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UM Players Glad FSU Game Moved

Published: Jul 23, 2007

PINEHURST, N.C. - For the first time since 2003, the Miami Hurricanes will not open their season Labor Day night.

That's fine with UM players.

When the Hurricanes joined the ACC in 2004, the Florida State-Miami game was shifted to the holiday telecast on ABC, giving maximum exposure to one of the nation's top rivalries. Generally, it failed to deliver much offensive excitement. FSU won 10-7 in 2005, then 13-10 in last season's defensive slugfest.

FSU at Clemson is now the ACC's Labor Day offering Sept. 3. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, will return to a perfunctory home opener Sept. 1 against Marshall.

Miami at FSU is set for Oct. 20.

"Florida State-Miami probably shouldn't be the opening game," Hurricanes senior guard Derrick Morse said during Sunday's annual ACC Football Kickoff event. "Neither team has been at its best. I think it's better in the middle of the season."

"We don't have to think about and talk about that [FSU] game all offseason," Hurricanes junior defensive end Calais Campbell said. "But it's still going to mean something. Oh yeah, it will still mean a lot."

WE'RE ALL HOKIES: Virginia Tech figures to have a highly emotional season - from its home supporters and fans at every opposing stadium. On April 16, a Virginia Tech student gunned down 32 people on campus, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

"It's something none of us will ever totally get over," Hokies senior defensive tackle Carlton Powell said. "I have seen a lot more people wearing Virginia Tech gear. I know there's tremendous pride in the school, more than ever before.

"I think we'll get a good reception [on the road]. People will still want to beat us, of course. But I think a lot of people sympathize for what the school has gone through."

BUTCH IS BACK: Butch Davis, the former UM coach, is beginning his first season at North Carolina. And already, his influence has been felt.

"The first day, he was talking about the things we need to do in order to win a national championship," Tar Heels senior defensive end Hilee Taylor said. "We hadn't heard that before. I think our mind-set was more like getting to the best bowl game possible. So I think Coach Davis is going to really get things going."

CALVINIST APPROACH: At Georgia Tech, fans might be wondering about offensive life after Calvin Johnson, the All-American wide receiver. It should be fine, according to Yellow Jackets senior running back Tashard Choice, who led the ACC in rushing with 1,473 yards.

"I understand why Calvin got all the attention," Choice said. "You're talking about the type of talent that comes along every 30 or 40 years. Everybody seemed to want to talk about how great Calvin was or how much [quarterback] Reggie Ball was struggling. But we did have a running game, too, and I appreciated the people who noticed that."

ODDS AND ENDS: UM's Morse said the players were shaken by news of the recent car accident involving three Hurricane players, including incoming freshman quarterback Robert Marve (Plant). "Thank God everyone survived," Morse said. "With everything our program has gone through in the last year, even with something like this, we have something to be thankful for." … With Sunday devoted to the players, ACC coaches will take center stage today with the media. After last season, in which the league had no new head coaches, there are four this year - Davis (North Carolina), Jeff Jagodzinski (Boston College), Tom O'Brien (N.C. State) and Randy Shannon (Miami).

Joey Johnston