ACC Notebook For 10-20-2006 - College Football News, Tips And Picks

ACC Notebook For 10-20-2006
By Calvin Watkins
Posted: 6:00 am PDT 2006-10-20

To say Miami coach Larry Coker will have his job by the end of December is doubtful.

The loss to Florida State, rumors of poor recruiting and now the brawl with Florida International could send Coker to the unemployment line.

The Miami Herald reported this week that no active search is in place to replace Coker. But Rutgers' Greg Schiano and Boston College's Tom O'Brien are being mentioned as possible replacements.

Butch Davis' name has also surfaced, but the Herald said the former coach's messy departure from UM for the NFL left many on the board of trustees a little upset.

For all the distractions of his job status, Coker must prepare for Duke.

Now, Miami against Duke is still a blowout as WagerWeb.com points out, with the Canes 17.5-point favorites.

But you have to wonder: Just how well Miami will play come Saturday and what could happen if tempers flair up.

"We've been told to handle it properly," Coker said. "What so many people try to do is restrain, and what we've got to do is restrain each other. That's the part of it I saw on the field was a lot of restraint going on, but it got totally out of control. First of all, a Duke player is not going to hit one of our players because that's not what they teach at Duke."

Boston College: Quarterback Matt Ryan leads the ACC in total offense (236) and has thrown 16 touchdown passes in his past 320 passing attempts. Ryan is playing with some nagging injuries as the Eagles take on Florida State. "He's gimping around and limping a little bit," BC coach Tom O'Brien said. "We'll see how he is this week. He's come back before, and hopefully we'll be able to come back this week. He still has his ankle problem, but now he has a foot injury." There is no line on WagerWeb.com as of this writing due to Ryan's status.

Florida State: Florida State had 11 penalties for 100 yards last week, and that's a concern for Coach Bobby Bowden. "Yeah, I don't like it, darn it," he said. "Our penalties are funny. We've got one game that we'll go with six and the next game we go 12. It makes me so mad."

Virginia Tech: There are some quarterback issues with the Hokies. Starter Sean Glennon has thrown two touchdowns and three interceptions the last three games. Glennon had two last week in the loss to Boston College. Tech is a 17.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com this week against Southern Miss. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer was asked whether Glennon would get benched. "No, but we have to coach that position up a little bit," he said. "Sean is tough. I'd like for him to be more aware of people, but he's very focused on getting the ball to the receivers."

Georgia Tech: Best ACC game of the week involves the Yellow Jackets and the Clemson Tigers. Clemson is a 7.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com, but the Yellow Jackets won last year 10-9. Three of Tech's next four games are on the road against conference opponents, where the team is 9-8 under Coach Chan Gailey.

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