Associated Press
The notebook …
WINSTON-SALEM ó Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe has seen a version of Mississippi’s newfangled offense before. Now comes the tough part: Stopping it.
Down in SEC country, they call it the “Wild Rebel” ó the tricky direct-snap-to-the-running back formation that helped turn Darren McFadden into a Heisman Trophy contender at Arkansas and made ex-Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt a winner in his debut at Ole Miss.
Now it’s up to the 20th-ranked Demon Deacons ó and one of the ACC’s most cerebral defenses ó to figure out a solution for the scheme that, depending on your perspective, is either the latest inventive tweak to the modern-day spread offense or a throwback to the leather-helmet days of the wing-T.
“It’s a great change of pace,” Grobe said Tuesday.
The Rebels (1-0) will bring their new offense to Winston-Salem this week, looking to repeat their season-opening 41-24 rout of Memphis that was keyed by the Wild Rebel. Ole Miss ran 10 plays out of that formation and averaged nearly 15 yards, with running backs Dexter McCluster and Brandon Bolden reprising the triggerman role that was once McFadden’s job.
McCluster piled up 125 total yards and a touchdown run, and Bolden added a 10-yard scoring run and hit quarterback Jevan Snead with a 37-yard pass out of the shotgun.
VIRGINIA TECH
BLACKSBURG, Va. ó Virginia Tech will return to the two-quarterback system it used last season with Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon sharing the duties, coach Frank Beamer said Tuesday.
The announcement came a week after Beamer had said that Glennon would be the starter while Taylor redshirted.
“Putting another guy in the game that can help you run the football is in our best interests,” he said. “I don’t think with young receivers you want to rely on throwing the football 40 times a game.”
HANNA WOES
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern may reschedule their home games Saturday because of Tropical Storm Hanna.
The Chanticleers are scheduled to host Colgate at 7 p.m. Saturday. Coastal Carolina coach David Bennett said officials are considering moving the game to Thursday or Sunday.
SOUTH CAROLINA STARTER
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier says backup quarterback Chris Smelley will start Thursday night against Vanderbilt.
Spurrier says he made the decision after starting quarterback Tommy Beecher couldn’t practice Monday because he couldn’t lift his non-throwing shoulder.
But Spurrier concedes Smelley probably deserves to start even if Beecher was not injured.
OKLAHOMA BRAWL
NORMAN, Okla. ó At least two Oklahoma athletes were injured during a brawl at a local nightclub that police said involved guns, knives and tire irons.The university characterized the players as victims in the early Sunday incident at the Sooner Knights club in southwest Norman.