The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • C2

CCI 2ND SECTION, ZONE: SPORTS, FINAL 0:38:0 You have to be impressed with the defense North Carolina has played in the first quarter this season. Thursday was the seventh time the Tar Heels have shut out an opponent in the initial period. outscored those opponents 56-0 in the first quarter. Nice touch having Darius Rucker sing the national anthem at Lane Stadium. Rucker, who has transitioned into country music, is a huge sports fan.

RICK BONNELL OBSERVATIONS ON THE AIR TV AND RADIO SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE TODAY AUTO RACING 11 a.m. NASCAR, Truck Series, practice for Ford 200, at Homestead, SPEED 12:30 p.m. NASCAR, Nationwide Series, practice for Ford 300, at Homestead, ESPN2 3 p.m. NASCAR, Sprint Cup, practice for Ford 400, at Homestead, ESPN2 4:30 p.m. NASCAR, Truck Series, pole qualifying for Ford 200, at Homestead, SPEED 6 p.m.

NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Hour final practice for Ford 400, at Homestead, SPEED 8 p.m. NASCAR, Truck Series, Ford 200, at Homestead, SPEED COLLEGE FOOTBALL 8 p.m. Oklahoma St. at Iowa ESPN 8 p.m. Toledo at Central Michigan, ESPNU COLLEGE HOCKEY 7 p.m.

Vermont at Boston University, NESN 7:30 p.m. Boston College at Notre Dame, CBSSN 8:30 p.m. Minnesota at St. Cloud State, FCSC 9:30 p.m. Nebraska (Omaha) at Denver, FCS COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 7 p.m.

Washington State at Colorado, FCS GOLF 12:30 p.m. LPGA, Titleholders, second round, at Orlando, TGC 3 p.m. PGA Tour, Presidents Cup, third round, at Melbourne, Australia, TGC COLLEGE BASKETBALL 1 p.m. Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Temple vs. Purdue, at San Juan, Puerto Rico, ESPNU 3:30 p.m.

Charleston Classic, Tulsa vs. Northwestern, at Charleston, ESPNU 4:30 p.m. 2K Sports Classic, third place game, Texas vs. St. at New York, ESPN2 6 p.m.

Davidson at Duke, ESPNU, WDNC-620 6:30 p.m. 2K Sports Classic, championship game, Mississippi St. vs. St. Arizona, at New York, ESPN2 7 p.m.

Miami (Ohio) at Xavier, FCSA 9 p.m. Puerto Rico Tip-Off, semifinal, Alabama vs. Wichita State, at San Juan, Puerto Rico, ESPN2 9 p.m. New Mexico at Arizona State, FCSA 9 p.m. Jackson State at Ohio State, BTN MIXED MARTIAL ARTS 11 p.m.

Strikeforce Challengers, lightweight, Antwain Britt vs. Lumamba Sayers, lightweight, Matt Ricehouse vs. Bill Cooper, at Las Vegas, SHO NHL HOCKEY 7 p.m. Buffalo at Carolina, FSCR, PREP FOOTBALL 11 a.m. WIAA Division 3 championship, West De Pere vs.

Wisconsin Lutheran, FCSC 2 p.m. WIAA Division 2 championship, Waunakee vs. Waterford, FCSC 5 p.m. WIAA Division 1 championship, Lincoln vs. Bradford, FCSC 10:30 p.m.

California Southern Section playoffs, first round, Lakewood at San Clemente, FSCR Keep up with the latest news and notes from around the ACC. BLOGS.NEWSOBSERVER.COM/ACCNOW THE NEWS OBSERVER2C A FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2011Sports 2.0 Saint volleball season came to an end Thursday. The Falcons were swept by California (Pa.) 25-14, 25-16, 25-11 in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament. Senior outside hitter Kath- ryn Tokarski, the CIAA tour- nament MVP, finished with a game-high 12 kills and 11 digs for the Falcons. Senior setter Roxanne Smith dished out 19 assists.

FIELD HOCKEY Seven North Carolina play- ers and six Duke players were named to the All-South region teams. First-team honorees for UNC are seniors Meghan Dawson and Katelyn Falgow- ski and juniors Katie Ardrey, Kelsey Kolojejchick and Cait- lin Van Sickle. Junior Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany and soph- omore Marta Malmberg were named to the second team. For Duke redshirt senior Sa- mantha Nelson, sophomore Emmie Le Marchand and se- niors Stefanie Fee, Tara Jen- nings and Rhian Jones were named to the first team. Ju- nior Devon Gagliardi was named to the second team.

