OUR LEAGUE: Is FCS closing the gap?

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering if the gap between the former Division I-A (now FBS) and I-AA (now FCS) football programs is narrowing ...

Three coaches agreed that they believed the gap has narrowed in recent years when the topic came up during Wednesday’s ACC coaches teleconference.

“Those I-AAs are getting some good players,” voiced legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. “The big I-As are still getting their choice (of recruits), but there’s getting to be more players who can play at the I-A level. Yes, I believe they’re closing the gap.”

Bowden found out just how much last Saturday when the heavily favored Seminoles were nearly stunned by FCS Jacksonville State. Florida State scored 12 points in the final 35 seconds to survive the upset attempt, 19-9.

Asked if his players missed the message about how dangerous FCS teams can be, Bowden said apparently that was the case.

“Well, don’t they always?” Bowden said. “Kids don’t listen. They see that I-AA written by [the other team’s] name, and they’re playing at home. Attitude is so important.”

Two other ACC teams were upset the opening weekend when William & Mary knocked off Virginia and Richmond beat Duke. James Madison nearly pulled off the upset over Maryland about the same time that FSU rallied to avoid the upset.

UVa coach Al Groh pointed out how the state of Virginia has at least four quality FCS teams — the three aforementioned and Liberty — creating more opportunity for more quality players.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said that when he came to Blacksburg from Murray State several years ago, he felt that some of his former players could have played at Tech. Since then, he said, there have been more and more good players developing.

“I think probably the talent level has gotten a little tighter (between the two divisions),” Beamer said. “It’s hard to determine [the quality] of a lot of players. We’re not involved [in recruiting] with many of those players, although we probably should be, because some develop. There’s a lot of kids playing on those teams that are capable of playing at a higher level.”

ACC matters most

In years past, we’ve heard Al Groh refer to three stages of a football season, the early stage comprised mostly of nonconference games, then a middle stretch followed by the big games in November.

Rightly or wrongly, Groh has treated the early season mostly nonconference games as contests where he could learn more about his team and then adjust for the conference race.

“Very much so,” Groh said. “The prime goal of every season is to win our division, then win the championship game. With the transition we’re dealing with, the game action, getting the young players into games, we’re trying to polish it all up. Hopefully, this week shows considerable advancement so that we can polish that up and look forward to conference play.”

Golden Eagles

Unless you live in a cave, you know by now that UVa plays at Southern Miss this Saturday.

Here are a few things that might interest you about the Golden Eagles:

Southern Miss has 15 consecutive winning seasons, fourth-longest in the country behind only Florida State (32), Florida (21), Virginia Tech (16). The Eagles are averaging 507.5 yards of total offense in their first two games and allowing a mere 182.5.

Southern Miss has beaten Alcorn State (52-0) and Central Florida (26-19) to open at 2-0, and has a seven-game winning streak dating back to the last five games of last season.

Among the most celebrated of Southern Miss alumni are Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre and entertainer Jimmy Buffett.

Quote of the week

North Carolina coach Butch Davis in describing defensive lineman Robert Quinn, whose strong pass rush at the end of the Tar Heels’ game at UConn last Saturday forced Huskies lineman Dan Ryan to hold Quinn in the end zone, resulting in a game-winning safety for UNC.

“There’s a category called, ‘beast,’” Davis said. “Robert is clearly on the cusp of being a special, unique player.”

Stat of the week

N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson owns the second-longest streak of passes without an interception in NCAA history. Wilson has now thrown 293 straight passes without being picked off, which is a new ACC record.

Cool stuff

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien will send out longtime equipment manager Eddie Gardner to do the coin toss for the Wolfpack at this weekend’s home game against Gardner-Webb (no, he’s not related to the school’s founder).

“He’s the flipper,” O’Brien said of Gardner’s role.

Gardner has been with State for more than 20 years and is retiring at the end of the season. Nice gesture.

Another test

Beamer’s Hokies will face a strong Nebraska team at Lane Stadium this weekend.

“I think Nebraska is back,” Beamer said of the Cornhuskers, who have been a little down on their luck in recent years. “I think they’re going to be competing very strongly in the Big 12. I think they’re going to be a factor.”

However, FSU’s Bobby Bowden, who has been bringing teams to Blacksburg since he coached at West Virginia in the 1970s, knows that playing in Lane Stadium in current times is not a stroll in the park.

Asked by a writer in Nebraska what the Huskers can expect in Blacksburg, Bowden said:

“It’s been like Virginia Tech playing in Nebraska’s stadium,” said Bowden, who has coached games at both venues. “It will be a real loud, avid crowd. Tell [Nebraska] to get ready for the crowd noise. Virginia Tech will fight you like mad up there in Blacksburg.”

Short yardage

If you’re wondering why Maryland is ranked 113th in the nation in scoring defense, 114th in rushing defense and 117th (out of 120 teams) in pass efficiency defense, look at the Terps’ recent injuries. They lost one of the league’s top corners in the JMU game when Nolan Carroll suffered a broken tibia and is gone for the season. That came on top of losing strong safety Jamari McCollough with an ankle injury at Cal. McCollough should be out for yet another week. ... UVa’s Groh said his team, which has been practicing in the cool 70-something degree weather all week, will have to adjust to the heat and humidity of Hattiesburg once they get there. He hopes to use as many players as he can to keep them fresh in the heat. “Some guys are going to have to elevate their level of play for the game,” Groh said. “That would be very helpful if we can do that.”

The picks

Last week: 9-1 (almost got the Upset Special call of JMU over Maryland). To date: 17-4.

Tonight: Georgia Tech 27, Miami 21. This week: Clemson 19, Boston College 13; Kansas 36, Duke 14; North Carolina 27, East Carolina 17; Virginia Tech 30, Nebraska 21; Middle Tennessee State 21, Maryland 17; N.C. State 40, Gardner-Webb 13; Wake Forest 44, Elon 10; BYU 38, Florida State 27;

UPSET ALERT: Virginia 27, Southern Miss 24.