Miami's brutal early season schedule helpful

CLEMSON -- No matter what happens Saturday against No. 8 Oklahoma, Miami coach Randy Shannon believes the Hurricanes' brutal opening stretch will have helped his young team, which has eight sophomores in the starting lineup.

After opening with a road win at Florida State and a victory against Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes came back to earth with a drubbing at Virginia Tech last Saturday.

Shannon believes 17th-ranked Hurricanes have already put the loss behind them.

Miami (2-1, 2-1 ACC) hosts the Sooners at 8 p.m. Saturday, televised on WCIV.

"I think it helps a lot," Shannon said of the tough schedule. "When the schedule came out, I said we going to find out where we are as a football team after the first four games. Look at the sophomores and juniors, they have come a long way."

Three up

This Bud's for Bud

If anyone in the conference could slow the Miami offense, it was thought to be Bud Foster, the Virginia Tech defensive coordinator. The sentiment proved correct as the Hokies limited Miami to 209 yards and Miami quarterback Jacory Harris to 9 of 25 passing last Saturday.

"The U might be back," Hokies cornerback Rashad Carmichael said, "but we never left."

Highlighting Highsmith

The question entering the season for North Carolina was who would replace Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate at receiver? Both receivers are playing in the NFL. True freshman Erik Highsmith is apparently that guy, recording more than 100 yards receiving for a second straight week against Georgia Tech (six catches, 107 yards, touchdown). Not bad for a 6-2, 170-pound, formerly position-less prospect who was rated as the No. 118 athlete in the 2009 class by ESPN.

The incomparable Spiller

Clemson's do-it-all star is 64 yards from breaking Leon Johnson's (North Carolina 1993-96) conference mark for all-purpose yardage (5,828). Not bad for a guy who was in a time-share for three seasons.

Three down

Florida State's secondary

Even though South Florida lost senior quarterback Matt Grothe to injury prior to its 17-7 win against Florida State, freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels was able to top 200 yards passing and two touchdown passes against the Seminoles. Florida State is last in the conference in pass defense, surrendering 295 yards per game. Tallahassee's wishing you were here, Samari Rolle.

Turtle fear mongering

Fear the turtle? Not so much. The Terps have a minus-10 turnover ratio through four games, the worst in the conference. Maryland did not defeat a I-A opponent in September.

Clemson's passing game

Sure weather has played a part, but so have double-digit drops and errant throws by Kyle Parker. Clemson is last in the ACC in passing efficiency (102.9) and joins Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech as the only conference teams with a sub-50 percent completion percentages.

By the numbers

40.9 -- The ACC's winning percentage against the SEC since 1995 (43-62).

54.5 -- Clemson's winning percentage against the SEC since 1995 (12-11), which is buoyed by an 11-3 mark against South Carolina.

56.1 -- Percentage of Clemson offense accounted for by Spiller and Jacoby Ford. Spiller (438) and Ford (297) have accounted for more than half of the Tigers' total yards (1,309).

Quote of the week

"It's not often they come here and we're not sure why they are coming," said Boston College coach Frank Spaziani of ESPN's decision to hold a College GameDay's tour stop at Chestnut Hill, Mass., on Saturday.

It is the first time GameDay has appeared on the campus since the Eagles' inaugural game in the ACC on Sept. 17, 2005.

Trav's take

--N.C. State remains lurking in the Atlantic, especially if Russell Wilson keeps this up. Against Pittsburgh last week, Wilson threw for 322 yards and rushed for 91 more. Oh, he has gone 364 pass attempts without an interception.

--The changing of the guard in the Coastal is on hold as it appears Virginia Tech is not quite ready to relinquish its title as the class of the conference. The No. 6 Hokies are the only ACC team ranked in the top 15.

--And it also appears the league hasn't quite figured out Paul Johnson's triple option. After a relatively slow start to the season, Georgia Tech running back Jonathan "The Diesel" Dwyer rushed for 158 yards on 19 carries against a talented and speedy North Carolina defense.

HIGH FIVE

Ranking the ACC's top five receivers

1. Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech - Alabama's Julio Jones and Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant might have something to say about this, but might college football's top two receivers reside in Georgia? (also see: Georgia's A.J. Green.)

2. Jacoby Ford, Clemson - Dabo Swinney thinks he's the fastest player in the country. It's not hyperbole.

3. Erik Highsmith, North Carolina - A star is born. Hard to argue with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games. He has broken the 4.4-second barrier in the 40-yard dash.

4. Torrey Smith, Maryland - Versatile player, who leads the conference in receiving yardage.

5. Owen Spencer, N.C. State - He's been sidelined with a concussion, but has a potent combination of size (6-3) and speed.