2000 ACC FOOTBALL IN REVIEW

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1 Five ACC teams in post-season bowl play for third year in a row Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke wins Heisman Trophy Seminoles Jamal Reynolds named Lombardi Award recipient 13 players earn All-America honors, including 10 first team selections Minnis, Brown, Reynolds, Adams & Cody named consensus All-Americans the ACC has had 22 consensus All-Americans over the past four years Three ACC teams earn Top 15 ranking in final BCS Rankings the ACC is against non-league ranked teams over the past three years FSU s Chris Weinke sets ACC single-season passing yardage mark with 4,167 yards Weinke finishes career as the ACC s all-time passing yardage leader with 9,473 yards Maryland s LaMont Jordan finishes third on the ACC s career rushing list with 4,147 yards Florida State has won 10-or-more games 14 consecutive years ACC sets attendance record drawing an all-time high 2.7 millions fans Three ACC teams finish season with nine wins or more the ACC is the second-winningest bowl conference Rivers, Smith, Dockett and Pope earn Freshman All-America honors FSU s Bowden moves into fourth on the all-time coaches win list with 315 wins Virginia s George Welsh retires as the ACC s all-time winningest coach with 134 wins NC State s Levar Fisher leads nation in tackles per game 186 players from the ACC listed on NFL rosters during the 2000 season Four first round draft picks head up 23 players selected in 2001 NFL Draft 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings ACC Games Overall Team W L For Opp Hm Rd Nu W L For Opp Hm Rd Nu Florida State Seminoles Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Clemson Tigers Virginia Cavaliers NC State Wolfpack North Carolina Tar Heels Maryland Terrapins Wake Forest Demon Deacons Duke Blue Devils Bold denotes Conference Champion 2000 Bowl Game Results Bowl Game Score Summary Jeep Oahu Georgia 37, Virginia Cavaliers suffer four turnovers in Welsh s final game as Cavaliers head coach Micronpc.com NC State 38, Minnesota Rivers throws for 310 yards and 2 TDs as Wolfpack rallies from an early 24-point deficit Chick-fil-A Peach LSU 28, Georgia Tech LSU s Davey throws for 3 second-half TDs; GT s Joe Burns runs for 96 yards and one TD Toyota Gator Virginia Tech 41, Clemson Vick accounts for 224 yards and two TDs, Tigers Dantzler 261 yards in total offense FedEx Orange Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2... Weinke passes for 274 yards aginast top-ranked Sooners in defensive struggle

2 ACC Player of the Year Chris Weinke Senior Quarterback Florida State Florida State s senior quarterback Chris Weinke capped off an outstanding season by being named both the 2000 ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in a vote by the league s media... in addition, the 6-5, 240-pound senior was named as the winner of the 2000 Heisman Trophy as the nation s top college football player... was also a unanimous selection to the league s All-ACC team... directed the third-ranked Seminoles to an 11-1 regular season record and the school s ninth-straight ACC football title, Weinke rewrote the league s record book setting three ACC single season records with 4,167 yards passing, 4,070 yards in total offense and 33 touchdown passes... in addition, his passing efficiency rating of is second this season nationally and the third highest single season mark in league history... selected ACC Back of the Week a league-high six times... concluded his career as the ACC s all-time leader in passing yardage (9,839), touchdown passes (79), second in passing efficiency (151.15) and third in total offense with 9,473 yards... the winner of the prestigious Heisman Trophy, Weinke was also named first team All-America by the Football News... passed for 300 yards or more seven times this season and set a ACC career record with yard games in his career. ACC Player of the Year Chris Weinke, Sr., Florida State Jamal Reynolds, Sr., Florida State... 1 Koren Robinson, So., NC State... 1 Kelly Campbell, Jr., Georgia Tech... 1 Woody Dantzler, Jr., Clemson... 