Ex-Duke player Thomas settles with jeweler

Updated: September 18, 2012, 10:07 PM ET

ESPN.com news services

DALLAS -- Former Duke basketball player Lance Thomas has settled a lawsuit that accused him of failing to pay nearly $68,000 for jewelry purchased while he was part of the Blue Devils team that won the 2010 national championship.

Mike Bowers, the attorney for Rafaello & Co., said his client had agreed to settle the lawsuit against Thomas stemming from the nearly $100,000 in diamond jewelry the player purchased in the middle of the 2009-2010 season. The Dallas attorney said the terms are confidential, and he reiterated his client's unwillingness to discuss the matter with the NCAA, which is seeking details of the transaction.

"This is a private matter between my client and Mr. Thomas, and that's where it stands," Bowers said Tuesday.

Jon Jackson, Duke's associate athletic director for media relations and public affairs, said the settlement doesn't change an ongoing inquiry involving the university and the NCAA.

"The process remains the same in that Duke and the NCAA continue to work together on this matter," he said.

The lawsuit, filed in January in Austin, Texas, said Thomas owed $67,800 for five pieces of jewelry he purchased at a cost of $97,800. The invoice, dated Dec. 21, 2009, indicates that Thomas made a $30,000 down payment and agreed to pay the balance in 15 days.

Thomas started 39 games at forward for Duke in 2009-2010, his senior season, including the 61-59 victory over Butler in the NCAA championship game.

The lawsuit, which wasn't disclosed publicly until The Associated Press reported it earlier this month, has raised questions about Thomas' eligibility that season and whether Duke's national title could be affected. NCAA rules prohibit athletes from receiving benefits that aren't available to the student body as a whole.

NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said the organization would not comment on the settlement and what it might mean in terms of investigating the matter. NCAA rules require student-athletes and personnel at member schools to cooperate with the organization's inquiries, but there's nothing to compel people who aren't affiliated with those schools to do so.

It makes getting anyone to cooperate in the investigation extremely difficult, which could mean the case will be hard to prove, let alone pursue, according to attorney Stu Brown, who specialzed in NCAA cases, of Indianapolis-based Ice Miller.

Brown told ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Tuesday that the NCAA must ask: "Did Thomas get a special settlement due to his status as a former Duke student-athlete? Did a Duke booster help with the settlement?"

Brown said Duke is also obligated to assist the NCAA in finding any relevant facts and must make an effort to get Thomas to cooperate with the NCAA. If there was a confidentiality agreement regarding how he secured the initial payment or the terms of the settlement, Brown said, it will make the investigation even more problematic.

"If there are benign explanations regarding the underlying transaction and the settlement agreement, the settlement agreement could allow one or both parties to talk to the NCAA, but not to comment publicly," he said. "That would be a little unusual but not unprecedented."

Brown said if the settlement agreement prevents any comment to a third party (which would include Duke and the NCAA), then "it is likely that this case will eventually fade away due to an absence of relevant information/evidence about what really happened.

"Without information from Thomas or the store, people may smell smoke, but it will be difficult to find a fire."

Thomas, now with the New Orleans Hornets, was playing last season for the Austin Toros of the NBA Developmental League when the suit was filed. He wasn't drafted by an NBA team when he left Duke.

Joe Crews, the Austin attorney handling the matter for Thomas, did not immediately return a phone message from the AP seeking comment.

Rafaello & Co., which also does business as A+A Diamonds Ltd., promotes itself as a jeweler that caters to professional athletes and other celebrities. On its website, the jeweler says its customers include actor Jamie Foxx, singer Alicia Keys and New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.

The firm filed a similar lawsuit against Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant last year, asserting that he owed $240,000 for jewelry he purchased between January and May 2010. The purchases occurred after Bryant had left Oklahoma State and was waiting for the NFL draft.

That suit also was settled out of court.

Information from ESPN.com's Andy Katz and The Associated Press was used in this report.

David M. Hale 19 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8394858/lance-thomas-former-duke-blue-devils-player-settles-jewelers
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Gilmore: How ACC hurts FSU's title chances

Seminoles need big win over Clemson -- and some help -- to build BCS case

Originally Published: September 19, 2012

By Rod Gilmore | ESPN Insider

Florida State is the new Boise State.

Remember how the Broncos had great teams that chased an elusive spot in the BCS National Championship Game, only to be undone by a watered-down schedule caused by a weak conference? Many argued that Boise State didn't deserve a chance to play for a national title because it didn't play as challenging a schedule as teams from the top conferences.

Even when Boise State went undefeated in 2009, the Broncos couldn't get into the championship game. Boise State didn't control its own destiny -- it needed the SEC champ, Pac-10 champ, Big 12 champ and ACC champ to lose at least one game (and maybe two) in order for the Broncos' unblemished record to be seen as superior. It never happened, and Boise State never got its title shot.

Will Florida State, a team that hasn't yet proven it on the field but has shown the potential to be an elite, national championship-contending unit, suffer a similar fate this year? Have the Seminoles become the Broncos?

Florida State is ranked No. 4 in the AP poll (behind Alabama, LSU and Oregon) and faces No. 10 Clemson on Saturday in arguably the biggest game in the ACC this season. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and the rest of the "College GameDay" gang will be there -- so you know the game is big. One would think that a Seminoles win would be sufficient to establish the team as a front-runner for the national championship game. Unfortunately for Florida State, that isn't the case.

To read Rod Gilmore's full article on how the ACC's reputation could hold back FSU's BCS title candidacy, you must be an ESPN Insider.

Rod Gilmore serves as an ESPN studio analyst on SportsCenter and College Football Live, and provides commentary on ESPN's Friday night game telecasts. He writes regularly for ESPN Insider.

David M. Hale 19 Sep, 2012

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NCAA policy chief: Drop "student-athlete" term

While presenting a unified front publicly and in the courts that athletes are being fairly treated, NCAA leaders privately agonized over the growing use of athlete images in commercial products, with one senior executive proposing to drop the term "student athlete" after a half century of official use.

The philosophical divide emerges in depositions and frank emails unsealed this week in a class-action lawsuit by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon and other players who challenge the NCAA's licensing of their images to video games manufacturers and other third parties.

In one internal email sent after the lawsuit was filed in 2009, University of Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman wrote to then-Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe that he disagrees with the NCAA's legal defense that it can sell publicity rights without any compensation to the players.

"This whole area of name and likeness and the NCAA is a disaster leading to catastrophe as far as I can tell," wrote Perlman, a former member of the NCAA Board of Directors and law professor specializing in intellectual property. "I'm still trying to figure out by what authority the NCAA licenses these rights to the game makers and others. I looked at what our student athletes sign by way of waiver and it doesn't come close."

Objecting strongly to Perlman was Chris Plonsky, a longtime University of Texas administrator who oversees women's sports for the Longhorns. She wrote that athletes "voluntarily" sign the standard release waiver that is required for participation in NCAA sports.

"

Maybe we don't call them student-athletes any longer and just refer to them as students.

" -- NCAA senior policy advisor Wallace Renfro

"We're like a version of the Army," Plonsky wrote. "We have certain things we have to do a certain way to raise funds and pay for the scholarships and other things s-a's (student athletes) and their parents expect."

In a separate exchange, Wallace Renfro, NCAA senior policy advisor, wrote a memo to new president Mark Emmert after Emmert was hired to run the organization in 2010. Lawyers for the plaintiffs cited the memo, an analysis of issues confronting the NCAA titled "Looking Forward," in deposition of Renfro on June 26.

"Maybe we don't call them student-athletes any longer and just refer to them as students," Renfro wrote.

In the email to Emmert, Renfro, who has worked at the NCAA since the 1970s, notes that the term student-athlete is one "that Walter Byers created to counter the criticism that we are paying college athletes when we began providing grants-in-aid." Byers was the first executive director of the NCAA, retiring in 1988 after 37 years, and a grant-in-aid is the term of art used by the NCAA to describe an athletic scholarship.

The lawsuit claims the NCAA violates anti-trust laws by preventing universities from allowing athletes to be compensated above the value of a grant-in aid room, board, books and fees. The discovery submitted to the court represents a small fraction of the documents collected in what has become a landmark test of the NCAA's governance and notions about college athletes.

