OUR LEAGUE: Gillen picks up New York City hoops honor

Scattershooting around the ACC, while congratulating Charlottesville’s Pete Gillen on his induction into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame on Wednesday night ...

Gillen, one of the best guys you’ll ever meet, was inducted along with Kenny Anderson, Rod Strickland, Sam Perkins, Eddie “The Eel” Younger and Bob McCullough, a contributor to the Rucker Pro League. Gillen, of course, was the head coach at Virginia, Providence and Xavier.

Seminole drum beats

Is Florida State back?

It’s too early to tell after the Seminoles outscored two FCS teams by a 116-7 count the first two weeks of the season. We’ll find out more about FSU this weekend when the ‘Noles take on Wake Forest.

Wake has won the last two matchups, including a 24-21 decision last year.

How much does FSU coach Bobby Bowden admire Wake coach Jim Grobe, a former UVa player and graduate?

“Last year, Nebraska called me and some others called me, and I said, ‘Get that Jim Grobe if you can get him,’” Bowden said.

Nebraska tried as have several others in the past, but Grobe has been comfortable at Wake. Why? Loyalty, to name one reason. Grobe told this columnist that it’s easy to go to sleep at night knowing that the athletic director has his back.

Quote of the week

Bobby Bowden on Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner, a Jacksonville, Fla., native who took Grobe’s last scholarship in that particular recruiting class, late in the process:

“It’s amazing that [Skinner] got out of the state of Florida. But it goes to show the talent level in the state of Florida. There are so many guys, you can’t get them all.”

Passing grade

How did Clemson’s three starting redshirt freshmen offensive linemen do in their debut against N.C. State? Not too bad.

Tigers coach Tommy Bowden seemed pleased with their effort, particularly in the fact they kept the Wolfpack’s defense off of quarterback Cullen Harper. Harper was not sacked in the game.

Still, the Clemson running game isn’t what fans expected. Of course, those fans were not accounting for the lack of experience on the line.

As Hall of Famer George Welsh told this columnist recently, “Here’s what people don’t understand ... you can’t be the No. 9-ranked team in the nation with an inexperienced offensive line.”

The Tigers’ dynamic running duo of James Davis and C.J. Spiller combined for only 95 yards on 24 carries.

Like Al Groh said of UVa’s offensive line after last week’s collapse at UConn, “all backs run the same when there’s no hole.”

Meanwhile, former Fork Union star Jacoby Ford continued to shine at Clemson, racking up 154 all-purpose yards, 106 in receiving. He had 48 yards rushing, including 30 on a reverse.

“He can change the game,” said Harper of Ford’s speed. “He really can.”

Case of amnesia

Maryland surprised the football world by dominating No. 23 Cal last weekend in College Park. The win came after an embarrassing loss at Middle Tennessee State the week before.

How did the Terps pull it off?

The Maryland coaching staff drilled the team all week into pretending the MTSU loss didn’t happen.

“We took the mindset that we were 0-0,” said Terps QB Chris Turner, who was brilliant in the win. “It’s a whole new season for us. We haven’t even started the ACC yet. We have a whole new season ahead of us.”

Virginia, are you listening?

New look

North Carolina might become the new Oregon? In terms of uniforms, that is.

Coach Butch Davis is tinkering with Carolina’s look and last week unveiled navy blue pants to go with the white jerseys and light blue helmets in the win at Rutgers.

There’s a hint that the Tar Heels might come out in Navy blue jerseys against Virginia Tech this weekend in Chapel Hill.

Break up the Dookies

How ’bout them Blue Devils?

Coach David Cutcliffe has brought a new offense and a new attitude to Durham and it showed in the 41-31 win over Navy. Duke is 2-1 and are open this week before hosting Virginia on Sept. 27.

Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis is benefiting greatly from Cutcliffe’s system, similar to the one that the coach taught to Peyton and Eli Manning.

Last week, Lewis had 358 yards of total offense, including 317 passing on a 25 of 35 performance.

Meanwhile, Lewis and wide receiver Eron Riley have become the most prolific passing duo in Duke history. They hooked up for three touchdowns against Navy, giving them 17 scoring passes in their Duke careers.

“It feels good to break a record,” Riley said. “At the same point, it’s better to get a win.”

End of the drought

There was one particularly happy Blue Devil after last weekend’s 41-31 Duke victory over Navy.

Tielor Robinson, a sixth-year player (granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA) for the Blue Devils had lost five times to Navy: two years at Army before transferring to Duke, where the Devils had lost three in a row to the Middies until last Saturday.

Said Robinson, “I feel like a giant monkey is off my back.”

A new stinger

Georgia Tech’s defense isn’t blitzing as much as it did a year ago under then-defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta (now at Notre Dame). Under Tenuta, a former UVa player and graduate, the Yellow Jackets blitzed about 80 to 90 percent of the time.

New defensive boss Dave Womack chooses to show more fronts and is more selective in when and when not to blitz.

“Last year we pretty much lined up the same way every time,” said GT cornerback Jahi Word-Daniels. “It wasn’t as complex as what we’re doing now.”

Hide the QB

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer has kept his quarterbacks, Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon, away from the media for three weeks at the Hokies’ weekly press conference and interview sessions.

Taylor is clearly the starting quarterback now, having helped the Hokies fight off a surge by Georgia Tech in Blacksburg last weekend. QB coach Mike O’Cain said there is no plan to return to the rotation between the two players as was the case last season, which on the surface appears to mean that Taylor is the man, even though he’s not a strong passer.

Meanwhile, senior cornerback Macho Harris is now working as a two-way performer. Harris lined up at wide receiver against the Yellow Jackets, caught one pass, was the target on another, and fumbled on a double-reverse play. Beamer plans to give Harris more exposure at the position as the season progresses.

Stat of the Week I

North Carolina’s Brandon Tate leads the country in all-purpose yardage, averaging 308 yards per outing ... and averages 30.8 yards per touch.

Stat of the Week II

How much did Virginia miss Kevin Ogletree last season? The junior wide receiver is tied for second in the ACC in receptions per game with 6.33.

The picks

Last week: 4-3. To date: 23-5. This week: Clemson 40, South Carolina State 10; Florida State 27, Wake Forest 24; Georgia Tech 24, Mississippi State 17; Maryland 33, Eastern Michigan 17; Miami 29, Texas A&M 20; East Carolina 33, N.C. State 24; Central Florida 20, Boston College 17; North Carolina 24, Virginia Tech 20.