinguished college career at South Carolina-Spartanburg.
Michelle was an all-conference player in volleyball, as well as the most valuable player in the conference tournament, and played three years of basketball. The Radford High School graduate majored in computer science and had a 3.693 grade-point average. She is working as a computer analyst for Michelin North America in Greenville, S.C.
LENGTH: Medium: 99 linesby CNB