ACC notebook

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Posted 5:43AM on Thursday, November 11, 2004

No one said following Philip Rivers at North Carolina State was going to be easy. Jay Davis is finding out firsthand. The quarterback has thrown eight interceptions in the past two games and heard boos cascading down from the stands at Carter-Finley Stadium. His recent struggles have played a large part in the Wolfpack's three-game losing streak. ``It takes a strong person to do what he does,'' N.C. State coach Chuck Amato said. ``To play that position you have to take the good with the bad. It is that simple.'' Davis threw three interceptions in last weekend's 24-14 loss to Georgia Tech. One was returned 49 yards for a touchdown with about 90 seconds left. That followed a five-interception game in a loss to Clemson. Those performances are hardly what Wolfpack fans are accustomed to seeing. Rivers finished his career as the second-leading passer in NCAA history with 13,484 yards to go with 95 touchdown passes. Rivers also never threw more than 10 interceptions in a season. Perhaps no game better illustrates Davis' season than a 27-21 overtime win against Wake Forest last month. Wolfpack fans booed Davis before he even took the field, jeering his appearance on a video board during pregame introductions. The boos continued as Davis failed to spark the Wolfpack on their first two drives, then turned to a boisterous cheer when he was benched for Marcus Stone. But Davis helped the Wolfpack rally from a 14-point halftime deficit, and finished 18-for-24 for 224 yards and a score. ``I said this before the first game, Jay could go 20-for-22 and people in the parking lot after the game would say, 'Philip would have been 22-for-22,''' Amato said. After the loss to Georgia Tech, Davis said he still remained confident, but said he'd understand if the coaching staff decided to make a change for Thursday's game against No. 11 Florida State. ``The offense is still confident in him,'' tight end T.J. Williams said. ``Philip was a great quarterback, but you can't live in the past. Phil is gone now.'' NO DIAGNOSIS: Miami has lost consecutive games to North Carolina and Clemson, but Virginia coach Al Groh didn't seem to think the Hurricanes would come into this weekend's game with a wounded psyche. Groh noted that the Hurricanes lost back-to-back games against Virginia Tech and Tennessee last year only to close the season with four straight wins. ``It made me feel that their psyche is not easily penetrated,'' Groh said, adding that ``since it's impossible for me to sometimes ascertain the psyche of my own team ... I spend no time ever trying to assess the psyche of the other team.'' ANOTHER LATE SURGE: For the second straight year, Clemson is putting together a late-season run. The Tigers (5-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) started 1-4, but have won four straight games including a 24-17 overtime win at Miami heading into this weekend's trip to Duke. Last year, the Tigers were 5-4 with Florida State, Duke and South Carolina left to play. Clemson won all three games to earn an invitation to the Peach Bowl, where they beat Tennessee. ``It's comforting to know that they have a lot of fight deep down inside of them when their backs are against the wall,'' coach Tommy Bowden said. ``To get that response two years in a row is good. You would rather not be in that situation to begin with, but we have been and we have responded well.'' JOHNSON'S CIRCUS GRAB: Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson continues to amaze his coach. Last weekend, the freshman receiver made an unbelievable catch on the Yellow Jackets' drive for a go-ahead score against N.C. State in the fourth quarter. With Georgia Tech facing a third-and-4 from the Wolfpack's 43, Reggie Ball looked for Johnson over the middle. He threw the ball behind Johnson, but the receiver jumped, snagged the ball with his right arm and fell to the ground with a defender draped over him. The catch was good for a 12-yard gain. ``I still am amazed and I have seen it several times,'' coach Chan Gailey said. ``He makes some unbelievable plays in practice. Most great receivers, you don't see their greatest catches because they happen in practice. He just happened to have one in a game like that.'' BOWDEN'S FITNESS PLAN: Florida State coach Bobby Bowden turned 75 years old Monday, but says he doesn't feel any different from he did at 70 or 65. Bowden's fountain of youth consists of trying to eat better he admits having a weakness for sweets and trying to find more time for exercise. He also gets up each morning at 4 a.m. and goes to bed right after dinner. In between, he finds time for a catnap. ``Whenever it calls,'' Bowden said, ``kind of like going to the restroom.''