ACC Football Photos Blog

Charlottesville, VA – Pregame of the Virginia Cavaliers versus William & Mary Tribes football game on September 5 at Scott Stadium.

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Bama overcomes Beamer Ball, beats Hokies 34-24 http://bit.ly/7zN1u

Alabama knocks off Tech in season opener http://bit.ly/3SqQIZ

UNC Defeats Team From Lesser Division 40-6 http://bit.ly/Pu5V6

Big Duke Balls: ACC Football is Pathetic http://bit.ly/SgD0C

North Carolina college football teams do have promise [posted Saturday morning at 2 a.m.] http://ow.ly/ofsw

RT @DP_Sports: Teel: #Hokies loss caps woeful week for #ACC http://bit.ly/9K31Z

What Was That UVa? http://bit.ly/haXHw

Slideshow: UVa vs William and Mary http://bit.ly/1hqm2R

Albemarle graduate Archer leads Tribe to upset victory http://bit.ly/eu8Pw

Sour start for Cavaliers http://bit.ly/3yTxaA

CU-Middle Tennessee Postgame Audio Highlights http://bit.ly/2IIcIc

RT @ESPN_ACC: ACC Helmet Stickers – http://tinyurl.com/ldcky4

RT @D1scourse: BTW, worst margin of defeat for Maryland in an opener is 34: Wake won 34-0 in 1958.

RT @DP_Sports: Virginia Tech notes: Dyrell Roberts ignites Hokies http://bit.ly/aQ94i

What did we learn from Clemson’s win over the Middle Tennessee? http://bit.ly/4dqBTi

Rivalry remains, but FSU-Miami game lacks luster http://bit.ly/3JSNY1

RT @insidemdsports: Half: Cal 31, Maryland 6 Halftime thoughts on the blog: http://tinyurl.com/nq7hd7

The natives are getting restless. RT @hokieguru: To all of my #Hokies: Please follow @VTFireStiney

RT @DP_Sports: William and Mary stuns Virginia [updated] http://bit.ly/3EGZH #acc #caa

RT @GatorsNow: He just tweet during the game??? RT @CoachSark: The band is rocking out at Husky Stadium. @jsblank http://twitvid.com/FA5FD

RT @hokiesports: FB: #5 Alabama defeats #7 Virginia Tech, 34-24.

RT @theACC: Football. Wake Forest Falls to Baylor, 24-21 http://bit.ly/qFHb7

During UNC’s football halftime basketball championship ring presentation, Woody Durham mentions that Midnight with Roy is coming up in Oct.

RT @seandkennedy: & that’s it, ladies & gents. Tyrod & Co. MUST get better ths year throwing the ball, or #Hokies won’t win the ACC.

RT @SPORTSbyBROOKS: And you thought getting hammered by Duke was as bad as it could get for UVA? See ya, Al. http://bit.ly/3pIe84

Richmond spoils Duke’s home opener 24-16 http://bit.ly/13Axb5

RT @ESPN_ACC: Update on Clemson’s Spiller – http://tinyurl.com/nu8nns

Spaziani Postgame Press Conference http://bit.ly/2UHSN0

Clemson Special teams shine http://bit.ly/JL8lt

A good start for Clemson http://bit.ly/1RZca5

RT @D1scourse: End Q1: Cal 14 Maryland 3. Terps killing themselves, and Best isn’t helping: http://bit.ly/yd2hx

Baylor holds off Wake Forest 24-21 http://bit.ly/9Mc3S

North Carolina Downs The Citadel, 40-6 http://bit.ly/zoi3a

RT @InsideCarolina: Inside Carolina’s postgame coverage includes quotes and audio from head coach http://bit.ly/eBOVB

RT @InsideCarolina: All the numbers from the season opening win over The Citadel. http://bit.ly/Excxw

With the loss to Richmond tonigh, dreams of Duke going to a bowl this season go bust.