Falcons swept away Associated Press STATE COLLEGE, Pa. The chief administrative officer of the Rose Bowl says if Penn State wins the Big Ten title, the Nittany Lions will be free to play in the top-tier postsea- son game as far as con- cerned. Kevin Ash said Thursday that the Rose Bowl would let the Big Ten decide if there is a reason its champion play the Pac 12 winner in Pas- adena, on Jan. 2. the champions Ash said, welcome with open There have been calls for Penn State to decline a bowl bid in the aftermath of the child sex-abuse scandal in- volving former defensive coor- dinator Jerry Sandusky.

The scandal led to the firings of coach Joe Paterno and the school president. New PSU president Rod Er- ickson give a definitive answer last week when asked about a prospective bowl bid. ACC: Undersized running backs are thriving this season in the Atlantic Coast Confer- ence with their versatility and big-play potential. Backs like North Giovani Bernard, Andre Ellington, Perry Jones and Kevin Parks, and Davin Meg- ge tt a rank among the top rushers while standing 5 feet, 10 inches or shorter. They can line up in the backfield, split out wide or catch the ball in open space to create mismatches against slower defenders.

Columbia: Columbia admin- istrators have banned the marching band from playing during sea- son finale against Brown at Baker Field because it used al- ternate words to the school fight song during last week- 62-41 defeat at Cornell. The school says in a state- ment that the band used lyrics to the effect of do we even try, we always Athletic director M. Dianne Murphy says the university was hurt, disap- pointed and Florida: The Gators will be without its most experienced offensive lineman Saturday against Furman, causing a fifth different starting combi- nation in the last seven games. Guard Dan Wenger has been slow to recover from an ankle injury. Florida also could be without right tackle Chaz Green, who is also nurs- ing an ankle injury.

Missouri: Missouri has sus- pended coach Gary Pinkel for game and frozen his salary for a year following his overnight arrest on suspi- cion of drunk driving. He will miss Saturday home game between Missouri (5-5) and Texas Tech. Ohio State: Ten games into the season and DeVier Posey will finally be permitted to make an appearance for Ohio State. Can he save the day? Twice suspended by the NCAA and Ohio State for tak- ing improper benefits, Posey has a lot on his shoulders as he returns for the game on Saturday against No. 21 Penn State.

Vanderbilt: So what if Van- derbilt can become bowl eligi- ble with a win Saturday at Ten- nessee, something the Com- modores have done only four times ever. The first-year coach refuses to change his approach, focusing on the next game only. Wisconsin: Well before Wis- season was side- tracked by back-to-back road losses, the school had thrown its promotional weight behind Russell Wilson as a Heisman Trophy candidate. I Wi a a though, he says cast it for the touchdown machine who lines up behind him: Running back Montee Ball. probably have to vote for Wilson said this week.

my teammate. the Rose Bowl would greet Penn State Some say Lions should decline bid Stephfon Green (21) of the Nittany Lions celebrates a touchdown against Nebraska during a Nov. 12 game. JUSTIN K. ALLER Getty Images By Ron Green Jr.

When Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was asked Thursday if he has lob- bied to keep the ACC football championship at Bank of America Stadium beyond this year, he keep from laughing. do you think the an- swer to that question Richardson said. do know where the game is be- ing played, do you Though nothing is official, it appears virtually certain the ACC championship game will remain in Charlotte at least for the near future, giv- en the Dec. 3 game is already a sellout with only Clemson assured of a spot in the game. This is the second game in a two-year contract and ACC commissioner John Swofford said a new deal for future games is likely before the end of the year.

think our performance will warrant it continuing to be Richardson said af- ter hearing Swofford speak to a group of local business lead- ers who have supported the championship game and the Dec. 27 Belk Bowl. The ACC championship has previously been played in Jacksonville, and Tam- pa, Fla. possible the ACC might not even accept requests for proposals (RFPs) for the next contract, given the two-year success in Charlotte. opened it up for RFPs at this point in time.

We just gone there Swofford said. Swofford said the league has considered having the championship game at an on- campus site as the Pac-12 and other conferences do, though more likely it will stay in Charlotte. the success for the second year in a row of the game here in Charlotte is very, very Swofford said. The commissioner said having the championship game sold out in advance is a primary goal. Will Webb, executive director of Char- lotte Collegiate Football, said Clemson has received about 23 ,000 requests for the 10,000 tickets allocated to each division champion.

Ei- ther Virginia or Virginia Tech will be the opponent. in a situation we all want to be Swofford said. always want to have some people outside wanting to get in. going to have that situation During his comments at the luncheon Thursday at Quail Hollow Club, Swofford acknowledged the image of ACC football has been hurt by NCAA investigations into the programs at North Carolina, Miami and Georgia Tech. had some issues the past year.

not very proud of those Swofford said. fit our com- mitment. very easy to stub your toe with NCAA violation- we have with three programs going through NCAA investigations, ve- ry rare for the ACC. It only gives us more resolve for the league to do things the right way. see this as a snapshot.

