OUR LEAGUE: Plenty of motivation for Clemson

Scattershooting around the ACC, wondering if Virginia can keep from getting blown out in Death Valley on Saturday ...

Clemson has everything to play for: the Atlantic Division title, a spot in the ACC championship game, a chance for revenge against Georgia Tech for a season-opening loss, a win in the last home game of the season and the last ACC game of the season and Senior Day, to name some motivating factors.

Virginia is playing for pride.

Hmm. That may not work if things get out of control early in a very tough place to play.

Cavaliers coach Al Groh said earlier this week that he wasn’t buying the ‘playing for pride’ thing. Some of his players remarked the past couple of weeks that all they were playing for now was pride.

“I think perhaps players say that because they’ve heard it or it’s the answer to a question,” Groh said. “Now that you guys aren’t playing for the championship, are you playing for pride? And the reason I preface my answer with that is, I thought that’s what we were doing every week.

“You know, I thought we were trying to prove something every week. I thought we were playing for pride every week. So, I think you hear it at the end of the season because players have heard other players say it, or, as I said, the question gets posed that way, so they answer it in the affirmative.”

Clemson’s players certainly took the pride thing seriously early in their campaign.

When the Tigers got off to a disappointing 2-3 start, coach Dabo Swinney kept pushing them to focus and get back on track. He believed that his team could still play for the ACC championship.

“Absolutely,” Swinney said during Wednesday’s ACC coaches teleconference. “[When Clemson was 2-3] we were 10 points away from being undefeated at that time. It’s not like we were being pushed around or whipped. We just had to fix some problems. You gotta believe.”

At least he’s honest

N.C. State offensive tackle Jeraill McCuller was refreshingly honest when discussing protecting Wolfpack QB Russell Wilson, particularly when it comes to holding an opponent.

“Sometimes I believe if you ain’t holding, you ain’t doing your job,” McCuller said.

He said it’s not unusual after a long N.C. State gain for him to walk down the field and look from the corners of his eyes to make sure there’s not a yellow flag on the turf.

“Usually, I’ll shoot my hands forward, and usually they’ll fly back,” he said. “When they come in, I just reload and I grab something. I lock out and hold onto them. When it’s physical, I’ll slap some guys in the facemask. And then I’ll look at them and say, ‘My bad.’ They’re trying to get to the quarterback. I’m trying to stop them.”

McCuller said it’s not holding if it’s not called and he said he knows who the best-holding lineman is in the entire ACC.

“I’d probably say myself,” McCuller said.

He probably deserves some award for just being honest.

Got his vote

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien doesn’t get a vote for ACC player of the year, but if he had one, there’s no doubt who would get it: Clemson’s C.J. Spiller.

“I don’t see anybody who’s controlled a game as much as he has,” O’Brien said. “Especially in the last couple of weeks. He’s certainly taken it to a higher level in those games.”

Spiller scored three different ways against the Wolfpack and is having a record-breaking season for the Tigers.

Quote of the week

Asked about Heisman Trophy candidate C.J. Spiller, this is what Swinney had to say:

“God was in a real good mood when he made C.J. Spiller. He’s just gifted. He’s got everything you could possibly want if you were creating a football player. You don’t get many C.J. Spillers to cross your path. He’s a rare breed.”

Stat of the week I

Virginia Tech’s current 186-game scoring streak is the second-longest in ACC history. The last time the Hokies were shut out was in 1995 by Cincinnati.

The longest scoring streak by an ACC school is held by Virginia, 196 games, from 1984 to 2000.

Stat of the week II

Heading into last weekend’s game against Miami, UNC defensive back Kendric Burney was not in the ACC’s top 12 in career interception return yardage.

When the game ended, he was No. 2 all-time.

He picked off three Miami passes and returned them for an ACC record 170 yards, smashing the previous mark of 128 yards by Duke’s Dennis Taybron against Clemson in 1980.

Turtle soup

Maryland could be headed for its first 10-loss season in school history if the Terps lose their last two games to Florida State and Boston College.

That’s a far cry from six bowl trips over the past eight years during the Ralph Friedgen era in College Park.

Maryland ranks no better than No. 100 out of 120 schools in major college football in 17 NCAA statistical categories, and are either No. 98 or 99 in three other categories.

With starter Chris Turner injured last week, Jamaar Robinson became the first QB other than Turner to start a game in the last 29 Maryland contests. Robinson threw for 104 yards but became the first Terp QB to run for 100 yards (he had 129 rushing) since Shaun Hill in 2001.

Keeping up with Jones

Groh was asked about what differentiates true freshman tailback Perry Jones, who saw action as backup in last week’s loss to Boston College, from the others in UVa’s backfield (Rashawn Jackson, Mikell Simpson, and Torrey Mack).

Jones is 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds, for starters.

“He’s different from Jackson by about eight pant sizes,” Groh chuckled. “He’s different from the others by quite a few inches. He’s probably different in his quickness. He has very quick vision, he sees openings very quick, and has very good lateral quickness to get into openings. There is nobody, despite Perry’s physical stature, nobody in that group any tougher than Perry.”

Vote of confidence

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said he wants to come back and coach next season, and if the governor of Florida has anything to do with it, Saint Bobby will be back.

Gov. Charlie Crist, a Florida State graduate, said this week that there’s no question in his mind that Bowden should be allowed to call his own shot.

“I would certainly urge the school to do that,” Crist told USA Today. “I don’t think I’ll have to urge them too hard, because the man is beloved. He really is.

“If Florida State doesn’t give [Bowden] another year, I’d be heartbroken,” Crist said. “That would be shocking I think. I’m a loyal guy. I believe in loyalty, and he’s been so loyal to Florida State University and the Seminole Nation, if you will, and the state of Florida, he deserves at least that level of loyalty in return.”

The picks

Last week: 4-2. To date: 52-23. This week: Virginia Tech 42, N.C. State 20; Florida State 45, Maryland 10; Miami 38, Duke 17; North Carolina 24, Boston College 21; Clemson 50, Virginia 10.