Clemson's Ellington out; N.C. State ranked

Clemson running back Andre Ellington will miss at least the next two games with a toe injury suffered in a loss 16-10 Saturday at Boston College, coach Dabo Swinney announced Sunday.

The injury means that N.C. State (6-2, 3-1 ACC) will not have to face the most productive player on the Tigers' offense when it visits Clemson on Saturday. The ACC announced Sunday that the game will kick off at noon at Clemson's Memorial Stadium.

Ellington leads Clemson with 686 rushing yards and leads the ACC in all-purpose yards with 128.9 per game.

N.C. State, meanwhile, crept back into the rankings in both The Associated Press' and USA Today polls on Sunday after edging Florida State 28-24 on Thursday night. The Wolfpack is No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the USA Today poll.

The AP also ranked N.C. State No. 23 after the Wolfpack improved to 4-0 with a Thursday night win over Cincinnati on Sept. 25. N.C. State dropped out of the rankings after losing 41-30 to Virginia Tech on Oct.. 2.

Ken Tysiac

Pack notes: Wolff holds on

RALEGH - The scene of N.C. State sophomore safety Earl Wolff hanging on desperately to the back of wide receiver Taiwan Easterling's jersey late in the fourth quarter Thursday night must have brought back some unpleasant memories for Wolfpack fans.

Last year, Wolff held on in a similar fashion at Virginia Tech as running back Ryan Williams dragged him 10 yards into the end zone during a Hokie win. This time, though, Wolff kept Easterling from breaking loose and brought him down after a 29-yard gain.

Five plays later, Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder lost a fumble that was recovered by Nate Irving, and the Wolfpack held on to win 28-24 at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Wolff had one of the best games of his career. He led N.C. State with nine tackles unofficially, had a half-tackle for loss and broke up one pass.

"Earl Wolff seemed to be in a lot of places, made a lot of tackles and showed up a lot," coach Tom O'Brien said. "Hopefully he's grown up and taken another step forward."

- N.C. State established a season high for rushing yards with 189 against Florida State, but has yet to have anybody rush for 100 yards in a game this season.

Freshman running back Mustafa Greene led the Wolfpack with 76 rushing yards, and quarterback Russell Wilson added a season-high 69 yards. The highest single-game rushing total for an N.C. State player this season belongs to Greene, who carried 10 times for 91 yards against Virginia Tech.

The Wolfpack has been splitting carries between Greene and Dean Haynes for much of the season, and has added James Washington into the mix at running back.

- The prolific N.C. State attack has accomplished at least one historical first.

The Wolfpack has scored at least 27 points in each of its first eight games. That's something no N.C. State team has accomplished, even during Philip Rivers' time at quarterback.

With Rivers at the controls in 2002, N.C. State scored at least 32 points in its first seven games, but scored 24 against Duke in the eighth game of the season.

Ken Tysiac

Win gives Pack headstart in Atlantic Division

RALEIGH -- When Christian Ponder’s fumble turned an all-but-certain touchdown into a 28-24 comeback win for N.C. State, that chain of events turned the ACC’s Atlantic Division on its ear.

A win by the Seminoles would have made them 5-0 in the ACC and given them a huge head start on Maryland, the division’s other one-loss team. Instead, the Wolfpack wiggled its way into prime position as one of three teams with one loss (with Clemson lurking at 2-2) and the head-to-head tiebreaker over Florida State.

Assuming Maryland isn’t in it to win it -- and while that may be a foolhardy assumption, that big loss to Clemson and the lack of a marquee ACC win bolsters it for now -- the division title is likely to come down to two games: N.C. State at Clemson on Nov. 6 and Clemson at Florida State on Nov. 13.

It’s more than possible, after Thursday’s game, that a two-loss team represents the Atlantic in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 4. That’s what Clemson is hoping at this point, anyway. The Wolfpack has a simpler equation: Win out.

That would require three tough road wins -- at Clemson, at North Carolina and at Maryland -- but after Thursday’s win, N.C. State controls its own destiny on the road to Charlotte.

