THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 5, 1995 TAG: 9510050516
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
The outcome of Florida State-Miami frequently determines which of the two traditional football powers is the bigger player in the national championship picture.
Only top-ranked Florida State is in the picture this year. Miami would love to knock the Seminoles out of it, as the Hurricanes have several times before, when it plays at Tallahassee Saturday night on ESPN.
Miami has won four of the last five meetings, eight of the last 10 and 11 of the last 15. Florida State, however, is listed a 17 1/2-point favorite.
State bragging rights and recruiting implications are an annual sidebar to this game. But Miami is floundering and out of the Associated Press national rankings for the first time since 1985.
The Hurricanes will be without quarterback Ryan Collins, who separated his shoulder in a Sept. 23 loss to Virginia Tech. Sophomore Ryan Clement will make his first start.
``Obviously we're a program in the middle of transition,'' Miami coach Butch Davis said. ``We see it as a tremendous opportunity to go up there and upset Florida State and put our program back in the direction we want it to go.''
If Miami loses and falls to 1-3 - with the lone win coming over Division I-AA Florida A&M - it will need to win six of its final seven games to avoid getting shut out of the postseason for the first time since 1982.
BOWL CHATTER: The Big East has four bowl deals. The champion goes to the bowl alliance, a second team goes to the Gator, a third to the Carquest and a fourth to the Liberty.
But will four teams qualify? NCAA rules require six wins against Division I-A foes. Miami isn't the only Big East team with a tough road ahead.
Syracuse (3-1) appears to have the best chance to reach six, needing three wins in seven games. West Virginia needs to win four of six, Boston College five of eight, Virginia Tech four of seven, Pittsburgh four of six, Rutgers five of seven and Temple six of seven.
BC QB: Boston College offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said Wednesday the Eagles still weren't sure who their starting quarterback would be Saturday against Pittsburgh. The competition has been thrown open this week. Mark Hartsell was benched during BC's 25-21 loss to Michigan State last week.
``We're kind of looking for a little spark,'' Koetter said. ``Mark hasn't played that badly. Take away five plays and we'd be 3-1 instead of 1-3. We want to see what the other two guys can do.''
The other two are Matt Hasselbeck and Scott Mutryn. Hartsell was yanked in favor of Hasselbeck during the fourth quarter Saturday.
``Hartsell responded the way anybody responds when they get fired,'' coach Dan Henning said. ``He was pained, he had a tremendous amount of anxiety. He wanted me to put him back in because he said he could win the ballgame.''
Hartsell was reinserted for a last-gasp drive, but could not produce a score.
ORANGE QB: Syracuse freshman quarterback Donovan McNabb has caught on quickly and is one of the reasons the Orangemen are the only team in the league above .500. McNabb leads the league, is 12th nationally in passing efficiency, and has the best completion percentage of any Big East quarterback (.569).
``He's young and he's developing,'' Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ``He's got a lot to learn obviously. He'll get better as his experience gets better.''
Pasqualoni said McNabb has great vision and awareness for where his teammates and opponents are on the field.
TEMPLE OF DOOM: Temple drew 3,739 for its home opener Saturday against Bowling Green at 66,592-seat Veterans Stadium. Meanwhile, 10,283 turned out in Philadelphia to watch a Division I-AA battle between Bucknell and Penn.
``We have to win football games, no question, before people come out to see us,'' said Owls coach Ron Dickerson, who has won only three times in 26 games.
QUICK HITS: For the second consecutive week, two Virginia Tech players earned Big East player of the week honors. Quarterback Jim Druckenmiller threw for 312 yards - becoming only the fifth Hokies quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in a game - and a touchdown against Pittsburgh to share offensive honors. Angelo Harrison's two blocked punts earned the special teams player of the week award. ... Virginia Tech's comeback win at Pitt was the first time the Hokies won after trailing at the half since the 1990 game against North Carolina State. ... Tech receiver Bryan Still is averaging 26.8 yards per reception. He's the first Hokie ever to catch two passes covering 80 yards or more. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Sophomore quarterback Ryan Clement makes his 1st Miami start
by CNB