"I'd rather not comment on the evidence itself," said Michael Hausfeld, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, when contacted Tuesday by ESPN. "But I will say the documents expose how the principle of amateurism was not a bedrock against the NCAA's commercialization of college sports."

An NCAA spokesman did not respond to an ESPN request for comment on the legal disclosures, and how they might affect the viability of the NCAA defending itself in the case. The O'Bannon case is scheduled to go to trial in early 2014, pending a judge's ruling on class certification.

A stalwart of the NCAA's economic model that redistributes money from revenue sports to other parts of the athletic department and university, Renfro proposed a re-focusing of sports on the educational mission of universities. At the same time, he conceded that the philosophy underpinning the model has become antiquated -- and even posed whether the time has come to allow athletes to hire agents.

"We have always had a cradle-to-grave approach to amateurism," Renfro wrote. "You are born an amateur, but like innocence once lost, it cannot be regained. But our commitment to amateurism and the commitment of our public's has often been based on something other than how we define amateurism in our own constitution. In the most romantic sense we think of amateurism as playing sports for the love of the game, for the camaraderie among competitors, for the pride of victory for school or colors, and then we use this romanticized sense of amateurism to define the entire enterprise of collegiate athletics."

Renfro said that Emmert never responded to his memo. When pressed by lawyers in the deposition, he characterized his ideas in the memo as discussion points, not endorsements.

In one note, Plonsky disparaged football and men's basketball players for bringing the lawsuit. Plaintiffs include former Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller, and basketball stars Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell and Tate George, whose lawyers have proposed to the court that athletes receive a cut of licensing and broadcast contracts with monies going into a fund that can be accessed after their college careers.

"

This whole area of name and likeness and the NCAA is a disaster leading to catastrophe as far as I can tell.

" -- Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman

"I view these cases as being the result of the entitlement attitude we've created in our revenue sports," Plonsky wrote. "We now have threatening s-a's -- many of whom, based on grad rates of the 80s and 90s, sucked a whole lot off the college athletics pipe -- and now want to buckle the system at the knees of the expense of today's s-a's."

Perlman, after reading her note, pushed back. "I am very much opposed to her suggestion," he wrote, "I have yet to have anyone define for me the 'values of higher education' in a way that is consistent with commercial exploitation of a student athletes name or likeness. & As soon as it becomes commercialtied to selling a product -- I don't think we should be doing it."

The NCAA and Electronic Arts, which produces a video game on college football, argues that the avatars depicted in the game are not based on the likenesses of actual players. The plaintiffs counter that the characteristics of individual players are so similar to those shown in the video game that there must be a direct connection.

Correspondence released Monday appears to support that athletes' contention. In one email exchange from July 2007, an executive with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), which represents the NCAA and its member schools, noted that EA Sports was using real player names to develop the latest game internally, with plans to strip them out before release to the public.

"Just a heads up, in case schools ask you this all of EA's latest 2008 March Madness basketball submissions have current players names on the jerseys in the game," wrote Wendy Harmon, a CLC marketing coordinator. "I have called Gina Ferranti at EA about this (she submits all of these basketball ones) and she assured me that they will not be using those in the final version. She said they have to put the players names in so it will calculate the correct stats but then they take them off. Just don't want the schools to freak out she said a few have already commented on it in their approval."

An hour later, CLC senior vice president and managing director Derek Eiler forwarded the email, notifying other top executives. He wrote, "Just an FYI on this in case word reaches the NCAA. This is exactly the type of thing that could submarine the game if it got into the media."

CLC is the nation's leading trademark licensing and marketing company, representing more than 200 universities and colleges, bowl games and athletic conferences, as well as the NCAA. In that capacity, according to the CLC website, the company helps institutions protect, manage and develop their brands.

Despite that relationship with the NCAA and its members schools, the CLC explored the possibility of representing players after the Keller-O'Bannon lawsuits were filed, according to documents. At a company retreat in September 2009, senior leadership introduced the idea of organizing former players into an entity called the "College Vault Players Association," whose purpose, according to an email by one CLC executive, would be to "do whatever is necessary to assure that the licensing and marketing rights of former collegiate student athletes are protected and revenue opportunities are pursued."

The CLC's proposed 16 founding members of the CVPA would include Michael Jordan, Brian Bosworth, Dick Butkus, Joe Montana, John Elway, Deion Sanders and the Manning brothers. It is unclear from the document whether those players had been contacted or were on board with the plan to negotiate with their schools. The CVPA would pursue deals with companies in a range of sectors, including trading cards, games, videos, jerseys, books, photographs and collectibles.

One of CLC's top executives was intrigued enough with the idea that he wondered if the group should expand beyond former players. On December 30, 2009, senior vice president Cory Z. Moss asked, "Should we really begin work on a formal College Student Athlete Players Association (current and former) to be ready depending on the results of the EA lawsuits?"

While CLC was moving fast to capitalize on new revenue opportunities related to athlete images, so was the NCAA under former president Myles Brand -- until the lawsuit was filed. In 2007, a CLC executive reported that the NCAA, with the aid of former senior executive Greg Shaheen, had begun to embrace the potential of its relationship with the EA Sports games.

"The NCAA now (finally) sees EA as an important tool to allow them to reach young people with the values associated with intercollegiate athletics," wrote Pat Battle, a CLC manager. "As a result of all this, Greg has gotten me in front of & Myles, and they are now viewing what they do on our behalf as mission critical. It has been pretty cool to watch.

"The primary purpose of this meeting was to lobby for the rights to use rosters in video games, including the names of players on jerseys within the game. While it will still take some time (probably 12-18 months) to go through the NCAA legislative process, Greg is now confident that we will get this done. That will be a huge win for us and EA."

The NCAA did not move forward with the proposal through its legislative process. However, gamers later did gain the ability to use a backdoor to attaching names to the avatars, through software available on the internet that was compatible with the EA Sports game.

In his interview with ESPN, Hausfeld characterized the documents released by his legal team as insightful into the NCAA's business model, as a trade organization for member colleges.

"For the first time, we are getting behind the veil of the so-called principle of amateurism," he said. "The principle is being tested by what was known by the NCAA and what they did to address its challenges."

• Won two journalism Emmy awards for Outside the Lines
• Author of "Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children"

David M. Hale 19 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8396753/ncaa-policy-chief-proposes-dropping-student-athlete-term
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Sources: ACC, Orange Bowl working on deal

Updated: September 17, 2012, 6:01 PM ET

By Brett McMurphy | ESPN

The Atlantic Coast Conference and Orange Bowl are finalizing a deal that would pit the ACC champion against either Notre Dame, an SEC or Big Ten team starting after the 2014 regular season, sources told ESPN.

The ACC champion, or another team from the conference if its champion qualifies for the national semifinals, will play annually in the Orange Bowl. How the ACC's opponent will be selected from Notre Dame, the SEC or Big Ten is still being determined.

The ACC and Orange Bowl would have the opportunity to take Notre Dame, if it doesn't make the national semifinals; an SEC team not in the national semifinals or Champions Bowl; or a Big Ten team not in the semifinals or Rose Bowl.

The Orange Bowl and ACC's deal with Notre Dame/Big Ten/SEC locks up both sides of the third major bowl when the new playoff format starts in 2014. The Rose Bowl will have Big Ten and Pac-12 teams and the Champions Bowl -- still to be determined whether to be held in Arlington, Texas or New Orleans -- will have SEC and Big 12 teams. Last week, Notre Dame announced it would join the ACC as a full member for all sports except football, where the Irish will play five games annually against ACC opponents.

Notre Dame will leave the Big East as soon as it can negotiate a deal with the conference. Last week, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick discussed the Irish's pending deal with the Orange Bowl.

Brett McMurphy covers college sports for ESPN.

David M. Hale 18 Sep, 2012

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UNC chancellor resigns amid latest scandal

North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp, whose tenure has been marred by several athletics-related scandals over the past two years, will resign at the end of the 2012-13 academic year, the school announced Monday.