Here are the standings and remaining ACC schedule for the Atlantic Division teams:

Florida State 4-1
N.C. State 3-1
Maryland 2-1
Clemson 2-2
Wake Forest 1-3
Boston College 0-4

Oct. 30

Clemson at Boston College
Wake Forest at Maryland

Nov. 6

N.C. State at Clemson
Maryland at Miami
Boston College at Wake Forest
North Carolina at Florida State

Nov. 13

Boston College at Duke
Clemson at Florida State
Maryland at Virginia
Wake Forest at N.C. State

Nov. 20

Virginia at Boston College
Clemson at Wake Forest
Florida State at Maryland
N.C. State at North Carolina

Nov. 27

N.C. State at Maryland

-- Luke DeCock

FSU-N.C. State Observations

* Thursday night was a huge opportunity for N.C. State to make a statement as a program on national television, and the school was up to the task in terms of atmosphere.

The crowd packed the stands and was louder than it’s been at any time during coach Tom O’Brien’s tenure. The school ratcheted up the intensity, too, but honoring David Thompson during a second-quarter timeout in recognition of his upcoming induction into the Naismith College Basketball Hall of Fame.


* The big question entering the game was whether Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder had recovered from a ruptured bursa sac in his right (throwing) elbow.

Ponder quickly demonstrated plenty of arm strength on a deep pass that was broken up by C.J. Wilson and another that should have been intercepted by Wilson but ricocheted off his chest and incomplete.


* N.C. State starting running back Dean Haynes had a difficult night.

His second-quarter fumble at the Wolfpack 18-yard line led to a Florida State go-ahead touchdown. Nigel Bradham caused the fumble by putting his helmet on the ball, and Florida State scored five plays later.

Later in the quarter, it was announced that Haynes was out for the remainder of the game with a suspected concussion.


* It wasn’t the same this week watching Florida State play without Bobby Bowden.

Bowden, who was ousted after last season, wasn’t just one of the best football coaches in the nation for more than a generation. He was a master communicator with a great sense of humor who made covering Florida State fun.

His successor, Jimbo Fisher, is off to a good start. But nobody can match Bowden in terms of personality.


- Ken Tysiac

Pack trails FSU at halftime

RALEIGH - A disastrous second quarter this evening left N.C. State trailing 16th-ranked Florida State 21-7 at halftime at Carter-Finley Stadium in a key game in the ACC Atlantic Division standings.

After scoring on a 1-yard Russell Wilson run on its opening drive, N.C. State was shut out for the rest of the half. Florida State's offense started slowly, but quarterback Christian Ponder ran for two touchdowns and passed for another in the second quarter as Florida State outscored the Wolfpack 21-0.

Florida State outgained N.C. State 167 yards to 14 in the second quarter and capitalized on a Dean Haynes fumble at the Wolfpack 18 to score the go-ahead touchdown.

Wilson was just 6-for-14 passing for 49 yards in the first half.

Ken Tysiac

Burney cleared to play for UNC

UNC senior cornerback Kendric Burney has been cleared to play this Saturday against William & Mary, the university announced Tuesday afternoon.

A first-team All-ACC performer last season, Burney has yet to play this season for the Tar Heels. He was suspended six games for violations of NCAA agent benefits and preferential treatment rules and was scheduled to return in time for Saturday's game against Miami.

But Burney was held out of the game, a 33-10 loss to the Hurricanes, while UNC worked with the NCAA to determine his eligibility status.

-- Lorenzo Perez

Tudor's Take: ECU's Harris pays price for success

While running up one of the most prolific statistical seasons in ECU football history, Pirate receiver Dwayne Harris also is among the team leaders in hits absorbed.

A 6-foot, 205-pound senior with NFL potential, Harris leads Conference USA in receiving with 54 catches for 604 yards and five touchdown through the team's 5-2 overall, 4-0 league start.

In all-purpose yardage, Harris rates No. 2 in the league with an average of 160 per game. He's also thrown a touchdown pass of 39 yards to fellow wide-out Joe Womack.

But in the process, Harris is taking a beating and sat out several plays in last week's win over Marshall after a hit to his helmet on a punt return created some concern on the sidelines and a great deal more among fans in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

At his news conference on Monday in Greenville, Pirate coch Ruffin McNeill said Harris will be ready for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game at Central Florida (5-2, 3-0). But McNeill also has gone through some tense moments watching the hits.

"I was worried Saturday. The football part I love, but I wasn't worried about football with him. I was just hoping he was alright," McNeill said.

"He is as beat up as anybody after the game but finds a way to get ready. He does not miss practice or reps. We have to hold him back.

McNeill and offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley have compared Harris to Michael Crabtree, the former Texas Tech star and No. 10 overall draft pick in 2009 by San Francisco.
"Down for down, I'd be shocked if there's a better receiver in the country," Riley said. "I don't know if you'll ever see a much better blocker for a guy who does all the things Dwayne does in catching the ball and kick returns."