1 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Chris Weinke, Sr., Florida State Koren Robinson, So., NC State... 3 Travis Minor, Sr., Florida State... 2 Woody Dantzler, Jr., Clemson... 1 Marvin Minnis, Sr., Florida State... 1 George Godsey, Jr., Georgia Tech... 1 ACC Defensive Player of the Year Levar Fisher Junior Linebacker NC State One of the nation s top defensive players, NC State linebacker Levar Fisher was named as the 2000 ACC Defensive Player of the Year... the 6-1, 223-pound junior turned in one of the top single season performances in NC State history... Fisher led the nation in tackles with 163 stops in 11 games for a 14.8 per game average... Fisher was ninth in the conference in tackles for losses with 15 while leading the Wolfpack to a 7-4 record and a berth in the Micronpc.Com Bowl on Dec was selected ACC defensive lineman of the week twice in 2000 and totaled 12-or-more tackles in 10 of NC State s 11 games... recorded a personal-high 21 tackles versus Maryland and 20 tackles against Florida State... the 21 tackles against Maryland included a season-high five tackles for losses and was the third highest singlegame tackle total in NC State history... recovered five fumbles and tallied five quarterback sacks... was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award... named first-team All-America by both the Football News and the Football Writers (FWAA)... Fisher received 18 votes to edge Lombardi winner Jamal Reynolds of Florida State and Clemson linebacker Keith Adams; Adams won the award last year as a sophomore... was in on 750 plays for the Wolfpack, including 94 at Clemson... the first player from NC State to win the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award. ACC Defensive Player of the Year Levar Fisher, Jr., NC State Jamal Reynolds, Sr., Florida State Keith Adams, Jr., Clemson Julius Peppers, So., North Carolina. 10 Tay Cody, Sr., Florida State... 6 Nick Rogers, Jr., Georgia Tech... 1 Shawn Forte, Sr., Maryland... 1 Felipe Claybrooks, Sr., Georgia Tech.. 1 Tommy Polley, Sr., Florida State... 1 Tim Spruill, Sr., Virginia... 1 Chad Carson, Jr., Clemson... 1 ACC Rookie of the Year Philip Rivers Freshman Quarterback NC State For the third straight year an NC State player has earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors as Philip Rivers was a clear-cut choice of the media following a record-setting year by the Wolfpack quarterback... in addition to being named ACC Freshman of the Week a league-record eight times, Rivers set six ACC freshmen single season records while leading the Wolfpack to a 7-4 record and a berth in the Micronpc.Com Bowl on Dec the 6-5, 221- pounder established five new ACC freshmen standards in passing yardage (3,054), passing yards per game (277.6) touchdown passes (25), total offense (2,969) and total offense yardage per game (269.9)... his 3,054 yards passing and his per game mark are the ninth-best single season totals, respectively, in ACC history while his 25 TD passes are tied for sixth... his 2,969 yards of total offense and per game average are the 11th best single season totals, respectively, in league annals... the Athens, Ala., native also set ACC freshman single game records with 413 yards passing against Duke and five touchdown passes in a come-from-behind victory over Big Ten foe Indiana... his 25 touchdown passes were the most by any freshman nationally this season and tied for fifth overall among Division I-A quarterbacks... Rivers is the seventh NC State player to be named ACC Rookie of the Year, the most by any school... threw for 397 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate game Sept. 2 against Arkansas State... threw at least one touchdown pass in 10 of the Wolfpack s 11 games and was responsible for 28 of the team s 41 offensive touchdowns... set nine school single season passing records... on the year, Rivers completed 65-of-124 passes for 787 yards and seven touchdowns in the fourth quarter. ACC Rookie of the Year Philip Rivers, QB, NC State Daryl Smith, LB, Georgia Tech... 3 Ryan Fowler, LB, Duke... 1 Darnell Dockett, DL, Florida State... 1