RT @ESPN_ACC: Duke falls to Richmond – http://tinyurl.com/lkh4lk

Spiller injured in Clemson’s 37-14 win http://ow.ly/15NUsP

Clemson Opens Season With Victory Over Middle Tennessee, 37-14 http://ow.ly/15NUsN

Visiting Tribe stuns UVa, 26-14 http://bit.ly/1t9Y03 Another ACC Loss

RT @statefansnation: Saturday Stuff: Still licking wounds and dealing with depression from Thursday http://bit.ly/18bd58

RT @ksonney: Brunch : Chicken and Waffles http://twitpic.com/gkpwr

RT @ncstatebuzztap: Statefans Nation >> Saturday Stuff http://bit.ly/44jqLN

Yates a late bloomer at quarterback http://bit.ly/9trkw

RT @DukeCampusBlog: Football Game Notes: vs. Richmond, tonight at 7 PM http://ow.ly/ocgn

RT @ESPN_ACC: Gameday links – http://tinyurl.com/mhkjwp

Tudor’s take: The Citadel at UNC: http://bit.ly/RMo2g

RT@ESPN_ACC Video: Virginia Tech’s Beamer on Alabama – http://tinyurl.com/ng3sot

The lights will shine brighter on the Kenan Stadium crowd http://bit.ly/HJ21y

RT @EagleCampusBlog BC students to paint their faces with eyeblack for today’s game to honor Mark Herzlich; who will be attending the game.

ACC Football News Twitter Links for Friday, September 4 – http://bit.ly/12Ztpf

Photo Gallery: Sept. 3, 2009: South Carolina 7, N.C. State 3 http://bit.ly/ZISdf

UNC vs The Citadel http://cli.gs/qRLah

Tudor’s take: Appalachian State at East Carolina http://bit.ly/3Jn1FM

WakeForestSports.com will be doing a live interactive blog for Wake Forest vs. Baylor Football Game http://bit.ly/a3tSB

RT @ACCGridiron: Dave Curtis of Sporting News Today predicts a one point victory for the Hokies tonight in ATL
8:49 AM Sep 5th from TweetDeck

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23:59 North Carolina college football teams do have promise [posted Saturday morning at 2 a.m.] http://ow.ly/ofsw #

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As Bobby Bowden has often said following the final practice before a game: “The hay is in the barn.”

The 18th-ranked Seminoles completed their final on-field preparations for Monday night’s opener against rival Miami with a 15-period practice in shorts Saturday evening.

“We’ve covered everything we’ve needed to cover in the time we’ve had,” said Bowden, who will try an improve on his 14-0 record when opening a season inside Doak Campbell Stadiu. “We’ve been very fortunate with the weather. I can never remember down here in Florida having a fall practice where we were not disturbed by rain or lightning. We did not miss a dadgum practice. That is amazing.

“We’ve done everything we can do. We’ve had time to do it. I’d hate to have to wait another day before we play that ballgame.”

The Seminoles will have to wait until shortly after 8 p.m. Monday for the opening kickoff to Bowden’s 34th season at Florida State.

Not surprisingly, the buzz of anticipation has grown louder with each passing day as kickoff approaches. As the Seminoles were briskly moving through their walk-through on the practice field, ESPN technicians were setting up for the nationally-televised contest. This will mark the 27th consecutive year the FSU-Miami game has found a home on network television.

After weeks of beating on each other, the Seminoles are anxious to see different colors across the line of scrimmage. No one more so than junior quarterback and second-year starter Christian Ponder, who guided FSU to a 41-39 win last season at Dolphin Stadium.

“I’m so comfortable with this whole offense, the scheme and the concepts; everything,” said Ponder, who makes his second start in the series. “It helps me relax when I play. I’m not worried about anything. I’m just focused on playing and hopefully finishing well.

“We’re excited for this game to get here. Everyone feels prepared.”

The Seminole Nation won’t have to wait much longer to have a few questions answered. Will defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews’ unit be up to the task, after losing six starters from a year ago? Can the retooled receiving corps fill the void created by the departure of several key players?

