Pack's Howard out for season

N.C. State reserve wide receiver Steven Howard is out for the season with a knee injury, according to the injury report the school released Thursday evening.

Howard, a graduate of Olympic High in Charlotte, made 13 catches for 186 yards this season.

- Ken Tysiac

NCAA grants Baker sixth season

The NCAA has granted N.C. State senior running back Toney Baker's request for an extra season of eligibility, coach Tom O'Brien announced Thursday after practice.

Baker missed all but one game over two seasons because of a knee injury before returning this season for the Wolfpack. Getting the extra year doesn't guarantee that Baker will return, though, because there is a chance he will enter the NFL draft after this season.

"After the season I will talk to my family and Coach O'Brien and all these guys, and we'll figure out what's best for me," Baker said after practice Wednesday, before the sixth year was granted.

Baker returned to the starting lineup at the start of this season and leads the team with 664 rushing yards. He also has caught 21 passes for 306 yards.

O'Brien has said another healthy year at N.C. State might help erase any doubts pro scouts have about Baker's knee, but Baker wants to consider all his options after the season before committing to a return.

Ken Tysiac

Pack's Baker undecided on future

N.C. State running back Toney Baker hasn't decided yet what he will do if the NCAA grants him a sixth season of eligibility.

Because Baker missed all but one game for two straight seasons with a serious knee injury, there's a chance that the NCAA will award him an extra season in 2010. N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien has said another healthier year with the Wolfpack would help Baker erase any doubts that NFL scouts might have about his knee.

O'Brien hopes to have a decision from the NCAA within the next couple weeks. Even if he is granted a sixth season, Baker could enter the NFL draft instead.

"I haven't quite decided," Baker said after practice Wednesday. "After the season I will talk to my family and Coach O'Brien and all these guys, and we'll figure out what's best for me."

Baker has bounced back nicely from the injury. He leads the team with 664 rushing yards and needs just 25 more to surpass his career season best, which was set when he was a sophomore in 2006.

With 24 receptions for 306 yards and three scores, he already has career-high numbers as a receiver. He's in an unusual situation now as a senior who might be playing in his last two games over the next two weeks, but isn't quite sure.

"It's almost crazy that I'm a senior already," Baker said. "It's gone by so fast, it seems like."

Baker is preparing for a visit to Virginia Tech on Saturday as perhaps the only player on the current team who was at Lane Stadium the last time N.C. State played there. The Wolfpack won 17-16 that game in 2004 when the Hokies missed a field goal attempt in the closing seconds.

That day, Baker was a high school senior on a recruiting visit - to Virginia Tech.

"It was a great weekend," Baker said. "The fans there were great. It was a fantastic game. I think they had eight or nine sacks that game, something like that, and State came out with a win."

Ken Tysiac

Nagurski Award finalists announced

Terrence Cody, anchor of second-ranked Alabama’s ferocious defense, and TCU’s Jerry Hughes are among the finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award to be given Dec. 7 by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

The award is given annually to the top defensive player in college football as voted on by the Football Writers Association of America.

Hughes was a finalist for the award last year and the only candidate nominated for a second time.

Also nominated are linebacker Pat Angerer from Iowa, defensive back Eric Berry from Tennessee and Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

The awards program will include a keynote address by N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien. Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Steve Beuerlein will be the master of ceremonies.

Roger Wehrli will receive the Legends Award during the program. For ticket information, call 704-347-2918.
-- Ron Green Jr.

ACC admits officiating error to O'Brien

N.C. State has announced that football coach Tom O'Brien has been informed by ACC officiating coordinator Doug Rhoads that a key play in last week's loss to Clemson should have been ruled a fumble.

According to a note released to the media by N.C. State, Rhoads said a play in the third quarter was a fumble that would have given the ball to the Wolfpack with Clemson leading 24-14.

Officials initially ruled that Clemson running back C.J. Spiller was down and the play was dead before Clem Johnson stripped the ball away. O'Brien challenged the call, but a replay review upheld it.

N.C. State's note to the media said Rhoads told O'Brien that the call should have been overturned and ruled a fumble.

Ken Tysiac

Wilson says finances not huge factor in decision

N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson downplayed the idea Tuesday that family financial concerns will affect his decision on whether he will leave school to pursue a pro baseball career next summer.

Wilson, who's a third-year sophomore in football and will play his third year of baseball in the spring, will be eligible for the major league baseball draft in June. His father suffered a stroke in the summer of 2008, and N.C. State football coach Tom O'Brien said in July that family health issues could cause him to leave N.C. State after just two football seasons.

But Wilson downplayed that concern Tuesday during his weekly news conference with reporters.

"It's not a huge factor for me," he said. "I know the Lord will bless me at the right time whenever it is, whether it's in the spring time, whether it's in the fall of next year or whether it's the spring after that. So I'm not really worried about that. In terms of financial reasons, like I said, I feel like the right situation will happen at the right time."

Wilson reiterated his desire to be a Hall of Fame major league baseball player and quarterback. He hasn't announced a timetable for deciding on his football future at N.C. State, and O'Brien doesn't expect to discuss the issue with Wilson until after the football season ends.

Wilson expects to earn his degree from N.C. State in the spring of 2010.

Ken Tysiac

Duke lineman, backup QB, out with injuries

DURHAM -- Duke guard Mitchell Lederman and backup quarterback Sean Renfree will miss the rest of the season because of injuries, the team announced this afternoon.

Lederman, a 6-foot-7, 305-pound redshirt junior, suffered a fractured toe on his right foot during the Blue Devils' Nov. 7 game against North Carolina. Lederman started seven games at left guard this season and played in nine games over all. He underwent surgery at the Duke Sports Medicine Center this morning, according to a Duke news release.