3 ACC Coach of the Year George O Leary Georgia Tech Brian Piccolo Award Ed Wilder Georgia Tech Jim Tatum Award Louis Marchetti North Carolina After leading his Yellow Jackets to a share of second place in the ACC, a Top 20 ranking and an invitation to the Peach Bowl, Georgia Tech s George O Leary was the media s choice as the ACC Coach of the Year... in winning the award for the second time in three years, O Leary guided a youthful Yellow Jacket team to a 9-2 regular season record, including a 6-2 mark in league play... Tech ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak and a No. 15 ranking by the Associated Press and 17th by the USA Today/College Football Coaches... the Yellow Jackets two losses to Florida State and NC State were by a total of 12 points... in leading Georgia Tech to a fourthstraight bowl appearance for the first time since , three straight wins over archrival Georgia for the first time since , and 27 wins in its last 34 games, O Leary s Yellow Jackets played one of the nation s toughest schedules that included five bowl teams. Jacobs Blocking Trophy Tarlos Thomas Florida State ACC Coach of the Year George O Leary, Georgia Tech Bobby Bowden, Florida State Tommy Bowden, Clemson... 5 Chuck Amato, NC State... 9 Florida State tackle Tarlos Thomas was named as the recipient of the 2000 Jacobs Blocking Trophy... a threeyear starter and four-year letterman for FSU, Thomas has earned first team All-ACC honors in each of the past two years... the Monticello, Fla., product was the mainstay of a veteran offensive line that keyed a Seminole offense that ranked first nationally in total offense (549.0) and passing offense (384.0). Georgia Tech fullback Ed Wilder was selected as the recipient of the Brian Piccolo Award... the Piccolo Award has been given annually since 1972 in memory of the late Brian Piccolo to the most courageous football player in the ACC... Piccolo was the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1965 and played for the Chicago Bears before his career was cut short when he was stricken with cancer... Wilder originally suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in 1996 as a senior in high school... suffered a torn meniscus in the same knee in May of the Washington, Ga., product underwent his most recent surgery in February 2000 to repair debridement and ACL thermal shrinkage in his knee... despite having three knee surgeries in 10 months, Wilder missed only one game dating back to October 1999, but returned to finish out the 1999 season... even though he was forced to miss spring practice in 2000, he participated in every game this past season. 1ST TEAM - OFFENSE (1st place votes) QB Chris Weinke, Sr., FSU (70) RB Travis Zachery, Jr., Clem. (44) RB Antwoine Womack, Jr., UVa (37) WR Marvin Minnis, Sr., FSU (54) WR Koren Robinson, So., NCS (43) TE Alge Crumpler, Sr., UNC (34) OT Chris Brown, Sr., GaT (53) OT Char-ron Dorsey, Sr., FSU (35) OG Brent Key, Sr., GaT (55) OG Justin Amman, Sr., FSU (50) OC Kyle Young, Jr., Clem. (46) PK Luke Manget, So., GaT (44) ND TEAM - OFFENSE QB George Godsey, Jr., GaT (0) RB Travis Minor, Sr., FSU (23) RB LaMont Jordan, Sr., Md. (19) WR Kelly Campbell, Jr., GaT (28) WR Rod Gardner, Sr., Clem. (13) TE Mike Hart, Jr., Duke (16) OT Tarlos Thomas, Sr., FSU (26) OT Brett Williams, So., FSU (14) OG Will Merritt, Jr., Clem. (15) OG Josh Lawson, Jr., UVa (7) OC Jarad Moon, Sr., FSU (15) PK Jeff Reed, Jr., UNC (18) All-ACC Football Teams North Carolina offensive tackle Louis Marchetti was selected as the recipient of the 2000 Jim Tatum Award... the Tatum Award is given annually in memory of the late Jim Tatum to the top senior student-athlete among the league s football players... Tatum, a two-time ACC Coach of the Year, coached in the fifties at both Maryland and North Carolina... a two-time National Football Foundation scholar-athlete award recipient, Marchetti carries a career GPA of in business administration... a walk-on when he began his career at North Carolina, Marchetti was awarded a scholarship prior to the 1999 season and has been a regular contributor on the offensive line throughout his junior and senior seasons... this past season, Marchetti started all 11 games at offensive tackle... averaged 57 snaps per game this past season... the Nashville, Tenn., native is a member of the Carolina ACT program as well as coordinating the football outreach program. 