N.C. State Univiersity football coach Tom O'Brien at the Wolfpack Club meeting. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, Salisbury Post

Associated Press

The college football notebook ...

GREENSBORO, Ga. — Seems like it wouldn't be an Atlantic Coast Conference preseason football poll without two North Carolina schools picked to finish last.

The ACC is preparing for the start of its fourth season with two divisions. And for the fourth straight year, both cellar-dwelling teams are based in North Carolina.

The poll released Monday has North Carolina State picked to finish last in the Atlantic Division and Duke at the bottom of the Coastal.

The Wolfpack are a last-place pick for the second year in a row. In the first two years of divisional play, Wake Forest was chosen to finish last. The Demon Deacons won the league in 2006.

Duke has been picked last in the Coastal in every preseason since the ACC expanded to 12 teams in 2005.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Can Appalachian State make it four in a row?

That's sure to be a prime topic when the Southern Conference starts two days of football talk on Tuesday. All nine of the league's football-playing schools will gather for meetings and to preview their seasons for the media.

That includes Appalachian State, which won its third straight NCAA title last December. The Mountaineers also stunned the college football world when they opened the season with an upset victory at then fifth-ranked Michigan.

Appalachian State opens this season at defending Bowl Championship Series champion LSU.

Also attending the SoCon meetings is Samford, which officially joined the league July 1st.

SEC MEDIA DAY

HOOVER, Ala. — The opening day of Southeastern Conference football media days will feature the league's superstar quarterback and the reigning national championship team, which is looking for one.

The three-day event kicks off Wednesday in Hoover, with some 700 reporters descending on the suburban Birmingham site along with the 12 head coaches and two players from each team. The last two national champions are up on Day 1.

Florida's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow steps to the auditorium's podium Wednesday. Later in the day comes LSU's Les Miles, who is trying to defend a national title while seeking a No. 1 quarterback after booting presumed starter Ryan Perrilloux from the team.

WATCH LISTS

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Defensive stars from Clemson and South Carolina have been named to the watch lists of two prominent college football awards.

Ricky Sapp of the Tigers and Eric Norwood of the Gamecocks were among 36 players on the watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award. The honor goes to college football's top defensive end.

The Hendricks Award list was released Tuesday.

Both Clemson and South Carolina had two players each among the 40 chosen for the Jim Thorpe Award watch list, which goes to the sport's top performer in the secondary.

Michael Hamlin and Chris Chancellor made it for Clemson, while Emanuel Cook and Captain Munnerlyn were South Carolina's candidates.

The watch list for the Thorpe Award was announced earlier this month.

SOUTH CAROLINA

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Seven South Carolina players have been named to the Southeastern Conference preseason team.

Receiver Kenny McKinley and defensive back Captain Munnerlyn were first team selections by the league's coaches. The choices were releasted by the SEC on Monday.

South Carolina had four players selected for the second team, including linebacker Jasper Brinkley. The others were defensive lineman Eric Norwood, safety Emanuel Cook and kicker Ryan Succop, who was named both as a punter and a place kicker.

Tight end Jared Cook was picked for the all-SEC third team.

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