“I feel like as a unit we’re ready to make things happen,” said sophomore receiver Taiwan Easterling, the team’s top returning pass catcher. “We’re going to come out and show people we can do it. We’re real deep right now. When a guy goes down, I feel like the next guy is going to step up and show what he’s got.”

Defensive captain and senior linebacker Dekoda Watson believes the ‘Noles will be up to the task of facing a Miami offense that could have changed dramatically in light of a new coordinator.

“We respect their offense as a whole,” Watson said. “They have a lot of people to go to in different situations and that makes them hard to defend. But I feel we matchup well and have players that can do things to disrupt their offense.”

Senior cornerback Patrick Robinson, who will celebrate his 22nd birthday Monday night, is equally confident.

“We’re definitely ready to play,” said Robinson, a Miami native. “We’re very focused on this game.”

At this point, the Seminoles are ready to get their pursuit of an ACC Championship underway.

“The only way we’ll find out more about our team is to play somebody,” Bowden added. “Have you got the right guy lined? Is the guy behind him better? Is this guy good enough there? … Those are the things you answer when you play. We don’t have a warm-up game to try it out. We’ve got to go right into your first game with what you hope is your A-game.”

www.seminoles.com

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Georgia Tech’s Win Today Gives The Yellow Jackets…

… a 1-0 record and a season-opening victory for the third straight season and for the fifth time in

the last six seasons

… a 10-4 record in two seasons under head coach Paul Johnson

… no losses to an FCS/I-AA opponent since 1983 (vs. Furman)

… a 79-32-3 all-time record in season openers, including a 64-12-3 mark in home openers

… an 86-25-4 all-time record in home openers

… a 2-0 all-time record when playing on September 5th

… a 2-0 all-time record vs. Jacksonville State

… a 2-0 all-time record against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference

… an all-time record of 663-446-43 in program history

Georgia Tech’s Win Today Gives Head Coach Paul Johnson…

… a record of 10-4 in two seasons at Georgia Tech

… a record of 117-43 in 13 seasons as a head coach

… a tie for the 10th-most victories in 13 seasons by a head coach (tied with R.C. Slocum)

… a 7-1 record in Bobby Dodd Stadium

Team Notes

… The Yellow Jackets eclipsed 400 yards of total offense for the seventh time in 14 games in the Paul Johnson era

… Georgia Tech’s 327 yards of total offense in the first half are its most in any half since producing 335 yards in the

first half against West Virginia on Jan. 1, 2007 in the Gator Bowl.

… Tech’s 31 first-half points were its most in any half since scoring 33 points in the second half of the Georgia game last season (Nov. 29, 2008)

… Tech had 7 passes broken up in the game, 5 of which came by linebackers or defensive linemen (Brad Jefferson-2, Derrick Morgan, Jason Peters and Stephen Powers). The other two came from Morgan Burnett and Mario Edwards.

First Career Starts

Offense: Brad Sellers (OT), Sean Bedford (C), Kevin Cone (WR), Embry Peeples (AB), Anthony Allen (AB)

Defense: Jason Peters (DT), Ben Anderson (DT), Robert Hall (DE), Jerrard Tarrant (CB)

Jonathan Dwyer, Jr., RB

… has seven career games with at least two touchdowns

… has scored four career touchdowns against Jacksonville State

Dwyer’s 74-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage…

…was the 12th-longest rushing play in Georgia Tech history

…gives Dwyer three of the 12 longest running plays in Tech history

… put him over 1,900 career rushing yards

Longest Running Plays In Georgia Tech History

88 (td) Jonathan Dwyer Mississippi St., 2008

87 (td) Bob McCoy Citadel, 1948

86 (td) Gerry Bussell Georgia, 1962

85 (td) Jonathan Dwyer North Carolina, 2008

85 (td) Morris Harrison Citadel, 1947

83 (td) Robert Lavette Navy, 1981

82 (td) Buck Flowers Georgetown, 1920

80 (td) Eddie Lee Ivery Air Force, 1978

79 (td) Jerry Mays NC State, 1986

77 (td) Bill Teas LSU, 1954

75 (td) Jimy Lincoln Furman, 1993

74 (td) Jonathan Dwyer Jacksonville State, 2009

Dwyer’s second touchdown run, with 2:38 left in the first quarter…

….gave Dwyer 23 career rushing touchdowns, tying P.J. Daniels for the fourth-most in Tech history