1ST TEAM - DEFENSE DL Jamal Reynolds, Sr., FSU (65) DL Julius Peppers, So., UNC (64) DL Greg Gathers, So., GaT (47) DL Terry Jolly, Sr., Clem. (23) LB Levar Fisher, Jr., NCS (60) LB Keith Adams, Jr., Clem. (57) LB Tommy Polley, Sr., FSU (41) DB Tay Cody, Sr., FSU (69) DB Derrick Gibson, Sr., FSU (46) DB Robert Carswell, Sr., Clem. (35) DB Alex Ardley, Jr., Clem. (33) SP Koren Robinson, So., NCS (43) P Brian Morton, Sr., Duke (54) ND TEAM - DEFENSE DL Nick Rogers, Jr., GaT (13) DL Darnell Dockett, Fr., FSU (24) DL David Warren, Sr., FSU (17) DL Kris Jenkins, Sr., Md. (6) LB Byron Thweatt, Sr., UVa (9) LB Brandon Spoon, Sr., UNC (17) LB Brian Allen, Sr., FSU (10) DB Clevan Thomas, Sr., FSU (26) DB Adrian Wilson, Jr., NCS (12) DB Terrence Holt, So., NCS (11) DB Jeremy Muyres, So., GaT (7) DB Chris Hope, Jr., FSU (8) SP Kelly Campbell, Jr., GaT (13) P Keith Cottrell, Sr., FSU (4)... 30

4 FSU s Weinke wins Heisman Florida State senior QB Chris Weinke became the second ACC player to win the Heisman Trophy when he captured the award in one of the closest votes in the history of the trophy... Weinke edged Oklahoma QB Josh Heupel by 76 points (1,628-to-1,552) in the seventh-tightest Heisman race... Purdue QB Drew Brees was third with 619 votes followed by TCU s LaDainian Tomlinson (566) and Northwestern s Damien Anderson (101)... Weinke won four of the six voting regions - the Northwest, Mid-Atlantic, South and Mideast. ACC Freshmen All-Americans The ACC had nine players earn Freshmen All-America honors in NC State quarterback Phillip Rivers was named national Freshman of the Year by ABC Sports... Florida State s Darnell Dockett was tabbed as The Football News Defensive Freshman of the Year... Rivers, the ACC Rookie of the Year, threw for 3,054 yards and 25 TDs while Dockett had 60 tackles for the Seminoles, including a teamhigh 18 for losses. The Sporting News Phillip Rivers, QB, NC State... 1st Team Kendyll Pope, LB, Florida State... 1st Team Daryl Smith, LB, Georgia Tech... 1st Team John Bennett, OL, Georgia Tech...2nd Team Jeff Womble, DL, Florida State...2nd Team Ryan Fowler, LB, Duke... 3rd Team Mike Whaley, LB, Maryland... 3rd Team Dexter Reid, DB, North Carolina... 3rd Team Football News Phillip Rivers, QB, NC State... 1st Team John Bennett, OL, Georgia Tech... 1st Team Darnell Dockett, DE, Florida State... 1st Team Daryl Smith, LB, Georgia Tech... 1st Team Jeff Womble, DL, Florida State...2nd Team Kendyll Pope, LB, Florida State... 1st Team Ryan Fowler, LB, Duke... 3rd Team ACC QB Career Leading Rushers Player, School Years Yards Mike Dunn, Duke ,939 Larry Russell, Wake Forest ,923 Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech ,758 Steve Fuller, Clemson ,665 Woodrow Dantzler, Clemson ** 1,611 Shawn Moore, Virginia ,268 Johnny Evans, NC State ,259 Nealon Greene, Clemson ,024 Gayle Bomar, North Carolina ,024 Shawn Jones, Georgia Tech Charlie Ward, Florida State All-America Checklist Heisman Trophy Johnny Unitas Award Davey O Brien Chris Weinke, Florida State Lombardi Award Jamal Reynolds, Florida State Jamal Reynolds, Sr., DE, Florida State FB Writers... 1 Walter Camp... 1 FB Coaches... 1 Associated Press... 1 CNNSI.com... 1 Marvin Minnis, Sr., WR Florida State FB Writers... 1 CNNSI.com... 1 FB Coaches... 1 Associated Press... 1 Chris Brown, Sr., OT, Georgia Tech FB Writers... 1 FB Coaches... 1 CNNSI.com... 1 FB News... 1 Sporting News... 2 Associated Press... 1 Keith Adams, Jr., LB, Clemson Walter Camp... 1 Associated Press... 1 CNNSI.com... 1 Chris Weinke, Sr., QB Florida State FB News... 1 CNNSI.com... 1 Associated Press... 1 Sporting News... 2 Levar Fisher, Jr., LB, NC State FB Writers... 1 FB News... 1 Associated Press... 