The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • F1

FMAIR0829OF1 Replate 1F 1F RR RR BlueRedYellowBlack Blue RedYellowBlack RMAIN0829OF1 Trojans get a scare and a victory By TONY BARNHART Landover, Md. Southern California came here Saturday night as the defending Associated Press national champion and the consensus No. 1 team in all of college football. Today both are still true. But just barely.

The Trojans, a strong favorite to reach the BCS national championship game this season, got a significant scare from unranked Virginia Tech, an 18-point underdog playing in its first game as a member of the ACC. The Hokies took a 10-7 lead deep into the third quarter but could not find an answer for USC quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush, who rallied the Trojans to a 24-13 victory in the BCA Classic at FedEx Field. The Hokies had a lot going for them, including a record crowd of 91,665 that was overwhelmingly in their favor. But Virginia Tech, picked to finish in the middle of the ACC, could never find a way to cover Bush, who caught touchdown passes of 35, 53 and 29 yards. Bush finished the game with five catches for 127 yards.

He rushed for another 27 yards. coordinator Chow put in some plays that we thought would be mismatches with their defensive said Bush, a sophomore. thought I had too much speed for them, and he turned out to be After losing starting receivers Keary Colbert (207 career catches) to the NFL draft and Mike Williams (195 catches), who was denied reinstatement by the NCAA last Thursday, USC has a very young corps USC 24, VIRGINIA TECH 13 NICK WASS Associated Press Virginia Vincent Fuller (8) stop Reggie Bush from scoring one of his three touchdowns. Please see USC, F6 ALSO INSIDE: Jim heart remains in Athens, F6 ajc The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sports CONTACT US: Ronnie Ramos, Sports editor 404-526-5098 SUNDAY, AUG. 29, 2004 THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION CHECK FOR BREAKING NEWS UPDATES AT AJC.COM Does Georgia have the juice to play for the BCS title? Is Georgia Tech strong enough to compete in the expanded ACC? The season is previewed today in our annual college football forecast, Section E.

IN EDITION College football preview INSIDE TODAY Earnhardt Jr. loves Bristol Returning to a place of fond memories, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was aglow after his victory in Busch Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, one of the first tracks his famous father brought him to as a child. Earnhardt would go on to earn a rare double by winning the Nextel Cup race at the same site late Saturday night. F3 GHSA wrestles with reclassifying The Georgia High School Association is preparing to meet Monday to consider returning to a four- classification division of high school sports.

F13 Owls must get wise to Div. I Kennesaw soccer team went 43-1-1 and won the national championship last season, but the Owls are starting over as just another team this season in a new division. The Owls are moving from NCAA Division II, where they won the title, to Division where they will face teams such as 18-time national champion North Carolina. F19 Earnhardt FIVE PAGES OF COVERAGE F9, F15-18 Basketball medal The U.S. men salvage a bronze medal and a little pride with a victory over Lithuania in basketball.

F15 Boxing showdown Andre Ward disregards poor advice from coach, becomes only U.S. fighter to make it to gold-medal round. F16 On ajc.com Go online later Sunday for marathon results and a Closing Ceremony photo gallery. hitting sparks a rout By DAVID Every time Paul Byrd pitches, he gets the same question from his 8-year-old son, Grayson. matter how I pitch, he asks, did you get a Byrd said, smiling.

I can say Byrd just get a hit on Saturday. He got two run-scoring singles to help Atlanta roll to a 9-3 victory against Jason Schmidt and the San Francisco Giants before 42,549 at Turner Field, extending the winning streak to a season-high six games. Rafael Furcal went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, and Charles Thomas added a triple, a double and four runs for the Braves, who improved to a major league-best 42-14 since June 26. been rolling for a long said manager Bobby Cox, whose Braves can clinch the four-game series with a win tonight before the Monday afternoon finale. consistent baseball is what you want to do, and been doing that, pretty On a day when the Braves totaled 15 hits and held a 6-1 lead after four innings, his teammates were especially happy for Byrd (5-4), who not only held the Giants to one run and four hits in BRAVES 9, GIANTS 3 Opponent: San Francisco Giants When; where: 8:05 p.m.

today; Turner Field TV: ESPN NEXT FOR BRAVES Please see BRAVES, F7 Cox admits Barry Bonds makes him nervous, F10 MORE BASEBALL INSIDE BEN GRAY Staff Buford coach Dexter Wood leads a team prayer, an activity that could be unconstitutional if participation is not voluntary. By MICHELLE HISKEY A coach at a public school allowed to pressure an athlete about religion, the U.S. Constitution says. Those who lead football teams in Georgia commonly test that law by endorsing or allowing pregame prayers and chapel services, calling them voluntary activities. Caught in the middle are players who can wonder if their playing time or advancement depends on taking part in a prayer they believe in.

Last week, a University of Georgia cheerleading coach was fired after she allegedly used religious criteria, such as Bible study attendance, to keep a Jewish cheerleader off the premier cheer squad. Because of that, the stakes in the coach-athlete-religion relationships became higher. An athlete is often a young person who desperately wants to fit in on the team. Coaches want to win. If praying and going to church build team unity, they want to stop the process.

At Milton High School in Alpharetta, the football team including Jewish players hold hands and recite the Cross of paths: faith, sports Athletics-religion mix can near a constitutional line Please see RELIGION, F7 FALCONS 37, BENGALS 10 No Vick. So what? Schaub delivers another 3-TD passing performance By MATT WINKELJOHN The Falcons have done it both ways in the past two weeks, and if given a choice in the future, surely opt for path to success whether quarterback Michael Vick is playing or not. What team choose to come out, put its collective boot on an throat from the start and then keep stomping as Atlanta did in a 37-10 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals in the Georgia Dome? It was less stressful, to be sure, than when the Falcons fell behind 17-0 to Minnesota eight days earlier before rallying for a 27-24 victory. And it was exactly what coach Jim Mora had in mind. He said this was the most important exhibition game, the one in which they most wanted to imitate their regular-season selves.

So after scoring first 2 minutes, 2 seconds into the game then forcing a fumble and scoring again moments later and sprinting in general to a 27-7 halftime lead, hey, everybody was grinning. Yes, it was an exhibition game, but it was one both coaches said they were taking seriously, at least during the first half. Photos by CURTIS COMPTON Staff Peerless Price has fun in the end zone after a 53-yard touchdown catch that gave the Falcons a 27-7 halftime lead. INSIDENEXT FOR FALCONS Opponent: Washington Redskins When; where: 7 p.m. Friday; FedEx Field, Washington TV: WXIA Tight hamstring keeps Michael Vick on the sideline, F5 Matt Schaub has six touchdown passes in the past two games.

Please see FALCONS, F5.