Associated Press
The college basketball notebook …GREENSBORO ó Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner and Miami offensive tackle Jason Fox headline the ACC players of the week.
Skinner was chosen as offensive back of the week Monday after throwing for 361 yards in a win against North Carolina State. Fox was named offensive lineman of the week after grading out at 99 percent in the Hurricanes’ win against Oklahoma.
CLEMSONCOLUMBIA, S.C. ó While Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says he’s as disappointed in the Tigers’ poor start as any fan, he doesn’t see a reason to panic about the football program’s direction.
Swinney has expressed confidence in offensive coordinator Billy Napier, a 30-year-old who had no previous experience at play calling. The head coach also backs freshman quarterback Kyle Parker. The Tigers offense has managed only two touchdowns in its past three games.
GAME ON TV
CLEMSON, S.C. ó Clemson will get an early start in its upcoming home game with Wake Forest.
The school announced Monday that its game at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 will begin at noon and will be telecast by Raycom on the ACC network.
EAST CAROLINA
GREENVILLE ó East Carolina has gone from struggling to alone atop Conference USA’s East Division.
The Pirates (3-2, 2-0 C-USA) have won two straight games after a 1-2 start and find themselves as the only unbeaten team in the division race heading into Saturday’s trip to SMU.
It’s why coach Skip Holtz told his players they’re in a good news-bad news situation after their latest victory.
“The bad news is, everywhere you go, not only are you the defending Conference USA Champion, but also the team currently in first place in the East Division,” Holtz said. “We know we’re going to get everybody’s best shot. We know everybody is going to be fired up, emotional and ready to play against us.
“We need to make sure that from emotional, focus, attitude and preparation standpoints that we’re doing all the little things we have to do in order to be a good football team.”
TEBOW’S STATUS
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is reading, watching television, attending class, studying film and doing just about everything else he was before his concussion.
Except practicing.
Florida coach Urban Meyer said Monday that his star player has not been cleared to return to the field or play against No. 4 LSU on Saturday night. But Meyer said the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner’s is no longer dealing with post-concussion symptoms.
“From what I understand, there’s no symptoms and I think he’s cleared to act like Tim Tebow,” Meyer said. “Everything but practice right now.”
MILES EXCITED
BATON ROUGE, La. ó Les Miles says the reason football players come to LSU is to play in games like the one scheduled this Saturday night in Death Valley against Florida.
LSU’s head coach says the matchup of the Gators and Tigers has evolved into something special. Miles noted that either Florida or LSU, or both, have been in the national championship picture when the teams have met in recent seasons.
This time both teams come into Tiger Stadium undefeated, with Florida ranked first at 4-0 and LSU fourth at 5-0.
Miles says he’s looking forward to 92,000-seat Tiger Stadium being as loud, enjoyable and noteworthy as any football venue at any time.