Associated Press
The college football notebook …
RALEIGH ó North Carolina State hasn’t scored a point in nine consecutive quarters. Now, the injury-plagued offense will be without two key players this week.
Coach Tom O’Brien said Monday that neither starting quarterback Russell Wilson nor tight end Anthony Hill is expected to play in the Wolfpack’s home opener against William & Mary.
Wilson was carted off the field with a concussion during last week’s 34-0 loss at South Carolina, and Hill ó the team’s leading receiver in 2006 who missed ’07 with a knee injury ó is likely out with a chest injury.
Top wide receiver Donald Bowens already out for the season for the Wolfpack with a back injury and tailback Jamelle Eugene slowed by an ankle injury that kept him out of the opener.
It’s a tough situation for the Wolfpack, who lost to Maryland 37-0 in their 2007 season finale and have been shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 1956.
“It hurts to be shut out twice and still have that bitter taste from last year in our mouths,” tailback Andre Brown said.
The injury to Wilson, who spent Thursday night in a hospital before returning to campus, leaves the Wolfpack (0-1) with senior Daniel Evans under center and Harrison Beck as the backup. The trio combined to complete just 5-of-20 passes against South Carolina, with Evans tossing a pair of interceptions.
ACC PLAYERS
GREENSBORO ó Two North Carolina standouts and two from Miami are among the Atlantic Coast Conference’s players of the week.
Return man Brandon Tate and defensive end E.J. Wilson were the Tar Heels honored Monday by the league for their performance against McNeese State.
Tate had a school-record 397 all-purpose yards on 11 plays and scored two touchdowns in the Tar Heels’ 35-27 win over McNeese State.
ACC INJURIES
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ó The University of Virginia said starting linebacker Aaron Clark is lost for the season with a knee injury. The Cavaliers said in a statement Monday the 6-foot-5, 250-pound senior will undergo season-ending surgery.
– CLEMSON, S.C. ó Clemson starting offensive guard Barry Humphries will miss at least one game with a knee injury.The school says the junior will have surgery this week and miss Saturday’s game against The Citadel. How long he remains out won’t be known until his surgery is complete.
UPROOTED AGAIN
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ó Tulane’s football team has been uprooted again by a hurricane.
But the Green Wave isn’t holed up in a gym with no power like they were with Katrina in 2005. Instead, the team is spending a week practicing in Birmingham and staying in a nice hotel while closely monitoring the situation with Hurricane Gustav on TV.
Tulane is preparing for Saturday’s game at No. 24 Alabama after making arrangements ahead of Gustav last week.
Reminders of the plights of New Orleans and Louisiana were all over the team’s hotel. Besides the 115 or so Tulane players, coaches and administrators, the hotel was filled up with storm evacuees and their pets.
MISSOURI
COLUMBIA, Mo. ó Jeremy Maclin left the Missouri sideline on a cart in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s opener, believing he had broken his left ankle.
“I could feel a little bit of popping but that could have come from my ankle being a little swollen,” Maclin said Monday.
It was a false alarm for the All-American who set an NCAA freshman record for all-purpose yards last season after missing the 2006 season with a knee injury. He expects to be in the lineup this weekend if he can shake off a sprain.