Many talk about reforming college athletics, but for the past 20 years, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics is one of the few organizations that actually PAUL
WOODY
tries to do something. The Knight Commission conducted a survey of Football Bowl Subdivision school presidents. They preside over colleges formerly known as Division I-A—the power conferences.

The Wahoos led 17-12 with 12 minutes remaining but succumbed 28-17 in a loss that will make it even more difficult for Virginia to achieve bowl eligibility.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Jacory Harris threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin with 1:08 left, and No. 18 Miami rallied to beat Wake Forest 28-27 yesterday. Harris threw for 330 yards and three TDs for the Hurricanes (3-2, 6-2), who trailed 27-14 going into the fourth quarter. Miami took advantage of a muffed punt to score a TD, then took its first lead when Harris directed an 82-yard scoring drive in the final minutes.

A new no—contact zone is left to officials to precisely outline. The invisible rectangle is 18 by 24 inches, from the front of the rim to the front of the backboard.

The winning team left Wallace Wade Stadium yesterday and walked the length of a practice field to reach its locker room, as all visiting squads at Duke do. The players and coaches proceeded mostly in silence. Some made small talk. None shouted or screamed, hooted or hollered. None sprinted toward the locker room to celebrate the victory. If they weren’t wearing uniforms, they could have been mistaken for a team that just finished a routine Wednesday practice.

BLACKSBURG—Miami starting quarterback Jacory Harris did an interview this summer during which the sophomore described the outfit he wanted to wear to the Heisman Trophy ceremony. “I’m gonna wear a pink suit to the ceremony, pimp cup and all,“ Harris told local radio host Dan LeBatard. Whether Harris was kidding or not, the comment captured the brash spirit of Miami’s program—an attitude bruised the past three years by a lull it hadn’t experienced since the late 1970s.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Robert Griffin completed his first eight passes, finishing with 136 yards passing and a touchdown, to help Baylor beat Wake Forest 24-21 yesterday. Kendall Wright ran for a TD, wide receiver Ernest Smith passed for a score and David Gettis caught one for the Bears, who opened last season with a 41-13 home loss to the Demon Deacons.

Quarterback The past two seasons, Taylor has missed a combined five games because of ankle injuries. But former starter Sean Glennon was available as Taylor’s backup. Now, the situation behind Taylor is shakier.

The ACC media’s predictions for this season (first-place votes in parentheses)  COASTAL DIVISION
ATLANTIC DIVISION

Nov. 30, vs. Penn State : Yes, the Cavaliers could play Kentucky five days before this game. But that’s not guaranteed. Regardless of what happens in Mexico, the Nittany Lions will provide a stern test for new Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett. Penn State might have lost its secondand third-leading scorers from last season’s National Invitation Tournament champion team, but its leading scorer, guard Talor Battle, returns.

The ACC media yesterday tabbed Virginia Tech as an overwhelming favorite to win its second consecutive conference title. The Hokies received 78 of 87 votes to win the Coastal Division and 69 to win the championship game. Florida State, the media’s pick to win the Atlantic Division, received seven votes to win the title game. Georgia Tech, which got nine votes to take the Coastal, also received seven to win the title game.

GREENSBORO, N.C. From his office at the McCue Center, Al Groh will confront dozens of questions about his Virginia football team in the coming weeks. Can Vic Hall become a capable starting quarterback despite not playing the position regularly since he was a high school senior in 2004? Will the Cavaliers find the consistency they have long enjoyed at linebacker despite losing three of four starters?

GREENSBORO, N.C. Kam Chancellor rose through Norfolk’s youth football ranks as one of the biggest kids and best athletes—certainly no target for opponents to single him out as a weakness on the field. A quarterback and free safety in high school, he came to Virginia Tech, played cornerback as a freshman, moved to rover—Tech’s version of strong safety—as a sophomore and slid over to free safety last season. With each position change came adjustments, including coping with getting picked on by offenses.

Virginia Tech reintroduced Greg Boone as a quarterback last season in its Wild Turkey offense - a package of plays that allowed Boone, a tight end, to run, hand off or throw. With the graduation of backup quarterback Sean Glennon, Tech has no experienced backups for junior Tyrod Taylor. Except, of course, Boone. Though redshirt freshman Joseph “Ju-Ju” Clayton, a Hermitage High graduate, was named the backup quarterback coming out of spring practice, Boone expects to practice at quarterback this fall. (He said he had five practices there in the spring.)

Ronnie Shaban’s freshman season as a Virginia Tech baseball player was exactly one month old March 20 when he stepped to the plate against Georgia Tech pitcher Deck McGuire. Shaban, a Cosby High graduate, was familiar with McGuire, a sophomore who played at Deep Run and would end up becoming this season’s ACC pitcher of the year. Shaban arrived at Tech confident that he could play in the ACC, and he was proving himself during the season’s first month, when he hit .324. But he hadn’t felt comfortable at the plate lately. He had just five hits in his past 20 at-bats before this Friday game against the Yellow Jackets and their ace right-hander.