"I will always do what is best for this University," Thorp said in a prepared statement. "This wasn't an easy decision personally. But when I thought about the University and how important it's been to me, to North Carolinians and to hundreds of thousands of alumni, my answer became clear."

The announcement came three days after Thorp answered questions Friday from the UNC Board of Governors during a closed-door meeting about the school's top fundraiser, Matt Kupec, and Tami Hansbrough, a gifts officer and mother of former basketball star Tyler Hansbrough.

Kupec and Tami Hansbrough resigned last week after Thorp found discovered that the couple had charged questionable travel expenses to the school.

It was just the latest scandal Thorp has resided over since he became chancellor in July, 2008.

"Over the last two years, we have identified a number of areas that need improvement," Thorp in the prepared statement. "We have a good start on reforms that are important for the future of this University.

"I have pledged that we will be a better university, and I am 100 percent confident in that. We still have work to do, and I intend to be fully engaged in that until the day I walk out of this office."

Last March, the NCAA imposed a one-year postseason ban and scholarship reductions on UNC's football program as penalty for improper benefits and academic misconduct involving a tutor.

That was on top of the school's self-imposed penalties, which included 16 vacated wins, probation, the firing of football coach Butch Davis and the resignation of AD Dick Baddour. The timing of Davis' firing -- just days before practice for the 2011 season was set to begin -- drew a negative outcry from some fans.

Then, as an offshoot of the NCAA investigation, a UNC internal probe released in May found that 54 AFAM classes were either "aberrant" or "irregularly" taught from summer 2007 to summer 2011. That included unauthorized grade changes, forged faculty signatures on grade rolls and limited or no class time.

Although more than 50 percent of the students in those suspect classes were athletes, the NCAA told UNC officials late last month that the university apparently did not break NCAA rules. UNC says no student received a grade without submitting written work.

Among other actions, Thorp commissioned an independent investigation, led by former North Carolina governor James Martin, to look into any additional academic irregularities that may have occurred before 2007. That probe is ongoing.

According to the release, Thorp notified UNC president Tom Ross on Sunday of his intent to resign, effective June 30, 2013. He is willing to stay beyond that date, if needed.

Wade Hargrove, chair of UNC's Board of Trustees, said in a prepared statement that the board tried to talk Thorp out of his decision.

"I respect his unwavering commitment to always do what he thinks best serves the University,'' Hargrove said in the statement. "Holden Thorp has done an exemplary job as chancellor, especially in improving a wide range of processes and academic and fiscal management procedures.

"It is inspirational to see the passion that Holden has for the University and the positive impact a research university can have on society."

Thorp, who holds a Kenan Professorship, will return return to UNC's chemistry department, where he was a longtime professor, researcher and a former chair before he became chancellor.

• ESPN.com UNC basketball blogger
• Joined ESPN.com in 2011
• Wrote for Raleigh News & Observer

David M. Hale 18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8390950/north-carolina-tar-heels-chancellor-holden-thorp-resigns-latest-athletic-scandal
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Sloppy No. 13 Virginia Tech upset by Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH -- A videotaped message from ACC commissioner John Swofford offered Pitt a warm welcome to the ACC in 2013 moments before the Panthers hosted conference power Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Somehow -- after two baffling, listless losses to open the Paul Chryst era -- Pitt looks ready to make the move.

Ray Graham rushed for 94 yards and two scores and added an 18-yard touchdown reception as the Panthers upset the 13th-ranked Hokies in a 35-17 romp.

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Looking for more information on this game? Check out our blogs for Instant Analysis.

• Adelson

"We definitely went out there and made noise today," Graham said. "I think playing an ACC team just gives us a feeling for what we can do when it's time to go in the ACC. This is a good ACC team. It can only get better from here."

It couldn't have gotten much worse for the Panthers (1-2), who began the season getting upset at home by Youngstown State then blown out on the road at Cincinnati.

Yet Chryst, the program's third coach in as many seasons, doesn't really do panic. Even with the seemingly surging Hokies (2-1) looming, he told his players things would be fine so long as they stuck to the plan.

"It's not like the movies, 'Any Given Sunday,' it's not just a pregame speech," Chryst said. "It's the process and that's what you appreciate going through. This is the culmination of the work week."

One the Panthers hope provides a welcome breakthrough.

Tino Sunseri passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns and freshman running back Rushel Shell added 157 yards as Pitt ended the nation's longest road winning streak. The Panthers raced to a quick 21-0 lead, forced four turnovers and took advantage of uncharacteristically sloppy play by Virginia Tech.

"I thought (Pitt was) hitting on all cylinders, and I thought it was their day," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "We've got to play a lot better. (But) Pitt deserves a lot of credit. They played hard, and they played well. And they got the win today."

The Hokies had won 13 straight true road games but were stunned by the Panthers in the game's first 20 minutes and never really threatened. Logan Thomas completed just 14 of 31 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown against three interceptions against a defense that managed just one sack and no turnovers through the season's first two weeks.

All that changed on a day Pitt held the Hokies to just 59 yards rushing and stopped a pair of fourth-down attempts in the second half to snuff out any hope Virginia Tech had of rallying.

"Their first two games, they just didn't play as hard as they did today," Thomas said. "They're a good defense. They're strong, and they're physical. They're fast, and they make you make mistakes. They did that today, and that's what won them the game. They played real hard."

Hokies' Early-Season Struggles

Virginia Tech's loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday was the latest in a recent stretch of August and September difficulties for the Hokies. In each defeat, they were ranked 17th or higher:

Year	Opponent	Ranking
2012	at Pittsburgh	No. 13
2011	None	--
2010	vs. Boise State	No. 13
2010	vs. James Madison	No. 13
2009	vs. Alabama	No. 7
2008	vs. East Carolina	No. 17
2007	at LSU	No. 9
2006	vs. Georgia Tech	No. 11
-- ESPN Stats & Information

Pitt is jumping to the ACC next year along with Syracuse and will face the Hokies on a yearly basis as part of the league's Coastal Division, reigniting a spirited rivalry that ended in 2004 when Virginia Tech and Miami abruptly left the Big East with Boston College officially joining them a year later.

The Panthers sent off an emphatic opening salvo.

Using Graham and Shell to chew up yardage and time, the Panthers controlled the ball for more than 38 minutes and rolled up 537 yards against one of the better defenses in the country. Not bad for a team that looked lost at times against lesser foes.

"Those two losses were big for us," wide receiver Devin Street said. "I think it was an eye-opener for us."

Just like this one will be for the Hokies, though Beamer downplayed Pitt's early season struggles, calling it the byproduct of having three different coaches in as many seasons.

The Panthers think they've finally found a keeper in Chryst, who has given the program a sense of calm. He insisted there was no panic in his team after such a horrific start.

He was right.

Instead, it was the Hokies who looked jittery during a nightmarish first half in which the Panthers built a 21-3 advantage behind tenacious running from Graham, a pair of interceptions by safety Jason Hendricks and a fumble in Hokies territory that set up an easy Pitt score.

Virginia Tech has won 211 games since Beamer took over in 1987, but none after trailing by three touchdowns.

The Hokies got within 21-10 in the third quarter following Kyshoen Jarrett's 94-yard punt return for a score, but the Panthers responded with an expert toss from Sunseri to Graham, whose surgically repaired right knee appears just fine.

Virginia Tech again responded with a big play, as Thomas hit Marcus Davis for an 85-yard catch-and-run to make it 28-17. And when the Hokies got the ball back at the Pitt 36 following a Sunseri interception early in the fourth quarter, it looked as if the Panthers were wobbling.

They weren't.

Thomas was sacked on first down and followed it up with two straight incompletions. The Hokies punted and Pitt drove 88 yards in a crunching 15-play drive to put Virginia Tech away. At one point the Hokies had appeared to hold Pitt to a field goal, but an offside penalty on the kick gave Pitt a first down at the Virginia Tech 4 and Sunseri followed with a 4-yard toss to Mike Shanahan to put the Hokies away.

"I knew a lot of people had us counted out already," Pitt linebacker Shane Gordon said. "But in our locker room we know we can do and we showed that."

