News Nuggets, 11.08.03
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Homecoming Saturday: Hoops and football from 11 a.m. 'til...

The 2003-04 edition of East Carolina' basketball team will conduct a public workout and hold its annual Purple-Gold scrimmage inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum prior to today's Homecoming football game.

Coach Bill Herrion will open up the team's practice session starting at 11 a.m., with the Purple-Gold contest scheduled to begin about noon. At the conclusion of the scrimmage, an autograph session with ECU student-athletes will be held inside the coliseum.

Fans will also have the opportunity to purchase season basketball tickets and choose their seats. ECU athletic department representatives will be on hand to answer questions regarding tickets.

The hoops events are part of the weekend's Homecoming festivities highlighted by the Pirates' Conference USA football game against South Florida at 2 p.m.

SEC makes 11th hour change in tiebreaker

ATLANTA — The Southeastern Conference won't be embarrassing itself with a vote. If there's a three-way tie in the East, it will be broken the old-fashioned way - on the field. Well, sort of.

The SEC hastily adopted a new tiebreaking formula Friday that would use, if needed, the Bowl Championship Series standings to determine who plays in the league's Dec. 6 title game. During a conference call, SEC athletic directors unanimously adopted the new rule so they wouldn't be put in the position of voting on which team SEC East team — Florida, Georgia or Tennessee — goes to Atlanta.

In the event of a three-way tie, the highest team in the BCS standings would represent the East, with one caveat. If the top two teams are within five places of each other in the BCS, the head-to-head winner would go to the title game.

Army can salvage season starting now

One of the more spirited rivalries in all of college football is revisited today when Army visits service academy foe Air Force as the Black Knights begin their quest for the Commander in Chief's Trophy.

After losing to Navy by a 28-25 margin last month in Landover, Md., Air Force can only hope to gain a share of the CIC crown it has owned independently since 1997. A win over Army and a victory by the Black Knights over Navy next month would forge a three-way tie for the trophy. Army, meanwhile, will gain at least a share of the crown with a triumph over the Falcons. Army has dropped six straight verdicts to Air Force and 13 of the last 14 encounters.

Mired in the throes of a school-record 11-game losing streak, which stands as the longest skid in all of Division I-A, Army has displayed marked improvement in recent weeks. After losing their first six games by an average of 23.0 points, the Black Knights have dropped their last three contests by a total of 25 points.

Army began to show tangible signs of progress with a rousing rally that ran out of clock in a 38-32 loss to visiting East Carolina on Oct. 18, followed by a 33-29 defeat at Cincinnati the following week and last Saturday's 24-9 loss at UAB.

Clemson vs. Florida State TV capsule

ESPN2, 7:45 p.m.
No. 3 Florida State (8-1) at Clemson (5-4)

Opening Line: Florida State by 17.
Series Record: Florida State leads, 14-2.
Last Meeting: 2002, Florida State, 48-31.

WHAT TO WATCH: Florida State can wrap up another ACC title and a Bowl Championship Series game by beating the Tigers. But if Clemson pulls the upset, Tommy Bowden will get his first win in five tries against his father's team. The younger Bowden might be under pressure to keep his job, and it will take more than a few breaks for Clemson to pull an upset. Florida State seems simply too talented at almost every position. The Seminoles have one of the nation's best receiving tandems in Craphonso Thorpe, a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver, and P.K. Sam. Also, Florida State is a tough defensive team. Florida State is second in the nation, allowing 10.8 points per game. They might be without LB Kendyll Pope, too _ he has missed two straight games due to a knee injury. The Seminoles' weak spot on offense might be QB Chris Rix _ who has fantastic numbers, but can be turnover-prone. Clemson QB Charlie Whitehurst, meanwhile, was benched in last week's 45-17 loss to Wake Forest. Whitehurst threw for 272 yards, but committed three turnovers.

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: Florida State has scored in 194 straight games, but its offense didn't score in a 13-2 loss to Oklahoma in the 2001 Orange Bowl. ... Florida State has won 11 straight against Clemson since joining the ACC in 1992, and is 7-0 all-time at Death Valley. ... The younger Bowden's career mark of 52-28 is better than his father's 48-32 start.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2003 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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