THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 10, 1994 TAG: 9411100763
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
No one could be surprised that Bill Lewis was in trouble at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were 1-7 in the third year of Lewis' contract.
But to oust Lewis with three games remaining, as Georgia Tech athletic director Homer Rice did this week? The reaction among ACC coaches Wednesday ranged from surprise to disgust.
The most outspoken was Duke coach Fred Goldsmith.
``When you have an unusual number of injuries, you can't put the players on injured-reserve and go out and sign new ones,'' Goldsmith said. ``You got to show up and play with what you've got.
``But it goes back to the old bottom line. He (Lewis) doesn't break rules, his players graduate, and the reward for that is he is fired during the season. It doesn't make sense.''
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said Lewis gave no indication before last Saturday's game that he was under pressure to resign.
``I had heard rumors, but he never let on that anything was amiss, and I wasn't going to ask him,'' Bowden said. ``I thought if anything was going to happen, it would be after the season.''
Clemson's Tommy West said he had sympathy for Lewis and his family but added, ``We are all grown men and understand that is part of the business.''
MONEY MATTERS: George O'Leary, Georgia Tech's defensive coordinator who was named interim head coach, has made it clear he wants the job on a permanent basis.
Tech might not be able not to give it to him.
Lewis' buyout was about $500,000, and if O'Leary is not named the new coach and isn't retained by the next coach, it will take $425,000 to settle his contract.
Most observers figured when O'Leary returned to Tech last spring from the San Diego Chargers of the NFL with a guaranteed contract that he was being hired as Lewis ' future replacement.
FEW CHANGES: Yellow Jackets quarterback Donnie Davis, who switched to wide receiver after losing his starting job to Tommy Luginbill in the preseason, has asked O'Leary for a second shot at quarterback and has taken a few snaps this week.
But, overall, the only major change under O'Leary has been putting more emphasis on the running game to balance the offense - something Lewis couldn't do in three years.
Georgia Tech visits Clemson on Saturday.
MEETING TIME: Virginia coach George Welsh isn't big on meetings, but he held a series of them early this week with key upper-class players.
``It is something I rarely do,'' Welsh said, ``but I felt it was needed.''
Welsh is hoping strong team leadership will prevent his Cavaliers from slumping down the stretch as they have done the last two years.
In another reversal of form, Welsh says he did not get angry ``and carry on'' after Saturday's upset loss to Duke.
Instead, he told players that the coaching staff had to share blame for the defeat.
``I don't like putting the blame on players all the time,'' Welsh said.
Virginia tries to get back on the bowl track Saturday against Maryland.
PEACHY DEAL: The Peach Bowl gave ACC football a vote of confidence when it extended its contract with the league through 1996.
The Peach will continue to invite the third-best ACC team to play the fourth-best Southeastern Conference team, as it has in the last two years.
The two previous matchups between the leagues have produced sellout crowds.
SAME OL' IRISH: Notre Dame might not be in the national championship picture, but the Irish look as good as ever to Florida State coach Bobby Bowden.
``Just looking at them on film, if someone told be they were ranked No. 1, I would believe it,'' Bowden said.
Unlike last year, when both teams were unbeaten and atop the polls for their game in South Bend, Ind., the unranked Irish bring a 5-3 record to Orlando, Fla., for Saturday's game against the No. 8 Seminoles.
Bowden says Florida State isn't seeking revenge for last year's 31-24 loss but adds, ``When you get as physically beat as we were, you do remember it.''
STANICEK AILING: North Carolina quarterback Jason Stanicek is listed as doubtful for Saturday's game at Wake Forest.
Stanicek twisted an ankle in last week's loss to Clemson and has been ill with a stomach virus this week.
``He's been so sick that he hasn't even had a chance to test the ankle,'' coach Mack Brown said.
Mike Thomas will start if Stanicek hasn't recovered.
LONG WAIT: North Carolina State fans got a rare opportunity to cheer a touchdown off a kickoff return in the victory over Maryland last Saturday.
Alvis Whitted's 97-yard sprint was State's first kickoff return for a score since 1962. ILLUSTRATION: AP FILE PHOTO
The dismissal of Bill Lewis, above, by Georgia Tech was ``part of
the business,'' Clemson coach Tommy West said. Some don't agree.
Chart
STATISTICS
ACC at a glance
For copy of chart, see microfilm
by CNB