David M. Hale 16 Sep, 2012

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Fla. St. blanks Wake, which can't stop Thompson

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The day belonged to Florida State's Chris Thompson even if he only played less than a half.

A year after he suffered a broken back during a loss at Wake Forest that nearly ended his playing career, the Seminoles' speedster ran for 197 yards on nine carries in a 52-0 pasting of the Demon Deacons on Saturday.

"I was in that hospital bed and so many thoughts went through my mind. I didn't know if I wanted to play football again," Thompson said, recalling his injury. "I didn't know if I was going to play again and I didn't know if I was going to be walking straight.

More from ESPN.com

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A year ago, Chris Thompson was lost for the season with an injury suffered against Wake Forest. Against the Demon Deacons this season, he had a career day, writes David M. Hale. Story

• Dowlar: Special teams hurt Deacons
• Instant Analysis

"I'm breathing so I'm happy."

It took the 5-foot-8, 185-pound Thompson about 20 minutes on the game clock to have a career day.

Thompson scored on runs of 74 and 80 yards on successive first-half carries that sparked No. 5 Florida State to a 38-0 halftime lead.

"I wish he waited until Clemson next week to have a big day, but it's good to see him back," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "To see him come back from that injury is pretty special."

Florida State, which hosts 11th-ranked Clemson next week, has outscored its first three opponents 176-3, although its first two games were against teams from the lower-division FCS.

And while Grobe headed back to the Demon Deacons' North Carolina campus, it was Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher and some 60,000 fans who wanted to see how the Seminoles in general, and Thompson specifically, would perform against a team in their own league.

"I was sitting there watching him in the hospital last year ... not knowing what his future was," Fisher related. "He's a special guy, and I'm just so happy for him."

Thompson, who is averaging 14.1 yards a carry on 18 attempts this season, had said all week that he was emotional getting ready to play Wake Forest. He was emotional as well in the locker room after his performance.

"When Coach Fisher first started talking to me, I almost burst out in tears," he said. "But you know, I was just holding it back."

He didn't hold back on the field despite leaving the game early with his team comfortably ahead.

Thompson was done for the afternoon after his 80-yard touchdown run that put the Seminoles into a 28-0 lead with 9:42 remaining in the first half. His 74-yard touchdown earlier followed a 60-yard punt return TD by Rashad Greene as the Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 38-0 at the half.

Thompson has five touchdown runs of more than 70 yards in his Florida State career, including two of more than 90 yards.

"He's so good once he gets going," Grobe said.

Thompson's heroics overshadowed another shutdown performance by the Florida State defense, which has allowed only one field goal and a total of 310 yards and 19 first downs in its first three games.

Exorcisng the Demon Deacons

Florida State's 52-0 win against Wake Forest on Saturday was nothing new for the Seminoles. Three of the six most lopsided ACC wins in school history have come at home against the Demon Deacons:

Year	Opponent	Margin
1993	vs NC State	+59
1995	vs. Wake Forest	+59
1993	vs. Clemson	+57
1993	vs. Wake Forest	+54
2000	at Maryland	+52
2012	vs. Wake Forest	+52
-- ESPN Stats & Information

The Seminoles held Wake Forest (2-1, 1-1 ACC) to 126 yards. Tanner Price completed 8 of 22 passes for 82 yards and was sacked three times while his favorite target, Michael Campanaro, had two catches for 8 yards.

"Their front four is talented and they do a great job of putting pressure on quarterbacks," Price said. "It was pretty ugly at times."

Campanaro had caught 22 passes in Wake Forest's first two games, but was smothered by the Seminoles secondary while Price, who threw for a career-high 327 yards last week in a win against North Carolina to earn ACC offensive back of the week honors, spent the afternoon trying to stay upright.

"We were focused because this team defeated us last year," said defensive end Cornellius Carradine, who had 2½ of the Seminoles' four sacks in the game.

Wake Forest upset the Seminoles 35-30 a year ago and had won four of the previous six games in the series, but was no match this time.

Florida State had 357 of its 612 yards on offense by halftime. James Wilder Jr. chipped in with 94 of the Seminoles' 385 rushing yards. It was the Seminoles' most lopsided win against the Demon Deacons since a 72-13 rout in 1995.

EJ Manuel's 16-yard touchdown run set up by a 33-yard Thompson gain started the scoring avalanche with 4:28 left in the opening quarter. A minute and 43 seconds later Greene was in the end zone with his second TD of the season on a punt return.

Manuel retired after throwing his second touchdown pass, a 19-yard throw to Kenny Shaw, in the final minute of the third period that gave the Seminoles a 45-0 lead. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 172 yards and two scores.

The Seminoles kept the Demon Deacons pinned down deep in their own territory throughout the first half. Wake Forest first five offensive possessions started inside its 20, including two at the five.

It was sixth time Florida State has shut out Wake Forest, which suffered its last shutout two years ago in Tallahassee, 31-0.

David M. Hale 16 Sep, 2012

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Notre Dame sports, except football, joins ACC

Notre Dame is moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference in almost every sport except football, where the Fighting Irish will maintain their status as an independent.

More from ESPN.com

Notre Dame maintains its football independence, but the trend toward conference affiliation is unmistakable, Ivan Maisel writes. Story

Notre Dame's historic move is indicative of the Big East's growing instability and the ACC's increasing strength, Dana O'Neil writes. Story

The school's president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, and athletic director Jack Swarbrick joined ACC commissioner John Swofford and three ACC presidents for a news conference on Wednesday announcing the Irish's move from the Big East.

"I don't think there's out there a better situation than the situation we have," Jenkins said. "The ACC has allowed us to retain a tradition (of football independence) that's so central to our identity in football while we're joining a conference that athletically as well as academically fits Notre Dame perfectly."

The move, first reported by ESPN's Brett McMurphy, means the ACC is making an exception to its all-or-nothing requirement for schools to be full members. Although they will remain independent in football, the Fighting Irish will play five games annually against ACC schools.

Notre Dame is not expected to leave the Big East for the ACC until at least 2014, a source told ESPN's Joe Schad.

Big East associate commissioner John Paquette told ESPN.com that Notre Dame must pay the conference a $5 million exit fee and provide 27 months' notice before leaving. The fee would be significantly lower than those paid by Pittsburgh and Syracuse, which both negotiated $7.5 million settlements to leave the Big East ahead of schedule and join the ACC in July 2013.

The source told Schad that Notre Dame hopes to expedite its exit from the Big East and join the ACC earlier than the 27-month notification period, due to the precedent established by Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

"This is a resilient conference," Big East commissioner Mike Aresco told The Associated Press. "Our football conference is stronger than ever. We lose Notre Dame in basketball, but we remain top to bottom the strongest basketball conference in the country."

Notre Dame Football Schedules

Notre Dame's 2013 football schedule is set, but the 2014 slate has open dates. Two of the set opponents for 2014 are Syracuse and Pittsburgh, meaning the Fighting Irish will have to schedule three more ACC teams to fulfill their contract.

2013 Schedule

Date	Opponent
8/31	Temple
9/7	at Michigan
9/14	at Purdue
9/21	Michigan State
9/28	Oklahoma
10/3	vs Arizona State (at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX)
10/19	USC
10/26	at Air Force
11/2	Navy
11/9	>at Pittsburgh
11/23	BYU
11/30	at Stanford

2014 Schedule

Date	Opponent
8/30	Rice
9/6	Michigan
9/13	Purdue
9/20	TBA
9/27	>vs Syracuse (at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ)
10/4	Stanford
10/11	at Temple
10/18	TBA
10/25	at Arizona State
11/1	at Navy (site TBA)
11/8	>Pittsburgh
11/15	Northwestern
11/22	TBA (possible game at Boston's Fenway Park)
11/29	at USC
>Will be members of ACC at time of game -- ESPN Stats & Information

The ACC in turn cements a relationship with one of the nation's most storied football programs, adding to a group that already includes Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech and Clemson. That would also seem to position the ACC as the easy choice if Notre Dame ever decides to give up its football independence.

"I think it just came through in our internal discussions that now's the time," Swofford said. "This is a partnership that is a win-win and good for both parties. The time had come to cross that threshold."