… gave Dwyer 24 career touchdowns overall, tying C.J. Williams for the ninth-most in Tech history

… gave Dwyer seven career games with two or more rushing touchdowns

… gave Dwyer 146 career points scored, which ranks 17th in Tech history

Jerrard Tarrant, So., CB

… his 68-yard punt return was Tech’s first punt return for a touchdown since Nov. 22, 2003 when Jonathan Smith returned one 80 yards against Virginia. Tarrant’s return was also Tech’s longest punt return since Nov. 22, 2003.

… Tarrant’s 87 punt return yards are the most by a Yellow Jacket in a game since Kelley Rhino had 110 yards on five punt returns against Vanderbilt on Aug. 31, 2002.

Demaryius Thomas, Jr., WR

… extended his streak of catching at least one pass to 17 consecutive games (does not include last year’s Virginia Tech game, which he did not dress for)

… recorded his third career game with at least 100 receiving yards; he has had one 100-yard game in each of his three seasons – vs. Maryland in 2007, vs. Duke in 2008 and vs. Jacksonville State in 2009

Josh Nesbitt, Jr., QB

… his 56-yard pass completion to Demaryius Thomas in the second quarter was a career long

… his second-quarter rushing touchdown was his eighth career rushing touchdown, tying Gary Lanier for the eighth-most rushing TDs by a Yellow Jacket quarterback

… passed for more than 100 yards for the fourth time in his career, and for the second straight game (150 yards vs. LSU)

Scott Blair, Jr., K

… his first-half field goal made him a perfect 9-of-9 from inside the 30 and 13-of-14 from inside the 40

… eclipsed 75 career points

Morgan Burnett, Jr., S

… recorded his first and the team’s first interception of the season

… recorded the 11th interception of his career, which is the most among all active ACC players, and ties for the 11th-most in Georgia Tech history

… three of his 11 career interceptions have come against Jacksonville State

Jemea Thomas, Fr., S

… recorded his first career fumble recovery, and Tech’s first fumble recovery of 2009

Preston Lyons, Jr., BB

… saw his first action in an organized game since December of 2006 when he was a senior in high school

… had his first career rushing attempt

Anthony Allen, Jr., RB

… including his two seasons at Louisville, Allen now has 24 career touchdowns (20 rushing. 4 receiving)

Julian Burnett, Fr., LB

… in his first career game, led the Yellow Jackets with nine tackles

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Bobby Bowden has a feel that his Florida State football team is back on the right path. He thinks the same thing of rival Miami.

Consequently, Monday night’s opener between the Seminoles and Hurricanes will serve as a gauge for many who are trying to determine which program is closer to returning to the days when the two schools dominated the decade of the 1980s and 90s.

“We’re both probably pretty close,” Bowden said, following Friday’s practice. “Both of us have been through very much the same cycle. Whoever wins this game will feel like you’re further along.”

The Seminoles spent their next-to-last day of practice in shorts, refining the game plan in preparation for the third Labor Day meeting in five years. Bowden has seen consistent improvement in his teams’ execution over the past few days, which he hopes translates inside a raucous Doak Campbell Stadium.

“The one thing about football is it’s all reps,” Bowden said. “You do it over, and over and over until you don’t have to think hard.”

That’s the path to precision execution; something that is seldom seen between two similarly-talented teams in the opening game of the season. Consequently, Bowden warns that neither the Seminoles nor the Hurricanes can allow the first game to dictate the season ahead.

“You don’t want that,” Bowden said, when asked if the outcome of the opener casts the dye on a 12-game regular season. “One of us will be (the loser), but it don’t mean the end of it.”

Florida State will practice against Saturday, then depart Sunday evening from Crawfordville, marking the first time in Bowden’s tenure as coach the Seminoles won’t spend the night before a home game in Thomasville, Ga.

