Times wires
Sunday, July 24, 2011
PINEHURST, N.C. — Losing last year's Orange Bowl gave Virginia Tech receiver Danny Coale one terrible feeling.
But it wasn't foreign. He, his teammates and other ACC players had already become far too familiar with it in recent seasons.
All are tired of experiencing it.
"It's embarrassing when you lose and you're representing the ACC in a big-time game like that," Coale said, referencing the Hokies' 40-12 BCS bowl loss to Stanford.
Conference commissioner John Swofford feels his pain. Swofford worries that the annual sight of his teams consistently losing big, non-conference games has painted the ACC in an unflatteringly dull light.
"For us to gain the kind of respect that we want for Atlantic Coast football, those are the kind of games we have to win going forward," Swofford said.
Players such as Miami OL Tyler Horn agree.
"You watch Ohio State, Texas, USC, Alabama, and you wonder how good they really are," Horn said. "In non-conference games, you get a chance to see if they're as good as they are, and if you're as good as you are. It's good to play these games to show the ACC is a conference to be reckoned with."
Swofford touched on a range of mostly business- and rule-related topics during his question-and-answer session, saying that multi-year scholarships are an idea worth discussing, that college sports are "at a tipping point" because so much money is involved and that stoked emotions and intense competition in college sports inevitably lead some to exercise bad judgment.
Don't forget Hokies: FSU may be the trendy choice to win the ACC and perhaps become the conference's best hope for a national title, but Virginia Tech S Eddie Whitley isn't buying it.
Amid all the FSU hype, don't forget, Virginia Tech beat FSU 44-33 in last year's ACC Championship Game, and it has been the Hokies who have won the league three of the last four years.
"Florida State can say what they think, but we have the ring," Whitley said. "We're still the best team. … We know Florida State has tremendous athletes, but we have a strong nucleus and we're a true family."
Seminoles DE Brandon Jenkins said he hoped for a rematch.
"They have the rings," Jenkins said, "but it's a lot of talent in the ACC. You can't sleep on any team. It's a lot of teams you have to beat in order to get there first. … I'm pretty sure if we work hard enough, we'll get there."
NEW ERA FOR UM: Things are different at Miami. Horn says it's a good thing.
"The attitude of the team is a complete 180 from what it was last year," he said. "I'm just excited to be a part of it."
Al Golden's arrival as coach has Horn optimistic about the season. Horn believes UM will not repeat its mediocre season.
"Last year, we went 7-6. Obviously our attitude or whatever we did did not work," Horn said. "(We're) more hard-working and keeping ourselves accountable. Making sure you get your job done. That it's on you to make your block or catch the football. That's really been instilled."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/conference-seeks-respect/1182275
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