Notre Dame also will have access to the Orange Bowl and the ACC's non-BCS bowl tie-ins. The Fighting Irish have played in the Sun Bowl and Champs Sports Bowl over the past two seasons under coach Brian Kelly.

"Today is a great day for the University of Notre Dame and our athletics department, including the football program," Kelly said in a statement. "Speaking strictly from a football standpoint, we have further solidified our future as an independent in college football, maintained our unique ability to schedule nationally and greatly improved our postseason bowl game options.

"I applaud Father Jenkins and Jack Swarbrick for this move. They have set our entire athletics department up for great success in the future."

Notre Dame considered giving up its football independence in 1999 to join the Big Ten, but alumni were staunchly opposed and the deal never got done. Throughout the dizzying conference realignment of the past few years, Notre Dame officials have been adamant about maintaining football independence.

Revenues from the ACC television deal with ESPN are likely to increase to as much as $18 million per school, just behind the $20 million deal per school the Big 12 recently signed. Sources told ESPN.com's Darren Rovell that the Notre Dame football TV deal with NBC is worth around $15 million per year.

Swarbrick said the deal was "financially neutral" for Notre Dame.

The commitment to five ACC games in football likely will mean some changes for the Irish's football schedule.

Notre Dame expects to continue to play USC, Stanford and Navy, but its traditional games against Big Ten opponents Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue are in jeopardy, a source told Schad. The source said the Fighting Irish's planned series with Texas likely will be played.

Pittsburgh would be the only ACC team on Notre Dame's 2013 schedule, which includes games against Temple, BYU, Arizona State and Air Force.

Swarbrick said Tuesday that the shift in scheduling wouldn't be as big as some people think.

"We're going to keep some traditional rivals and we're going to get around the country. We're still going to be in California every year and we're still going to find a way to get into the Southwest. And, of course, this gives us a great East Coast footprint and we want to make sure we keep a Midwest presence, too," he said. "We'll meet our mission and make sure Notre Dame is playing everywhere in the country."

Notre Dame has played basketball in the Big East since the mid-1990s. Now in the ACC, the Irish will face traditional powers such as Duke and North Carolina -- and rekindle its rivalries with Syracuse and Pittsburgh -- while the league also fits other sports Notre Dame is competitive in, including lacrosse and soccer.

Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey texted ESPN.com's Andy Katz, saying "we're going," and adding that while no timetable has been established for the move, he is excited about the challenge.

Mike and Mike in the Morning

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey comments on the Fighting Irish's upcoming move to the ACC, the future of conference realignment, Jim Calhoun's retirement and more.

More Podcasts »

In February, the ACC announced divisions for a 14-team basketball league, but it will now have to accommodate a 15th team. However, the league does not plan to expand to include a 16th school, multiple sources told McMurphy.

Aresco said the loss of Notre Dame does not change the Big East's plans.

"Our television reach remains the same," he said. "Our television situation remains the same. We valued Notre Dame as a member in basketball and Olympic sports. But we're not looking backward, we're looking forward."

Swarbrick said he informed the Notre Dame coaches of the move Wednesday morning. One of them, Brey, attended the news conference. He spent eight years as an assistant to Duke Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski.

"I think it's great and it comes as a great shot in the arm, I think, for me and our program," Brey said. "I'm looking forward to it. I still know a couple of the barbecue places around here. I know where to find stuff."

The ACC does not offer hockey, so it is presumed Notre Dame will go through with its planned move to Hockey East in that sport.

Along with inviting Notre Dame, the ACC also says it has increased its exit fees for the conference's schools to three times the annual operation budget -- which would currently come to more than $50 million.

Students at Notre Dame praised the move, saying it should help the other Fighting Irish teams.

"It's great. I think it's really exciting. They'll get to play a lot of new teams," said Mackenzie Dome, a first-year graduate student in global health from Ann Arbor, Mich.

"As long as we get to keep our football rivalry games, which it looks like we will, I don't think it will hugely effect our football schedule," said Alec MacDonell, an economics junior from Indianapolis. "There are obviously some decent teams in football and it should be a step up in other sports. So it will certainly be good to see some better competition in basketball."

Even the Notre Dame football players endorsed the move.

"It's great for our other sports. The basketball teams will get to play Duke, North Carolina, all those good teams every year. For us, we're already playing four ACC teams, add one more, it doesn't really make any difference to us," offensive tackle Zack Martin said.

ESPN's Brett McMurphy, Joe Schad, Andy Katz, Mark Schlabach and Darren Rovell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

David M. Hale 14 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8369070/notre-dame-sports-football-hockey-acc
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Watkins scores in season debut to lift Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Sammy Watkins is ready to run the football, giving opposing defenders something else to worry about with Clemson's star receiver.

Watkins had a 58-yard touchdown run in the 11th-ranked Tigers' 41-7 victory over Furman on Saturday. It was Watkins' first rushing touchdown and came just three touches into his sophomore debut.

"It was like he just shot out of a cannon," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "It was a thing of beauty."

Prepare for more beautiful plays involving Watkins now that he's back from a two-game suspension for an offseason drug arrest.

"I didn't run the ball a lot last year, but they're going to put me in the running game a lot this year, out of the backfield," Watkins said.

Watkins finished with four catches for 52 yards and 119 all-purpose yards as Clemson won its 30th straight game over the Paladins. Tajh Boyd threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns and Andre Ellington had a pair of rushing TDs for the second straight game.

"It kind of felt like it was very easy, also, being a year in this offense," Watkins said. "So I was very comfortable out there on the field."

Swinney joked this week the Tigers had gained more than 500 yards of offense in both victories without Watkins and his star better not mess things up.

Well, the Tigers came up just short of the mark this time with 498 yards against Furman.

Boyd's three scoring throws gave him 43 for his career, second all-time at Clemson and just six behind the record held by Charlie Whitehurst.

Boyd said Watkins' presence, even if he doesn't touch the ball, opens things up for Clemson's other playmakers. Tigers receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who caught four touchdown passes the first two games, was again the team leader with seven catches against the Paladins.

Furman, of the Football Championship Subdivision, opened 0-3 for the first time since 1979.

It didn't take long, though, for Watkins to make his mark. He had catches of 12 and 19 yards on Clemson's first scoring drive, which ended on Ellington's 10-yard run.

Watkins was dazzling the next time the Tigers had the ball, running along the offensive line and smoothly taking the handoff from Boyd. He burst through the right side of the line, then outraced defenders Marcus McMorris and Reggie Thomas to the end zone.

"It was great to see him back and get him going," offensive coordinator Chad Morris said. "And definitely, there's a whole other level of explosion when you see him out there."

The Tigers' offense, though, had to work a bit harder with Watkins back for their instate rival -- Furman's a 35-mile drive northeast of Clemson -- than when Watkins missed last week's 52-27 victory over Ball State. In that one, Clemson scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions and was up 45-10 at half.

This time, Boyd and the first-teamers needed a third-quarter surge -- and some help from the defense -- to put the game away.

Linebacker Quandon Christian's interception deep in Furman territory led to Ellington's second touchdown. Boyd was back at it a series later, finding a wide-open Brandon Ford on a 30-yard scoring pass and a 34-7 lead.

Boyd's final touchdown came when he hit Martavis Bryant in triple coverage on a 39-yard pass.

A day that started with excitement over Watkins' return, ended with plenty of questions about Clemson's defense with No. 5 Florida State ahead next Saturday night.

There were many fans dressed in Watkins' No. 2 Clemson jersey during pregame tailgates and Watkins got a rousing ovation when he stepped off the bus for the traditional Tiger walk entrance into the locker room.

The Tigers bogged down after Watkins' score, ending two second-quarter drives with Chandler Catanzaro field goals of 46 and 22 yards. Catanzaro had made 14 consecutive kicks, tying Obed Ariri's school mark.

What was troubling, though, for a team that's yet to live down a 70-33 Orange Bowl embarrassment to West Virginia was Furman's success moving the ball on the defending ACC champions.