“For 33 years we’ve gone up to Thomasville,” Bowden said. “Back before I came here, they used to go down to Wakulla, to Wakulla Springs.”

That was where Bowden went as a three-year assistant on FSU coach Bill Peterson’s staff back in the 1960s.

“I liked it down there,” Bowden said. “The reason we left is they didn’t have television.”

Practice recap

FSU spent the vast majority of practice working in segments, small groups and working against the scout team. … Friday’s practice ended in the hurry-up drills, with the offense attempting to drive 60 yards with the clock winding down. … Quarterback Christian Ponder connected with wide receiver Richard Goodman and Rod Owens, and Jermaine Thomas centered the ball up in the middle of the field for a simulated, game-winning field goal attempt. Freshman Dustin Hopkins converted from 30 yards out. … Second-team quarterback EJ Manuel completed a pair of passes to Bert Reed before time expired on its possession.

www.seminoles.com

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- GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Paul Johnson

“It’s much better to start 1-0 than 0-1 for sure. It was a little more ragged than I would have liked. I don’t know if we were very consistent really in any facet that I would have hoped to have been. I give credit to Jacksonville State; they played hard, hung in there. In hindsight, scoring on the first play of the game might not have been as good as you would think. The good thing is that we won the game, we have a lot to learn from this, but we will have to be 100 times better on Thursday night or we will get run out of our own stadium. Hopefully our guys will take the challenge, and will be ready to go.”

On Intensity levels

“We have had a little problem with a killer instinct and our intensity levels and playing hard. That is something that we have to work on.”

On Julian Burnett

“Julian Burnett is going to be a good football player. It’s hard to evaluate until you watch the tape, but he caught my eye breaking up the wedge on kickoffs early on. He’s a solid guy, he can tackle, and he is a guy that plays with intensity. We need to transfuse him into some of the others.”

On the defensive line performance

“I thought the first group was ok. It is very had to tell until you watch the tape. When the thing happens at the end like it happens when you are trying to play a lot of people, it kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I’d like for them to put up more of a fight.”

On the receivers’ performance

“It was ok. We had a couple of drops, it was about like everything else.”

On the quarterbacks fumbling

“Maybe we should have knocked the crap out of them in fall camp; they wouldn’t have dropped it so much. We have to get it fixed. Some of it is because you are playing a lot of people, but that’s unacceptable. We have to do a better job coaching them on the mesh part of it, too.”

On special teams improvement

“Return game was a little better. We worked on it, and it looked a little better. Jerrard is a special guy back there returning punts. So if we can get in the way a little bit, give him a chance to get started I think he is going to be special returning punts. ”

On Dwyer not playing in the second half

“There was nothing wrong with him, he could have played, and we just chose not to play him in the second half. We shouldn’t have to play him; he shouldn’t have had to come back into the game.”

On Marques Ivory’s performance at quarterback as a backup

“He did a good job. He turned the ball over once, but for a guy in his first start he did a good job managing the game.”

On the secondary’s performance

“They got their hands on some, we knocked some balls down, but we just need to come with some. We had two or three in our hands that we dropped. In conference games and other games, those are big plays, you need to make them. Historically you make your most improvement from the first game to the second game. I’m trying to raise the level of expectations of this football team. I could sit here and say that we had 500 yards and did this and that, but we didn’t play the way that I think we need to play if we want to get where we want to get to. I’m not going to let up. I’m not going to accept that effort that we had today.”

Jonathan Dwyer (21) – B-back:

Coach Johnson’s statement of needing to play with more intensity:

“Coach is right. They beat us in the second half, they scored more than we did. We need to go out there in the second half with the same enthusiasm and intensity as in the first half. That is what he was looking for and we didn’t. That is why he was disappointed.”

Comparing the intensity of this season’s opener to last year against Gardner Webb?

“I thought we were pretty excited about it. That is something we are going to have to get us to, fighting every time and play like every snap is the last. Don’t settle down and play the whole game like it is the last one.”

