ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610100061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Coach Bobby Bowden, whose Florida State football team hasn't won in Miami since 1984, was uncharacteristically edgy Wednesday as he prepared for his biennial trip to the Orange Bowl.
Bowden has a 7-13 record against Miami, including 2-4 during the 1990s, when the Seminoles are 66-5 against all other opposition.
``It never strikes me as frustrating; it never strikes me as a jinx,'' said Bowden, who has won a total of three games at the Orange Bowl. ``The only people I hear mention the stadium is [the Hurricanes] and I'm sure they want to remind us.''
Although Miami won four national championships from 1983-91, the Hurricanes have consistently trailed Florida State in the polls during the 1990s. Third-ranked Florida State (4-0) is a 51/2-point favorite over No.6 Miami (4-0) in something of a role reversal.
``I haven't thought of it that way,'' said Bowden, when asked if the hunter had become the hunted. ``It's hard to picture it that way because they've beaten us so much. But, when I read their comments, that's the feeling I get, that they want what we got.''
Bowden bristled at the suggestion Florida State quarterback Thad Busby, who had struggled before throwing four touchdown passes in a 34-3 victory over Clemson, might be intimidated by Miami pass-rushers Kenny Holmes and Kennard Lang.
``Thad Busby gets rushed every day [in practice] by Reinard Wilson, Pete Boulware and Greg Spires,'' Bowden said. ``He's been under heat every day. I don't know know why everybody picks on the quarterback. That game can be won a lot of different ways [other] than the quarterback.''
O'LEARY ON BARBER: Georgia Tech football coach George O'Leary said his office received a fax Oct.3 of a story in which Virginia running back Tiki Barber said the Cavaliers had better athletes, a better game plan and better coaches than the Yellow Jackets
``That doesn't win ballgames or lose ballgames,'' O'Leary said Wednesday during the ACC's weekly teleconference. ``I think sometimes a lot of that is taken out of context. I really believe that kids win football games.
``It was a great football game. He played a good football game. He's a great football player. I think he made a statement and, based on the way we played last year, it was a true statement.''
IN THE ACC: Wake Forest hopes to regain the services of its best defensive lineman, Robert Fatzinger, after an open date. Fatzinger required surgery after catching one of his fingers in the jersey of an opponent.
*North Carolina had hoped injured linebacker Brian Simmons could last until the Tar Heels' off week Oct.13-19, but Simmons underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Monday and will miss North Carolina's home game Saturday against Maryland.
Terrapins coach Mark Duffner is optimistic quarterback Brian Cummings will be able to play Saturday. Cummings, who suffered a separated shoulder Sept.14 at Virginia, apparently aggravated the injury during practice this past week and did not play against N.C. State.
IN THE BIG EAST: All things considered, Pittsburgh should be happy to be 2-4 after yielding 259 points in its first five games. The Panthers' 53-52 victory over Temple on Saturday represented the highest-scoring game in Big East football history, eclipsing Virginia Tech's 77-27 victory over Akron last year.
``For the first 50 minutes, it was the worst mess I've ever been involved with,'' said Pitt coach Johnny Majors, whose team trailed by 19 points with 10:13 remaining. ``It's the worst defense at this point [in a season] that I've been around in my 43 years of coaching.''
HOKIE TIES: Dante Brown set an NCAA Division III record Saturday when he rushed for 441 yards and six touchdowns for Marietta (Ohio) College, where the offensive coordinator is former Virginia Tech player and assistant coach Tommy Groom. The Marietta staff includes another ex-Tech aide, Denie Marie, who coached the Roanoke Rush in 1995.
YANKEE SHOWDOWN: The Division I-AA game of the year in Virginia in all likelihood will take place Saturday in Harrisonburg, where 17th-ranked James Madison entertains No.15 William and Mary at 1p.m. Both are 4-1 and share first place with Villanova in the Southern Division of the Yankee Conference.
HOOPS ALERT: Georgia Tech breathed a little more easily when basketball recruit Kevin Morris, the Yellow Jackets' likely point guard this season, was approved by the NCAA clearinghouse. However, sophomore Gary Saunders, expected to start alongside Morris in the backcourt, has been declared academically ineligible and will miss at least the first semester.
RECRUITING: North Carolina-Charlotte has received an oral commitment from 6-foot-4 Dee Tolliver from Raleigh, N.C., by way of Oak Hill Academy. Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said Tolliver, as a pure shooter, compares favorably to former Warriors Cory Alexander and Curtis Staples.
Tolliver's Oak Hill teammate, 6-8 Atilla Cosby, is one of five players who have committed to Pittsburgh. The Panthers also have a commitment from 6-9 John Finneman, who averaged 19.2 points during the 1995-96 season for W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax.
LOCAL UPDATE: Michael Creasey, a freshman from William Byrd High School in Vinton, had 16 saves recently in his first start in goal for Lynchburg College, but came out on the short end of a 3-2 soccer loss to the Savannah College of Art & Design.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 linesby CNB