Paladins quarterback Reese Hannon drove 63 yards to the Clemson 5 on the opening series. Furman coach Bruce Fowler switched from a fourth down field goal attempt into a trick pass, but Will King overthrew fullback Tony Caldwell in the end zone and Rashard Hall intercepted to end the threat.

"They're obviously a good football team and you could see the problems we had stopping them at times," Furman's Fowler said. "To say that would've made a difference? I don't know."

Furman lost another scoring chance with a bad snap on Ray Early's 42-yard field goal attempt as Clemson smothered the ball.

The Paladins finally broke through with Hannon's 37-yard touchdown pass to Jason Snellings to cut the lead to 17-7. Jerodis Williams also had a 39-yard run right before to set up the scoring play.

Hannon was 19 of 29 for 235 yards in his first collegiate start. Furman finished with 352 yards and left Clemson coordinator Brent Venables with a lot to worry about heading into Florida State, a 52-0 winner over Wake Forest earlier Saturday.

"They'll break the scoreboard next week if we don't play better," Venables said.

David M. Hale 16 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322590228
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Driskel, Florida pull away, knock off Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Florida is quickly developing a reputation as the Southeastern Conference's comeback kings.

Jeff Driskel threw two touchdown passes and Trey Burton ran for a pair of scores as No. 18 Florida scored the game's final 24 points to beat No. 23 Tennessee 37-20 on Saturday night.

More Florida-Tennessee Coverage

ESPN.com
It's a simple formula for success in the SEC: run the ball and stop the run. Florida did that and more against Tennessee, writes Mark Schlabach. Story

The Vols melted under the bright spotlight against Florida on Saturday night, writes Chris Low. Blog

GatorNation
After just two starts, it's become clear why the Florida Gators made Jeff Driskel their starting quarterback, writes Michael DiRocco. Story

• More DiRocco: Big plays | Gillislee OK
•  GatorNation | SEC blog

The Gators have won eight straight against their SEC East rivals, and for the second straight week came from behind on the road to win a conference game.

The Gators (3-0, 2-0) rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit to win 20-17 at Texas A&M last week. Florida lost all five games it trailed at halftime last season.

Gators coach Will Muschamp said there's a "night-and-day" difference in the toughness of this year's Florida team.

"I'm really proud of our effort, coming on the road two weeks in a row," Muschamp said. "We were really poised at halftime again, no bickering (or) finger-pointing, just doing what we needed to do to get this thing going."

Mike Gillislee ran for 115 yards to lead a 336-yard rushing effort for the Gators, who have outrushed Tennessee (2-1, 0-1) in each of their eight consecutive victories over the Vols. Burton added 91 rushing yards on only three carries. Driskel ran for 81 yards on eight attempts, and he also went 14-of-20 for 219 yards passing.

Driskel's 23-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Reed broke a 20-20 tie and put the Gators ahead for good with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. Burton had tied the game less than three minutes earlier with an 80-yard touchdown run. Florida then proceeded to outgain Tennessee 152-5 in the fourth quarter.

"We've put a tremendous emphasis on winning the fourth quarter, winning the second half and wearing down our opponent," Muschamp said. "That's something we've been able to do in the first three ballgames. That's something our kids have bought into doing."

This comeback was particularly noteworthy because Tennessee hadn't lost a game it led at halftime since Derek Dooley took over as the Vols' coach in 2010. Through the first 27 games of Dooley's tenure, the Vols had been 13-0 when leading at halftime and 0-14 when tied or behind at the midway point.

SportsNation: Is Florida an SEC contender?

Florida made the right adjustments and got solid play from quarterback Jeff Driskel and Mike Gillislee to beat Tennessee. Are the Gators a legit SEC title contender? Vote!

Tennessee's Tyler Bray went 22-of-44 for 257 yards and threw touchdown passes to Cordarrelle Patterson and Mychal Rivera, but he also tossed his first two interceptions of the season. Tennessee linebacker A.J. Johnson added a 1-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation.

"We had a great game going and we just let it slip away," Dooley said. "You know, the sky's not going to fall tomorrow. We're going to have to learn from it. They're a good football team and we lost. We've got to make sure we don't make those kinds of mistakes again because we're going to be in a lot of fourth-quarter games. We've got to execute in the fourth."

Florida's rally stunned a Neyland Stadium sellout crowd of 102,455 that wanted to see Tennessee end its recent futility in this series and make a statement that it had reclaimed its status as an SEC contender after back-to-back losing seasons.

For about 2 1/2 quarters, it seemed they'd get their wish.

The Vols led 20-13 and had a chance to take a double-digit advantage midway through the third quarter after an unsuccessful Florida fake punt attempt gave the Vols possession at the Gators' 47-yard line. Tennessee failed to capitalize on the exceptional field position and ended up punting into the end zone.

Florida dominated from that point on.

Burton, a fullback who often takes snaps out of the Wildcat formation, raced 80 yards on the first play of Florida's ensuing possession. Burton headed toward the right sideline, shook loose of Tennessee cornerback Marsalis Teague after crossing midfield and sailed into the end zone from there. That play was only Burton's second carry of the night, as he'd run around left end for a 14-yard touchdown on his first attempt.

Florida got the ball back when Matt Elam picked off a Tyler Bray pass intended for Justin Hunter at the Florida 30. Driskel then put the Gators in front for good with his pass to Reed. The tiebreaking touchdown was set up by a 45-yard run from Gillislee, who had gained just 27 yards on 11 carries up to that point.

The Vols never recovered. A Tennessee offense that had moved the ball well for the first 40 minutes could do nothing right the rest of the evening. Tennessee was held to minus-8 yards on its last three possessions, and Bray ended his night with seven straight incompletions.

"We just had to frustrate him a little bit, make him hurry up a little more than he wanted to," Florida linebacker Lerentee McCray said.

While Tennessee's quick-strike attack fell apart, a Florida offense that had taken a grind-it-out approach for the first two weeks of the season started delivering big play after big play.

Driskel and Frankie Hammond connected on a 75-yard touchdown that extended Florida's lead to 34-20 with 9:55 left in the game. Caleb Sturgis' third field goal of the game -- a 49-yarder -- closed the scoring with 6:44 remaining.

"We have athletes all over the field, and we know if we keep getting them the ball, keep giving them touches, eventually (the defense) is going to break," Driskel said. "Fortunately for us, we hit a couple of big plays that changed the momentum."

And the Vols could never get it back.

David M. Hale 16 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322592633
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Alabama, LSU back as No. 1-No. 2 in Top 25

Updated: September 17, 2012, 10:25 AM ET

ESPN.com news services

NEW YORK -- Alabama and LSU are back atop The Associated Press college football poll, holding down Nos. 1 and 2 the way they did most of last season.

The Crimson Tide is No. 1 for the third straight week, and it was almost unanimous. Alabama received 58 of 60 first-place votes. LSU got the other two.

AP Poll

The top five teams in The Associated Press Top 25:

The Southeastern Conference rivals were ranked first and second for eight weeks during last season before eventually meeting in the BCS title game. The difference last year was LSU was first and Alabama second -- until the Tide won the national championship game.

LSU moved up to No. 2 this week after Southern California's first loss of the season. USC slipped 11 spots to 13th after losing 21-14 at Stanford, which jumped from 21st to ninth.

USC was preseason No. 1 in a close vote and slipped to No. 2 after Alabama throttled Michigan to start the season.

"We have really been fighting against allowing ourselves to accept average," Tide coach Nick Saban said after a 52-0 demolition of beleaguered Arkansas this week.

LSU hosts Alabama in Baton Rouge, La., on Nov. 3.

No. 4 Florida State heads into maybe its biggest regular-season game of the year with its best ranking since Oct. 9, 2005.

The Seminoles, coming off a 52-0 victory against Wake Forest, host No. 10 Clemson at Doak Campell Stadium on Saturday in a game that should go a long way to determining who wins the Atlantic Division of the ACC.

No. 9 Stanford shot up 12 spots after beating USC for the fourth straight season.

The Cardinal are proving there is life and prosperity after Andrew Luck. The assumption was when the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up moved on to the NFL, Stanford would slip back into the Pac-12 pack.

"I have been saying it for years, even before I became head coach: This game isn't about who you play, it is about how you play," coach David Shaw said.