On his opening touchdown run:

“It was just a wide open play, plain and simple about that play is that it is designed to get the ball to the edge and they made good blocks, the A-backs made good blocks, Josh (Nesbitt) made a big read. Just give me the ball and let me make a play. That is what the offense is about making the big plays.

On what the team needs to do to raise the intensity level:

“We have no choice, we come out here with targets on our backs. We have to come Thursday night ready to play. We have to go out to practice and work hard. If we are not ready for the game, we are not meant to play the game. This is a big conference game if you are not excited for this game, you are in the wrong sport.”

Derrick Morgan (91) – Defensive End:

On Coach’s statement of being intense and did the hand shake at the beginning lighten the team’s intensity?

“I really didn’t know we were going to do the hand shake at the beginning, it kind of caught me off guard. I don’t think it hurt our intensity. We have been working for 4 or 5 weeks and we should know what we are doing. I don’t think it cut down the intensity.”

On how well the defense played:

“I think they did a real good job of stepping up and taking responsibility doing their assignments.”

On his pass break up:

“I saw the ball and saw it was a screen and my first reaction was to get my hands up.”

Demaryius Thomas (8) – Wide Receiver

On his 56 yard catch from Nesbitt:

“It was a good pass, I thought I was going to score. I didn’t know the corner behind me, but it was a good pass. The coach had told us to keep running deep and stretch the safety out.”

Morgan Burnett (1) – Safety

On what went well in the secondary during the game:

“The guys were playing their responsibilities well and knowing where the help was and understanding the defense a little more than last year.”

On a lot of dropped balls that could have been interceptions:

“That is another thing we need to work on. Probably coming in on Monday we are going to be on the ball machine, so we will need to work on that and catching the ball.”

Josh Nesbitt (9) – Quarterback

Thoughts on the first play from scrimmage when Dwyer ran it for a touchdown:

“As soon as I saw him, touchdown. That is all I could think of.”

On the bright spot of the team today and what needs to be improved upon:

“I feel I was more of a leader out there today. Kept guys into the game and kept them going. I was happy with that. (Improve on) Holding onto the ball and keep practicing and getting better at whatever I need.”

JACKSONVILLE STATE HEAD COACH JACK CROWE

“We gave up a lot of stuff, but I think we played hard. We had 22 guys on the field who hadn’t played before here, and I think there was a lot of uncertainty. Some things happened that we didn’t expect to happen. They have four premier players who are guys, that if they have room, are going to beat you by themselves.

“I was proud of Marques (Ivory). I was disappointed that we didn’t have any more of a running game than we had. But I think our receivers played well, and I think we need to get better in the kicking game. The biggest disappointment to me was the punt return. We maintained good field position early in the game, but as the game went on, field position got away from us. I have confidence in Patrick, and I think we’re going to do a lot better than what we did.

“They are a top 20 team. I don’t know of they’ll have that much yardage, but they’re going to have a lot of yardage on a lot of folks. They’re going to make a lot of plays on a lot of folks. We’ve got to to give some credit where credit is due, and there are some great athletes over there. Paul did a great job, as he always did.

“We schemed ourselves into a tough situation. Like the first play of the game. That was just a gimme. Our players didn’t have anything to do with that. It was a great call by Paul. He’s a really good football coach, I think they’ll do well.”

What do you mean by that (the first play of the game)?

“We brought a blitz, and the only we you can beat that is to pitch the ball into the boundary. My statement was, I don’t think there’s much of a chance of that. I called that one. We wasted time trying to get penetration. We didn’t get any penetration. We were better off if we just sat back with it. We felt like we could get isolated one-on-one a little too much if we didn’t come after them a little bit. It’s a little bit `damned if you do, damned if you don’t.’”

What did you see in the way Marques Ivory played?

“He’s supposed to be a coach on the field. His heart rate didn’t go up as much as mine did. He made his mistakes, but he came off the field and told you everything that was going on. He’s what he’s supposed to be. He’s got to get a lot better. He missed some open receivers. I’d like to see him about 220 (weight). I think he can be an outstanding runner if he chose to be. He’s a work in progress.”

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