2 Sporting News... 2 Walter Camp... 2 Tay Cody, Sr., DB, Florida State Sporting News... 1 FB Coaches... 1 Associated Press... 2 FB News... 2 Walter Camp... 2 Brian Morton, Sr., P, Duke FB Writers... 1 Sporting News... 1 Associated Press... 2 Walter Camp... 2 Julius Peppers, So., DE, North Carolina CNNSI.com... 1 Associated Press... 2 FB News... 2 Tarlos Thomas, Sr., OT, Florida State Walter Camp... 1 Kyle Young, Jr., C, Clemson Football News... 2 Sporting News... 3 Koren Robinson, So., WR, NC State FB News... 2 Associated Press... 3 Chris Hope, Jr., DB, Florida State Sporting News... 2 Tommy Polley, Sr., LB, Florida State Sporting News... 3 FB News... 3 Robert Carswell, Sr., DB, Clemson Sporting News... 3 Associated Press... 3

5 By The Numbers The ACC posted three wins against non-conference ranked teams in 2000, marking the sixth straight season that the league had threeor-more wins over ranked foes. Vs. Ranked Opponents, 2000 Conference W-L Pacific Big Atlantic Coast (ACC) Big East Big Southeastern (SEC) Mountain West Conference USA Big West Western Athletic (WAC) Mid-American Non-ACC Since 1990 Since 1990, the ACC has posted the third-best non-conference record among the 11 division I-A conferences... included in the 242 wins, are 52 victories against ranked opponents... the ACC is since 1990 against non-acc ranked foes. Non-Conference Records, Conference Pct. SEC Big ACC Big Ten Pacific Big East Conf. USA WAC Mnt. West MAC Versus Division I Conferences ( ) ACC W-L Big East Big x... x... x... x... x Big Ten Big x... x... x...x... x Big West Conf USA... x... x... x...x... x MAC Mnt. West... x... x... x...x... x... x... x... x Pac SEC SWC x... x... x... x... x WAC Ind I-AA Total ACC vs. Ranked Teams Over Last Three Years Over the last three years, the ACC has compiled a record against non-league ranked opponents, the second-best record by any Division I conference in the nation. Vs. Ranked Opponents, Conf Total Pct. Big ACC Big Pac SEC Big East Conf. USA Big West Duke tops in graduation rates For the 11th time since 1981, Duke fielded the highest graduation rate among Division I football programs...of the scholarship football players who enrolled at Duke between the and academic years, 91 percent graduated within six years... Northwestern was second at 88 percent. Weinke heads up ACC Academic Team Florida State s Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke headed up the 2000 All-ACC Academic football team... Weinke is one of eight players on the honors unit who earned first or second team All-ACC recognition this past fall... other All-ACC selections named are Clemson s Kyle Young and Will Merritt, Duke s Mike Hart, FSU s Justin Amman, Jarad Moon and Chris Hope and North Carolina s Jeff Reed. OFFENSE: WR Ben Erdeljac, Jr....Duke WR Guilian Gary, Jr.... Maryland TE Mike Hart, Jr....Duke OL Kyle Young, Jr....Clemson OL Justin Amman, Sr.... Florida State OL Will Merritt, Jr....Clemson OL Jarad Moon, Gr.... Florida State OL Evan Routzahn, Jr....Virginia OB Chris Weinke, Sr.... Florida State OB Philip Rivers, Fr....NC State OB Duane Epperson, Sr....Duke PK Jeff Reed, Jr.... North Carolina DEFENSE: DL Felipe Claybrooks, Sr.... Georgia Tech DL Charles Hill, Jr.... Maryland DL Ljubomir Stamenich, Sr....Virginia DL Ross McAllister, Sr... North Carolina LB Nick Bender, Gr.... Wake Forest LB Clayton White, Sr....NC State LB Chad Carson, Jr....Clemson LB Braxton K. Williams, Jr....Clemson DB Tony Jackson, Jr.... Maryland DB Jeremy Muyres, So.... Georgia Tech DB Chris Hope, Jr.... Florida State DB Tony Okanlawon, Jr.... Maryland P Dan Dyke, So.... Georgia Tech Vs. Ranked Opponents Academic All-Americans Georgia Tech s Dan Dyke and Clemson s Kyle Young and Chad Carson were named First Team Verizon Academic All-American for the 2000 season... Dyke had a 3.95 GPA in Electrical Engineering, Carson a 3.94 GPA in Biological Sciences while Young had a 3.97 GPA in Secondary Education... Dyke was a repeat first-team honoree. Following this year s 3-5 mark against non-acc ranked opponents, the ACC is (.491) against non-league ranked opponents since Year ACC Clem. Duke FSU GaT Md. UNC NCS UVa WF x