There were signs last week, in USC's 42-29 victory against Syracuse, that the Trojans' line play would be a problem.

Even before the season, there were fears that USC's defensive line looked thin and the offensive line less-than-dominant. But there was so much talent and skill on both sides of the ball, including Heisman favorite Matt Barkley at quarterback, it was easy to overlook potential problems.

"We obviously did not have an answer (for their defense)," Barkley told reporters after the game.

No. 11 Notre Dame rose nine places after dominating Michigan State 20-3 in East Lansing, Mich.

Behind linebacker Manti Te'o and defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt, the Irish smothered the Spartans, allowing 237 total yards, only 50 on the ground.

Notre Dame and Stanford meet in South Bend, Ind., on Oct. 13.

No. 24 Boise State and No. 25 Nebraska, after brief exits, are back in the rankings, and No. 23 Mississippi State is in the Top 25 for the first time in a bit more than a year.

The Bulldogs are 3-0 for the first time since 1999, though getting there was tougher than most probably expected. Mississippi State won 30-24 at Troy on Saturday.

"We jumped into the polls and we did not perform at our best. I hope it's a real motivating factor," Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said Sunday.

Falling out of the poll were Tennessee, BYU and Virginia Tech.

The Hokies suffered maybe the most surprising loss of the weekend, falling 35-17 to previously winless Pittsburgh.

Virginia Tech is unranked for the first time since October 2010, snapping a string of 29 polls.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

David M. Hale 17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8387061/alabama-crimson-tide-lsu-tigers-back-no-1-no-2-ap-top-25
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UConn hangs on to beat ex-coach Edsall, Terps

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Lyle McCombs and Scott McCummings both ran for touchdowns, and Nick Williams returned a punt for another score as Connecticut defeated Maryland 24-21 Saturday.

McCombs rushed for 94 yards and his fourth-quarter touchdown. McCummings, who also came in at quarterback occasionally, ran for a 3-yard score that gave the Huskies a 14-0 first-half lead.

That came after Williams scored the game's first touchdown on a 58-yard punt return.

Connecticut (2-1) started quickly in going against their former coach, Randy Edsall, who left after 2010 to come to Maryland (2-1). Both sides spent much of the week downplaying talk of any hard feelings.

The Huskies outgained Maryland 148-80 in total yardage in the first half and controlled the ball for 18 minutes, 40 seconds. They also came up with timely plays, converting four of nine third-down situations to keep the Maryland offense off the field.

Connecticut opened the scoring on Williams' 58-yard punt return, and Chad Christen's extra point gave the Huskies a 7-0 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.

They took advantage of a short field to score their second touchdown, gaining possession at the Maryland 36 after the Terrapins were forced to punt from their 4. McCummings' 3-yard run seven plays later made it 14-0 with 12:35 left in the half.

Maryland's offense finally awakened on the next possession. A key play came on fourth-and-4 from the Connecticut 37, when quarterback Perry Hills completed an 18-yard pass to Stefon Diggs.

One play later, Wes Brown ran for a 19-yard touchdown, and Brad Craddock's extra point cut the lead to 14-7 with 10:24 remaining in the half.

Connecticut linebacker Yawin Smallwood sacked Hills and forced a third-quarter fumble that Angelo Pruitt recovered for the Huskies at the Maryland 23. They couldn't pick up a first down, but Christen kicked a 34-yard field goal with 3:29 left in the quarter for a 17-7 lead.

Smallwood caused problems for the Terrapins throughout the game, with four of his 14 tackles going for losses, including three sacks.

After a 75-yard drive, Maryland made it 17-14 on the second play of the fourth quarter when Hills threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Diggs on third-and-10. The Terrapins' Marcus Leak tipped the pass and Diggs grabbed it for a touchdown to make it 17-14.

But the Huskies answered on their next possession, driving 76 yards to take a 24-14 lead on McCombs' 11-yard touchdown run.

Hills ran for a 10-yard touchdown that cut the Connecticut lead to 24-21 with 4:39 left.

After getting the ball back following a Huskies punt, Maryland reached the Connecticut 39 before its drive stalled with 17 seconds left.

David M. Hale 16 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322590120
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FSU rolls to 3-0 as Clemson comes calling

After squashing first three opponents FSU eager to face Clemson

Updated: September 17, 2012, 9:29 AM ET

By David M. Hale | NoleNation

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The week leading up to Saturday's win over Wake Forest was a constant reminder of what might have been a year ago.

The questions all surrounded last year's loss and Wake Forest's recent run of success against Florida State. The first two games of the season, both massive blowouts over FCS foes, did little to sooth the doubters. The arrival of ACC play was going to be a test, EJ Manuel said, and the Seminoles wanted to deliver an emphatic answer.

Melina Vastola/US PRESSWIREFlorida State has had a lot to celebrate through three games, but will face a tough test with No. 10 Clemson.

"We wanted to make this a statement game," Manuel said. "We lost to Wake last year, had some injuries, but this year, it was a statement."

The 52-0 final score served notice that Florida State was as talented as the preseason hype suggested and as focused as coach Jimbo Fisher had demanded throughout this early season run through a less-than-daunting schedule. In that sense, Manuel's statement was loud and clear.

But as the Seminoles now turn their attention to what might be their biggest game of the year, a conference showdown with No. 10 Clemson, the tests get tougher.

After Saturday's win, Fisher praised Wake Forest as breathlessly as he had five days earlier.

"I know we won 52-0," Fisher said. "But Wake Forest is a good football team."

The sentiment is somewhat incongruous on its face. If Wake Forest was a true test, that outcome seems impossible. If the Deacons were just another speed bump like Murray State and Savannah State before them, then precious few answers can be derived in advance of Clemson's arrival at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Florida State is off to its first 3-0 start in seven years. The No. 4 team in the nation has outscored its first three opponents 176-3. But are the Seminoles really that good?

"I don't think we have reached any part of the iceberg -- and not the tip of it," Manuel said. "We are scratching the surface right now. Once we get everything clicking, as an offense, I think we will be hard to handle."

That's a bold prediction given the 612 yards Florida State put on Wake Forest, but Manuel is right to suggest there is room to improve.

The Seminoles' offensive line allowed three sacks, and pass protection was a problem throughout. Three plays from inside the 2-yard line came up short in the second quarter, forcing a field goal. Several potential big plays in the passing game were dropped during the first three weeks of action.

"When we do stuff to hurt ourselves, we're not that great," fullback Lonnie Pryor said. "But when we're all on the same page, we'll be hard to stop."

While the offense has its share of quirks to work through, the defense has been nothing short of dominant. Bjoern Werner has led a ferocious attack that is allowing the opposition just 1.91 yards per play thus far -- nearly a full yard better than any other team in the country.

But is that a product of facing three overmatched offensive lines, including a Wake Forest unit that had three backups starting Saturday's game, or is this a defense that can match preseason hype so inflated that Fisher suggested no team could live up to such lofty expectations?

Sammy Watkins, Tajh Boyd and Clemson should help provide some clarity, but the Seminoles certainly aren't intimidated.

"We're ready to show everybody we're ready to live up to those high expectations," safety Lamarcus Joyner said.

Through three games, the hurdles haven't been great, but Florida State has cleared each with plenty of room to spare.

For a decade, the same questions have reverberated through the Florida State fan base, but after three dominant performances, the answers to whether the Seminoles are really ready to contend for a national title finally are coming into focus.

"It's motivation," Pryor said. "We're 3-0 right now, and it just gives us confidence. But that game is over, and we're on to Clemson."

• Reporter for NoleNation
• Covers Florida State sports
• Joined ESPN in 2012

David M. Hale 17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://espn.go.com/colleges/fsu/football/story/_/id/8388458/florida-state-seminoles-roll-preliminaries
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Johnson's four scores power Miami's offense

MIAMI -- Duke Johnson finished with four touchdowns, scoring them three different ways and leading Miami past Bethune-Cookman 38-10 on Saturday.

Johnson had a 95-yard kick return for a score, a 50-yard touchdown reception and scoring runs of 1 and 28 yards.