Central Florida coach George O'Leary emphasized stopping Harris only minutes after his team's win over Rice last weekend.

"No. 17 has given us fits in the past - [Dwayne] Harris. You know, I think as good a receiver he is, I think he's a better return guy," O'Leary said.

-- Caulton Tudor

UNC RB Houston could redshirt

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Senior tailback Ryan Houston was back in uniform Saturday after sitting out UNC’s first five games as part of the NCAA’s investigation into agent benefits and possible academic misconduct. But he did not play during the Tar Heels' 44-10 victory, leaving open the possibility that he might redshirt, and return next season.

“We’re going to talk with Ryan. There was a discussion about the possibility – might he redshirt and come back and play next year? [With the] health to this football team, who knows?” coach Butch Davis said. “It’s hard to project.

“… We obviously didn’t find out [about his return] until late Thursday night, and he had missed all the week’s preparation. Bombs would have had to go off, and he could have gone in, and he could have played a little bit at running back, but he hadn’t had any contact, he hadn’t been hit in six or seven weeks. … This just came totally out of left field, and kind of caught us all off-guard and unprepared. I want to talk to his mom and dad, and probably him, Monday, and find out [about redshirting]. As I told him today, ‘Be ready, be focused, be prepared to come in, and maybe potentially help us if we need it. Hopefully, a disaster won’t come off, and we can have a calm discussion about it.’

“But if that had happened, there’s no question in my mind that he would have run out there, and we’d have started handing the ball to 32 and pounding.”

-- Robbi Pickeral

UNC's Pianalto fractures fibula

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  It looked as if senior Zack Pianalto’s touchdown jinx might be over Saturday night when the North Carolina tight end managed to haul in a 1-yard touchdown reception, celebrate, and leave the end zone with nary a limp.


Until about 4 minutes later, when he hobbled to the sideline with a fractured right fibula.

With 2:35 left in the second quarter, Pianalto caught a 7-yard pass from quarterback T.J. Yates, then was tackled by two Cavaliers. The pop by cornerback Chase Minnifield earned a 15-yard personal foul penalty for Virginia, and Pianalto hopped off the field – and then to the locker room -- on one leg.

-- Robbi Pickeral

UNC's Euwell cleared; Burney has new issues

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- UNC will get one more player back, reserve defensive end Linwan Euwell, but the school announced this afternoon that All-ACC cornerback Kendric Burney has an "unresolved issue" related to the ongoing NCAA investigation.

Burney was suspended six games by the NCAA for receiving agent-related benefits. He was supposed to return next week but UNC announced that Burney has an "unresolved issues related to the ongoing review and his status for the Miami game is undetermined at this point."

"There have been multiple issues [with Burney]," UNC athletic director Dick Baddour said Saturday at Scott Stadium. "We've been working on them for some time. We had hoped that all of those issues would be resolved by this time but that hasn't happened unfortunately.

"It is possible that it will be resolved by the Miami game. It's possible that it will be resolved favorably, and it's possible that it will not be resolved favorably."

Euwell, who has sat out the first five games, has been cleared. Reserve safety Brian Gupton, who also has sat out the first five games, will not play this season.

UNC did not specify the details for either Euwell or Gupton. The school, with the NCAA, is investigating cases of academic misconduct and several players have been scheduled for the school's honor court. Due to privacy laws, UNC is not allowed to comment on specific academic issues.

UNC had 13 players suspended or withheld from the season-opener on Sept. 4 and a 14th player, fullback Devon Ramsay, was added to the list last Saturday. Five players have been ruled out for the seaosn, either by UNC or the NCAA, five players have been cleared and four players, including Burney, are still in limbo.

Running back Ryan Houston was cleared on Thursday and is expected to play today.

The players involved in the investigation to date:

OUT (5)
*DT Marvin Austin
*WR Greg Little
*DE Robert Quinn
S Jonathan Smith
S Brian Gupton

Cleared (5)
RB Ryan Houston (five games)
DE Linwan Euwell (five games)
*S Deunta Williams (four games)
S Da'Norris Searcy (three games)
RB Shaun Draughn (one game)

Limbo (4)
DE Michael McAdoo
CB Charles Brown
FB Devon Ramsay
*CB Kendric Burney (serving six-game agent-related suspension)

Note: * - agent-related suspensions or dismissals. Due to privacy laws, UNC cannot comment on the specifics of the academic-related investigation.