FSU in talks to play game at Dome in '08

By TONY BARNHART
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 07/24/07

Pinehurst, N.C. — The Atlanta Sports Council is closing in on an agreement for Florida State to play a non-conference game at the Georgia Dome during the 2008 season.

Discussions about the game between Florida State athletics director Dave Hart and Atlanta Sports Council president Gary Stokan were held here during the 2007 ACC Football Kickoff.


An opponent for Florida State has yet to be determined.

"It's a situation where Florida State has an opening on its schedule that would have given them eight home games," Stokan said. "They like to recruit in Georgia, so we think it makes sense for them to play in Atlanta."

Hart confirmed that the talks had taken place with Stokan but offered no timetable on when a decision might be announced.

In a related development, Stokan is scheduled to hold a conference call with Duke officials next Tuesday about bringing the Blue Devils' 2010 game with Alabama to the Georgia Dome.


'Noles, Hokies favorites

Florida State and Virginia Tech were picked to meet in the ACC championship game on Dec. 1 by a vote Monday of the media here in Pinehurst.

Virginia Tech got 77 of 83 first-place votes to win the Coastal Division. Georgia Tech got four votes and Miami received two.

Florida State, which was 7-6 last season, edged out Boston College in the Atlantic Division.

"I'm really surprised," said Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who turns 78 in November. "Usually that kind of thing is based on what you did last year, and we weren't very good."


Grobe looks to Andrews

Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said Monday that if running back Micah Andrews of Duluth comes back at full speed from a knee injury "we have a chance to be a pretty good football team again."

Andrews, the son of Falcons great William Andrews, has not had any contact since he was lost for the entire 2006 season with a knee injury in the Deacons' third game. Grobe said that Andrews had lost 15 pounds and is able to run and cut on the knee.

But he still hasn't been tackled, something that will have to happen in just a couple of weeks.

"He hasn't been knocked to the ground, and we have to do that or he can't be the guy when we go to Boston College [Sept. 1]," said Grobe, whose team won the ACC championship last season. "We think he'll be ready."


Bittersweet reunion

On August 1, the entire Virginia Tech football team will meet for the first time since the horrific on-campus shootings of April 16 killed 32 students and faculty members. After the shootings, coach Frank Beamer canceled the rest of spring practice, and many players went home.

"We've talked to everybody individually, but we haven't all been together since," Beamer said. "We'll have a lot to talk about."

Virginia Tech opens its season Sept. 1 against East Carolina.


New date for recruits?

New North Carolina coach Butch Davis said he and several fellow ACC coaches are in favor of an early signing period for football. Davis would like for it to be the third Wednesday in December while keeping the regular signing date, which is the first Wednesday in February.

"We have a huge dead period right now in December until after the coaching convention in January," said Davis, one of college football's best recruiters.

"Because most kids already know where they want to go, we're spending a lot of time and a lot of money just looking after them. Do it like basketball. Let the ones who want to sign early go ahead and then the others can wait."