The Hurricanes (2-1) fell behind the Wildcats 7-0 for the second straight year before pulling away from their Football Championship Subdivision opponent and winning their sixth straight home opener.

Johnson now has six touchdowns in his first three college games, four of them going for at least 50 yards. He finished with 246 all-purpose yards and became the first Miami player with a four-touchdown game since Tyrone Moss against North Carolina in 2005.

Isidore Jackson had a 1-yard touchdown run for Bethune-Cookman (2-1).

Johnson finished with 94 rushing yards and quarterback Stephen Morris shook off a rusty start and completed 20 of 35 passes for 211 yards for the Hurricanes, who return to Atlantic Coast Conference play at Georgia Tech next weekend.

Rodney Scott led Bethune-Cookman with 72 rushing yards. The Wildcats had won eight straight games going back to last season.

The Wildcats took a 7-0 lead on Miami for the second straight year, when Jackson's score capped a six-play, 20-yard drive set up when the Hurricanes' Phillip Dorsett fumbled a punt return.

Last season, the Wildcats kept their edge on the Hurricanes for much of the first half.

Not this time. The lead lasted for all of 12 seconds -- thanks to Johnson, whose home debut with the Hurricanes was one to remember.

After Jackson's score, Johnson took the ensuing kickoff, followed Dorsett through some gaping holes and sprinted untouched to the end zone, tying the game at 7-7. It was Miami's first kick-return touchdown since Lamar Miller scored against Ohio State two years ago, and the longest by a Hurricane since Devin Hester ran one back 100 yards against North Carolina State in 2004.

To think he was just getting started.

Miami took the lead after going 50 yards in nine plays midway through the second quarter, Johnson getting the last yard after taking a pitch and running left, cutting inside Bethune-Cookman safety D.J. Howard and diving just past the goal line for a 14-7 Miami lead. The Hurricanes forced a three-and-out on the next Bethune possession, and Jake Wieclaw's 20-yard field goal with 35 seconds left sent Miami into halftime leading 17-7.

And then Johnson dazzled again in the third, catching a short pass from Morris, waiting for some blocking to develop and sprinting 50 yards for his third score of the afternoon.

His fourth score came with 8:25 left, a 28-yard rush that pushed the lead to 31-10.

According to STATS LLC, the last Football Bowl Subdivision player with at least two rushing, one receiving and one return touchdown in the same game was East Carolina's Chris Johnson -- now of the Tennessee Titans -- in 2007.

Eduardo Clements had a 10-yard touchdown run with 3:56 left for Miami, which lost linebacker Denzel Perryman, safety Andrew Swasey and long-snapper Sean McNally to injuries. None of the three returned.

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Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com.ByTimReynolds

David M. Hale 16 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322592390
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FSU receivers ready to show what they can do

Limited action for EJ Manuel and his receivers has led to ho-hum results

Updated: September 13, 2012, 9:06 AM ET

By David M. Hale | NoleNation

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The fade pattern against Savannah State was run with precision. EJ Manuel's pass floated into the corner of the end zone, and Kelvin Benjamin was in perfect position to snatch the ball from midair.

It was the first time the duo had connected for a touchdown, but it looked like a play they'd run a hundred times.

That's because they had.

Melina Vastola/US PresswireTBD by Editor

"We work on those every day, all day," Benjamin said.

Until now, the work has largely been done behind the scenes. Against Murray State and Savannah State, Manuel has seen precious few snaps, and even when he's been in the game, he hasn't been asked to do much.

Florida State's receiving corps appears deep, but to date, it's been tough to establish a rapport with Manuel or iron out timing issues on game day. Saturdays have been easy. Mondays and Tuesdays, on the other hand, have been a test.

"We get more timing and stuff done in practice than in the game," said Rashad Greene, last year's leading receiver, who has been limited to just 49 yards on five catches so far in 2012.

Manuel insists all that work on the practice field, going up against teammates Xavier Rhodes and Lamarcus Joyner, has ironed out any kinks in the passing game, and the on-field results thus far largely support that notion. Save a few drops from receivers, Manuel was nearly perfect against Murray State and Savannah State.

But just how the passing game will look this week against Wake Forest, on the other hand, is still tough to tell. With so little of the offense on display during the first two weeks, many of the more intriguing wrinkles have yet to be unveiled.

"I'm excited to get some different looks," Greene said. "It'll be more of a surprise to defenses. The first two games were just basic stuff, but we're opening it up and it's very exciting."

What might that mean?

For one, Florida State could find more ways to get Benjamin on the field. After a quiet debut against Murray State, the redshirt freshman caught two touchdowns against Savannah State and added 16 more yards on a reverse.

Jimbo Fisher raved about Benjamin's strong weeks of practice, and he said the 6-foot-6 receiver has done a good job of building trust with Manuel.

"He'll have the ability to make some big plays," Fisher said. "As do other guys on the team."

There's plenty of talent to go around with FSU's receivers, but there's only one football, and that's where things get complicated.

Through two games, Kenny Shaw has been Florida State's leading receiver, hauling in seven passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. But Shaw's most memorable play during that stretch might have been his bobble against Murray State, which bounced off his hands and into the clutches of a defender for an interception.

Benjamin's six receptions and 96 yards are second on the team, but he remains third on Fisher's depth chart, and the bulk of his production came later in games, when the starters had already taken seats on the bench.

Senior Rodney Smith accounted for the biggest play of the first two weeks, a 61-yard touchdown grab on the opening drive against Savannah State that wound up as the longest touchdown of both his and Manuel's career. Like his teammate, Smith chalked up the long scoring play to the midweek drills.

"We get there through practice," he said. "You work on those things."

Manuel has promised a more featured role for tight end Nick O'Leary, too. In summer seven-on-seven drills, Manuel said O'Leary was consistently able to get open underneath, and perhaps as a result, tight ends have been popular targets the first two weeks of the season.

Of course, O'Leary was responsible for an ugly drop in Week 1, and he sat out of Florida State's second game with a thigh bruise.

In other words, the possibilities for FSU's passing game are extensive, but a blueprint for how those weapons will be put into action is tough to come by.

That, of course, is just how Florida State likes it.

"It might pose a tough week for Wake Forest to prepare for all the things we can do as an offense," Manuel said. "But the guys have the confidence they need going into this third game."

A year ago, Greene put together the biggest game of his career against Wake Forest. He's certainly shown flashes during his first month, including two 98-yard games, but against the Demon Deacons, he exploded for 12 catches, 163 yards receiving and a touchdown.

And it could happen again, Greene said. After only five catches the past two weeks, he's ready for more work.

Or it could be Benjamin with the big day, or O'Leary or Smith or Shaw or any of nearly a half-dozen other receivers who will see work against Wake Forest.

The difference, Greene said, is that this year, they're hoping that whoever has the breakout performance also results in a win.

"Last year, it may have been a breakout game for me, but we still lost," Greene said. "I don't want to have a breakout game if we're going to lose. I just want to contribute and help us win."

• Reporter for NoleNation
• Covers Florida State sports
• Joined ESPN in 2012

David M. Hale 13 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://espn.go.com/colleges/fsu/football/story/_/id/8372850/florida-state-receivers-ready-break-wake-forest
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Alabama, LSU back as No. 1-No. 2 in Top 25

Updated: September 16, 2012, 11:58 AM ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Alabama and LSU are back atop The Associated Press college football poll, holding down Nos. 1 and 2 the way they did most of last season.

AP Poll

The top five teams in The Associated Press Top 25:

The Crimson Tide is No. 1 for the third straight week, and it was almost unanimous. Alabama received 58 of 60 first-place votes. LSU got the other two.

The Southeastern Conference rivals were ranked first and second for eight weeks during last season before eventually meeting in the BCS title game. The difference last year was LSU was first and Alabama second -- until the Tide won the national championship game.

LSU moved up to No. 2 this week after Southern California's first loss of the season. USC slipped 11 spots to 13th after losing 21-14 at Stanford.

Stanford jumped from 21st to ninth.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

David M. Hale 16 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8387061/alabama-crimson-tide-lsu-tigers-back-no-1-no-2-ap-top-25
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