If you look at a photo album of the ACC over the last 10 or 15 years, had fewer major NCAA violations than any other league by far. The snap- shot, I like. The photo album, we do Swof ford a so a id he foresee the ACC add- ing any more schools beyond Pittsburgh and Syracuse in the near future. has been a period of never seen anything like said Swof- ford, in his 15th year as ACC commissioner. think the ACC has come out ahead of the game with the addition of Pitt and Syracuse.

We have created a 14-team league that has ACC title game could stay in Charlotte Richardson, league commissioner Swofford cite early success of city as host The Hokies ran out to a 24-7 lead just before the end of the third quarter on a 4 -yard touchdown connec- tion from Logan Thomas to receiver D.J. Coles. The score was set up by Jarrett 39-yard catch-and- run and rushing gains of 13 and 10 yards by tailback Josh Oglesby. The Tar Heels then saw a promising drive stall out at the 13, when Hokies corner- back Kyle Fuller blitzed and sacked quarterback Renner for an 8-yard loss. A 38-yard field goal attempt by Thom- as Moore never reached the goal post.

was a tough night to kick the ball, peri- said North Carolina coach Everett Withers. wanted to avoid having to do that by scoring touch- Two lubs by the Tar Heels gave the Hokies great field position, on their own 46, with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. First, re- ceiver Dwight Jones was flagged for offensive inter- ference, negating what would have been a long catch. Then punter Thomas Hibbard shanked a punt 13 yards. Again, the defense came to the rescue, holding Virginia Tech to a 3-and-out possession.

Virginia Tech was charged with a 15-yard penalty on its punt coverage, giving the Heels decent field position on their own 35. The Hokies assembled a nine-play, 70-yard drive, building a 17-7 lead six min- utes into the second half on 23-yard touch- down run. A former tight end, Thomas is a load to bring down at 6-6 and 254 pounds. fought hard to the ve- ry said North Caroli- Jones, who finished the game with six catches for 105 yards and crossed the mark for the sea- son. just got too far be- North Carolina trailed Virginia Tech 10-7 at half- time.

The Tar Heels started out well, holding the Hokies scoreless in the first quarter the seventh time happened this UNC season. The Heels immediately forced a turnover when de- fensive tackle Sylvester Wil- liams knocked the ball loose from Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas, as Thomas drew back his arm to pass. Tydreke Powell recovered the fumble, giving North Carolina possession 20 yards from a touchdown. Two plays later, Heels run- ning back Bernard ran it in from the four, the fresh- 12th rushing touch- down this season. Bernard was later knocked out of the game in a helmet-to-helmet collision.

The Heels had an excel- lent chance at going up 14-0 later in the first quarter, driving from their own 26 to Virginia 5-yard line. But when tailback Ryan Houston fumbled to make for a scoreless trip to the red zone. Virginia Tech responded with a 95-yard, 18-play touchdown drive. Thomas completed passes of 13 and 19 yards before finding tight end Chris Drager with an 11-yard touchdown pass. Virginia 24, North Carolina 21 UNC 7 0 0 14 21 Virginia Tech 0 10 14 0 24 FIRST QUARTER 4 run (Moore kick), 13:42.

SECOND QUARTER 11 pass from Thomas (Journell kick), 9:18. Journell 22, 4:58. THIRD QUARTER 23 run (Journell kick), 9:02. 4 pass from Thomas (Journell kick), :25. FOURTH QUARTER 5 pass from Renner (Moore kick), 7:06.

1 run (Moore kick), 2:32. (at Virginia Tech). NC VT First downs 18 23 Rushes-yards 34-134 40-145 Passing 224 195 Comp-Att-Int 14-27-0 19-33-0 Return Yards 9 (-1) Punts Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-1 Penalties-Yards 6-59 2-25 Time of Possession 27:16 32:44 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Carolina, Bernard 10-45, Houston 9-42, Blue 9-32, Highsmith 1-7, D.Jones 1-7, Thorpe 2-6, Renner 2-(minus 5). Virginia Tech, D.Wilson 21-82, Thomas 13-32, Oglesby 5-31, Team 1-0. PA I a i a 14-26-0-224, Blue 0-1-0-0.

Virginia Tech, Thomas 19-32-0-195, Team 0-1-0-0. Carolina, D.Jones 6-105, Highsmith 5-90, Ebron 1-18, N.Hurst 1-10, Byrd 1-1. Virginia Tech, Boykin 10-106, Coale 4-37, Coles 2-23, Drager 1-11, M.Davis 1-10, D.Wilson 1-8. Virginia David Wilson (4) slips past Sylvester Williams (92). PHOTOS BY ROBERT WILLETT Giovani Bernard (26) looks for running room against Antone Exum (1).

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