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Thursday, November 16
Tar Heels in battle for last bowl bid

By Gregg Doyel
Special to ESPN.com

By dusk Saturday, the ACC could have a good problem: more bowl-eligible teams than it has bowl ties. And with five bowl connections for a conference of nine, the ACC has ties like your grandfather's closet.

On the other hand, by dusk Saturday the ACC could face the strong possibility of not being able to fulfill those five bowl obligations. That's not a good problem.

Scorecards, please: Florida State is in and headed to the Bowl Championship Series, possibly the national title game if it can get past Florida this week and the indecipherable whims of the BCS ratings the next. Clemson is in, headed to the Gator Bowl. Georgia Tech is in, and looking like a good fit with the hometown Peach Bowl. N.C. State is in and headed in the general direction of the Micronpc.com bowl.


	Ronald Curry and North Carolina hope to snag the fifth ACC bowl spot.

That's four, but that could be it, if things fall wrong for the ACC down the stretch.

North Carolina (5-5) could lose at improving Duke. Virginia (5-4) could lose against N.C. State this week and then at Virginia Tech the next. Maryland (5-5) most likely will lose to Georgia Tech, which has overtaken Clemson as the second-best team in the conference.

UNC coach Carl Torbush surveys the landscape and likes his bowl chances, assuming his team can get past Duke.

"There's a lot of reasons to be optimistic," Torbush said. "I really have to believe if we get six wins, the rest will take care of itself."

Then again, the Tar Heels, Terrapins or Cavaliers could get those six wins and find themselves eligible for a bowl game -- and watching it on TV.

Around the ACC

Clemson
Coach Tommy Bowden looks to be officially off the market -- sorry, Alabama -- after signing a seven-year contract extension worth $1.1 million annually, plus incentives that could push it almost to $1.4 million with a national title. ... If Bowden leaves before 2008, it'll cost him at least $1.2 million. ... QB Woodrow Dantzler (ankle) might be a game-time decision to start against South Carolina, but if he doesn't, the Tigers expect he would play some in relief of Willie Simmons.

Duke
QB D. Bryant is blooming into a force. He was 23-for-36 for 310 yards against N.C. State, and in the last three games has averaged 273.3 passing yards. ... Duke's three touchdowns in the first half Saturday were its first three in an opening half all season. ... OT Wes White, who played in his first 43 career games, will miss the 44th and last -- on Senior Day, no less -- with a leg injury.

Florida State
Bad tailback day for Florida State against Wake Forest: The Seminoles lost backup Jeff Chaney (knee) and third-stringer Davy Ford (collarbone) for the season. ... Starting TB Travis Minor (ankle) and fourth-teamer Greg Jones (ankle) also were hurt in the game, but both will play against Florida. ... Coach Bobby Bowden tied Amos Alonzo Stagg for fourth in Division I-A with 314 victories. ... Backup CB Malcolm Tatum (back) returned after missing eight games.

Georgia Tech
The Jackets' 627 yards was their second-highest amount of total offense ever, behind the 706 yards they got in 1948 against The Citadel. ... In its 108th season, Georgia Tech (599-403-3) needs one more win to become the 21st team in college football with 600. ... Some in the Jackets' camp want to go to the Oahu Bowl, which normally gets the ACC's fifth team, and the ACC is considering accommodating.

Maryland
TB LaMont Jordan's 101-yard day against North Carolina was his school-record 18th 100-yard game. ... Jordan now has 4,122 career yards, third in ACC history, behind only Ted Brown (4,602) and Amos Lawrence (4,391). ...OT Matt Crawford is out the rest of the season with knee injury suffered in practice before the loss to North Carolina.

North Carolina
With 158 yards against Duke, the sixth-highest total in the ACC this season, TB Willie Parker became the first Tar Heel to reach 100 since Anthony Saunders in 1999. ... QB Ronald Curry, who averaged nearly 300 yards over a three-game stretch earlier this season, threw for a season-low 42 yards against Maryland. ... As they await their bowl fate, assuming they beat Duke Saturday, the Tar Heels will take the next 10 days off, allowing Curry and DE Julius Peppers to begin basketball practice.

N.C. State
Four regulars are questionable for Saturday against Virginia: WR Eric Leak (shoulder), TE Willie Wright (ankle), DT Jeff Fisher (foot) and DE Nate Goodson (knee). ... Peach Bowl officials watched the Wolfpack become bowl eligible against Duke, though Georgia Tech also is a candidate for the Atlanta game. ... QB Philip Rivers, a game-time decision against Duke, threw for a season-high 413 yards despite a slight separation to his passing shoulder. He needs 520 yards in the last two games to surpass Jamie Barnette's school record of 3,169 yards.

Virginia
QB Dan Ellis reinjured his hamstring in the 35-0 loss to Georgia Tech and is listed as doubtful for N.C. State. ... DE Boo Battle and S Jerton Evans, who missed Georgia Tech with injuries, will play. ... The 35-0 loss was the Cavs' worst in the regular season in 13 years. "I don't know what's happened to the offense," said Virginia coach George Welsh. "We've gone south."

Wake Forest
QB Anthony Young (foot) played just three snaps against Florida State but is expected to make more of a contribution this week against Navy. ... Navy allowed Tulane to throw for 388 yards last week, so look for the Deacons' other QB, passing specialist James MacPherson, to play a lot. ... In the last two weeks, TB Tarence Williams has averaged 124.5 yards.

Gregg Doyel covers the ACC for The Charlotte Observer.

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