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Thursday, October 26
Amato, N.C. State have plenty prep time for Bowden, FSU

By Gregg Doyel
Special to ESPN.com

RALEIGH -- Florida State's Bobby Bowden, that kind-hearted grandfather still winning bunches of football games in Tallahassee, Fla., figures to get downright mushy this week at the thought of having to beat on his former longtime assistant, Chuck Amato, and Amato's N.C. State Wolfpack.

Well, no, no he doesn't.


	Don't expect Bobby Bowden to get emotional over facing off against former assistant coach Chuck Amato.

"My father won't get emotional at all," says Tommy Bowden, Bobby's son and the coach at Clemson. "He's 70 years old. How emotional do you get? At 70, you wake up happy you're alive, and that's your emotion of the day."

This is our word of the day: preparation. That's what Amato and his $1 million staff have had for the Wolfpack's game Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium against the No. 6 Seminoles. No. 22 N.C. State had an open date this past Saturday, giving it an extra week to prepare for FSU quarterback Chris Weinke's passing and FSU defensive end Jamal Reynolds' pass-rushing.

The last time Amato and Co. had this much time to prepare for a game was three weeks ago, and they almost parlayed it into a victory at Clemson, which escaped 34-27.

"They've got an open date again," Bobby Bowden says. "The question is, what will they put in... They have a flare for the trick play. They throw the ball all around. What will they do..."

The ACC only has two or three remaining games of national value, and this is one of them. Another, obviously, is the FSU-Clemson showdown next week in Tallahassee. You might want to throw Clemson's game Saturday at Georgia Tech into the mix, too. The unranked Jackets (5-2) have lost only to Florida State and at N.C. State, and by a combined 12 points. They are better than pollsters think.

But Clemson-Georgia Tech doesn't have the show-stopping presence of Clemson-FSU, or the romantic allure of Florida State-N.C. State, in which Amato the pupil will take on Bowden the headmaster. And don't forget this: The last time Florida State went into Raleigh, it lost 24-7 in 1998. And that N.C. State team was inferior to this one.

"We're not going to sneak up on them (again). We won't Pearl Harbor them, believe me," Amato says. "Their goal is to win the national championship, and to have a chance, they have to win out."

Around the ACC

Clemson
QB Woodrow Dantzler (shin) initially was expected to play against Georgia Tech, but his condition worsened in the days after he hurt it last week against North Carolina and it could be a game-time decision. ... Despite backup Willie Simmons' record-tying four touchdown passes, coach Tommy Bowden says Dantzler will play exclusively if he is healthy. ... Bowden is concerned about his secondary, which nearly cost the Tigers in victories against N.C. State and North Carolina, but he says there isn't enough depth to make any changes.

Duke
Backup QB Spencer Romine, out with a viral infection, is available against Maryland after missing the Georgia Tech trip. ... Third-team QB is seeing time WR, TE and kickoff coverage. ... Junior DB/TB B.J. Hill (knee), who is redshirting, has returned to practice but won't play this season. ... Kyle Moore (shoulder), who plays WR, CB and as a returner, is questionable.

Florida State
No. 1 national QB prospect Brodie Croyle of Rainbow City, Ala., visited campus this weekend. ... TE Nick Franklin, playing with a bad knee, sprained the other one against Virginia but should play this week. ... Coach Bobby Bowden says QB Chris Weinke will have to play with pain in his sore foot the rest of the season.

Georgia Tech
Good news for the defense on the injury front: FS Jeremy Muyres (knee), who missed the second half of the Duke game, will play against Clemson, and LB Keyaron Fox has returned to practice three weeks after breaking his arm ... The defense has recorded 30 sacks this season, nearly double its 1999 total of 16.

Maryland
Remember former QB Randall Jones. ... He was the safety who went 90 yards with an interception for a score last week against Wake Forest. ... Late in the season, freshman DE C.J. Feldheim came out of his redshirt season last week, joining four others from a 24-player class. ... LB Reggie Lewis (shoulder) is the fourth linebacker to get hurt in three weeks.

North Carolina
Blake Ferguson, whose muffed snap and blocked punt led to 14 points in the Tar Heels' 14-point loss to Georgia Tech, is back as the main punter thanks to John Lafferty's season-ending case of mononucleosis. ... At a team meeting before the Clemson game, the Tar Heels went over every possible bad thing that could happen if they continue to lose, including the firing of coach Carl Torbush. "It's out, and now we can move on," WR Kory Bailey says. ... QB Ronald Curry left the team Tuesday after his grandmother died in Hampton, Va. He is expected to play Saturday against Virginia.

N.C. State
WR Koren Robinson (thumb) will play against Florida State, two weeks after surgery. So will TB Ray Robinson (foot), who missed the fourth quarter against N.C. State. ... After hooking a 24-yard field goal against North Carolina, PK Kent Passingham lost his job in mid-game to Bobby Moore but has won it back.

Virginia
QB Dan Ellis (hamstring) will play against North Carolina after sitting out the Florida State game. Virginia hasn't scored a touchdown in 93 minutes, 33 seconds of game time -- just over the 91:30 Ellis has missed. ... The Cavs aren't sure about TE Billy Baber (rib) and WR Kevin Coffey (hamstring). ... In Baber's absence, Chris Luzar had a career-high six catches for 74 yards against FSU.

Wake Forest
The Deacons are off, which gives running QB Anthony Young time to rest his bruised knee. ... Coach Jim Caldwell says he's not concerned that regular QB C.J. Leak, out with a knee injury, has appeared at Georgia and South Carolina. ... With Young hurting, James MacPherson had a career game against Maryland: 28 of 49 for 343 yards.

Gregg Doyel covers the ACC for The Charlotte Observer.

ALSO SEE
Big East notebook

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Big West notebook

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WAC notebook

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