Renfree, a 6-3, 210-pound redshirt freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz., suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Saturday's 49-10 loss to Georgia Tech and will have surgery performed at a later date. Playing behind starting quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, Renfree appeared in five games this year and completed 34-of-50 pass attempts for 330 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

His best game came at Army the second week of the season, when Renfree came off the bench to complete seven-of-eight passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns in Duke's 35-19 come-from-behind victory. -- Lorenzo Perez

UNC lineman to skip senior season

UNC defensive lineman Aleric Mullins, who needs to take only three hours next semester to graduate, has decided to forego his final season of eligibility, coach Buch Davis said.

"In a similar situation as Richard Quinn [a tight end who left after last season, and now plays in the NFL], he just felt like with the completion of his degree, he just felt like it was time to announce that he was going to finish his career here and make himself available for any potential post-collegiate football that he might be available to," Davis said.

Mullins has posted 14 tackles this season.

-- Robbi Pickeral

Bowl outlook: Gator in play for Heels

With three straight ACC wins, North Carolina has put itself in a no-lose bowl situation.

With two more wins, and the right breaks, the Tar Heels could end up in the Gator Bowl. Even with a loss, and the wrong breaks, the Heels could still wind up in the Music City Bowl.

That's how much has changed for the Tar Heels (7-3 overall, 3-3 ACC) in a month. Before rattling off wins over Virginia Tech, Duke and Miami, the Heels had more wins over the Southern Conference (2-0) than the ACC (0-3).

Any bowl would have been welcomed after blowing an 18-point lead in a 30-27 loss to Florida State on Oct. 22 and falling to 4-3 overall. With three straight wins, the Heels have worked their way into the mix for the Gator.

First things first, UNC needs to win out. That means beating Boston College and N.C. State on the road. If UNC plays the way it did against Miami, Duke or Virginia Tech, the Heels will beat both BC and State.

That would put them at 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the ACC.

Like every bowl scenario, there are a lot of variables, but the winner of the ACC title game will shape how the dominoes fall.

Bowl	Date	GT wins	Clemson wins
Orange	Jan. 5	GT	Clemson
Chick-fil-A	Dec. 31	Clemson	VT
Gator	Jan. 1	UNC	GT
Champs	Dec. 29	VT	FSU
Music City	Dec. 27	FSU	UNC
Meineke	Dec. 26	Miami	Miami
Emerald	Dec. 26	BC	BC

If Georgia Tech, which finished its conference schedule at 7-1 and won the Coastal Division, wins the ACC title game on Dec. 5 in Tampa, that would open up the Gator Bowl for either UNC or Virginia Tech.

GT would go to the Orange, Clemson, after losing the title game, would go to the Chick-fil-A and that would leave the Gator the choice of either UNC or VT, both teams would be 9-3 overall.

The Gator, in the final year of its contract with the ACC, Big East, Big 12 and Notre Dame, is likely to choose the Fighting Irish (6-4), unless coach Charlie Weiss if fired before the bowl game on Jan. 1, as the opponent.

Which ACC team would make a more attractive matchup? Depends on the viewpoint.

Normally, VT would sell more tickets than UNC, but there are two factors working against the Hokies -- their lackluster finish and their frequent travel to the state of Florida.

Virginia Tech was ranked No. 4 in the country on Oct. 17 before a two-game losing streak knocked them out of the Coastal race and into the bottom third of the top 25. How excited is the fan base, which had visions of sneaking into the BCS title game, going to be about another Gator Bowl trip?

Since joining the ACC in 2004, the Hokies have made six postseason trips to Florida -- the Orange Bowl in 2008 and 2007, the Gator Bowl in 2005 and the ACC title game in 2008 (Tampa), 2007 (Jacksonville) and 2005 (Jacksonville).

UNC, which is closing with a bullet, hasn't been to Gator Bowl, or Florida for a neutral site game, since the 1997 season.

Plus, UNC and Notre Dame played an exciting game in Chapel Hill, a 29-24 UNC win, last season, which could add some interest to the game from Notre Dame's perspective.

If Georgia Tech loses the ACC title game, that changes the equation. At 7-1, GT can't be jumped by 5-3 team. That means the Jackets have to be picked before UNC.

Since GT played in the Chick-fil-A Bowl last year, VT, at 6-2, would likely go to Atlanta, leaving GT in the Gator.

That would put the Champs in position to choose from UNC (projected 5-3), FSU (4-4) or Miami (5-3) and it would be hard to say no to what could potentially be Bobby Bowden's last game, even though the Champs hosted FSU last year.

That would likely push the Heels to Nashville for the Music City, against an SEC team on Dec. 27 and that's not a bad Plan B.

There's a possibility, if UNC loses to BC and BC finishes 6-2, the best UNC could do is a return trip to Charlotte, but that's a worst-case scenario.

There's also a possbility of BC winning the Atlantic, but we can cross that bridge if in the unlikely event Clemson stumbles at home against Virginia.

-- J.P. Giglio

Pack's Michel probable for Clemson

N.C. State senior middle linebacker Ray Michel is listed as probable for Saturday's noon game against Clemson at Carter-Finley Stadium, according to a team injury report released Thursday night.

The "probable" designation means it's estimated that he has a 75 percent chance of playing against Clemson.

Michel suffered an ankle injury on Oct. 17 at Boston College and has missed the Wolfpack's last two games. He led the team with 53 tackles when he was injured, but has been surpassed now by outside linebacker Audie Cole.

Ken Tysiac