THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 31, 1996 TAG: 9607310610
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HOT SPRINGS, VA. LENGTH: 70 lines
Despite losing its first ACC football game and sharing the league title last season, Florida State still gets plenty of respect from league media and coaches.
Both agreed Tuesday that the Seminoles are heavy favorites to win this season's title.
FSU collected 51 of 52 first-place votes cast by media attending the league's annual Football Kickoff meetings at the Homestead.
The only other team to receive a first-place vote was Virginia, which ended the Seminoles' 29-game conference winning streak with a 33-28 win in Charlottesville last November.
The two schools shared the title, which FSU had won outright its previous three years in the league.
Coaches did not vote, but all agreed that the Seminoles remain the class of the conference.
``Losing to Virginia may have proved they can't run on water, just walk on it,'' Maryland coach Mark Duffner said.
``They are so good, and so deep,'' North Carolina coach Mack Brown added. ``Their depth is what separates them from the rest of us.''
Virginia coach George Welsh said it is a ``big if'' as to whether the Cavaliers can compete with FSU for the title again.
``The biggest question mark is our offensive line,'' Welsh said.
``If we had a good solid offensive line, I would say we could compete for the title again.''
ANOTHER OPINION: Virginia tailback Tiki Barber is more confident than his coach about the Cavaliers making it two in a row over the Seminoles when the teams play in Tallahassee on Oct. 26.
Barber said he recently left a note on the Internet saying he thought the Cavaliers would win the game.
``It almost got me in a fight with some guy who read it and told me that I was being egotistical to think we had a chance of winning down there,'' Barber said.
``I don't know where the guy was from, probably Florida State,'' Barber added. ``He signed his message `Know-it-all'.''
STARTING TIMES: The Cavaliers have announced starting times for their first four games - three of which will be televised.
The season-opener against Central Michigan in Charlottesville will begin at 7 p.m.
The Sept. 14th home game against Maryland and the Sept. 21 game at Wake Forest both will be regionally televised, beginning at noon.
The Sept. 28 game against Texas in Charlottesville will be televised by ESPN, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Times for other games will be announced at least 12 days in advance.
MORE TV: ACC football will be more visible on the tube than ever before this season with a new TV contract with ABC and ESPN kicking in.
Commissioner Gene Corrigan said ABC has the rights to 15 games and ESPN/ESPN2 to 10 games. Another 12 games will be televised regionally.
CORRIGAN LEAVING: Corrigan confirmed he will retire as league commissioner next July. He has served since 1987.
Corrigan said he would not play a role in naming his replacement, but hoped that he would have ``on campus experience.''
North Carolina athletic director John Swofford has been rumored as a strong candidate.
Corrigan also is in his final year of a two-year sting as president of the NCAA.
ATLANTA-BOUND: The ACC will make use of several Olympics sites when it holds most of its spring sports championships in Atlanta next April 17-20.
The baseball tournament will be played for the first time in St. Petersburg, Fla., a month later, but Georgia Tech and Florida State will compete in a baseball series during the ACC's ``spring celebration.''
Corrigan announced that the women's basketball tournament will be played in Charlotte next year. by CNB