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North Carolina

By John Markon

NORTH CAROLINA'S TAR HEELS, in search of their
second consecutive ACC football title, are presently ensconced
in first place as the conference race bolls on oward what
should be a rousing conclusion. Coach Bill Dooley's Hurryin'
Heels (2-0 in the ACC, 4-1' overall) are the only team as yet
undefeated in league play and received an added boost last
weekend when oft-injured tailback like Oglesby returned to
action for the first time this season.

Oglesby, a breakaway threat on a par with Virginia's Kent
Merritt, slashed through the Kentucky defense for 126 yards
on 21 carries. His reappearance on the scene will doubtless
make the tasks of the four ACC teams still to face the Tar
Heels that much tougher. Before closing their year with two
non-league games, the Heels must play Wake Forest, Clemson,
Virginia and Duke.

THIS YEARS ACC MYSTERY TEAM is Duke (2-1, 2-4).
The Blue Devils fought through a murderous early season
schedule, almost upsetting Top 20 elevens Washington and
Stanford and playing a good game against number
three-ranked Alabama, and came back to the league to
pulverize Virginia before suddenly losing their offense. Again
N.C. State, a basically offensive team that has given up a lot of
points, the Blue Devils were shutout, 17-0. Last weekend they
were also ineffective on offense but struggled to a 7-0 victory
over Clemson.

Like North Carolina, Duke is basically a running team but
unlike the Tar Heels the Devils and Coach Mike McGee rely on
a workhorse back (Steve Jones) instead of a stable of runners.
Jones continues to run fairly well but it's obvious he needs
some help. Some flashy freshman and sophomore runners on
McGee's roster might still be able to give it to him. Duke has a
freshman quarterback, Hal Spears, who's been off form in
recent weeks, and average receivers. They also have the ACC's
best defense and rate as Carolina's chief challenger.

N.C. STATE (2-1-1, 3-2-1) is now tied with Duke for
second and has been showing the league's most explosive
offense all year with accurate passers Bruce Shaw and Dave
Buckey (another freshman) throwing to a good brace of
receivers and fullback Stan Fritts running well. The Pack leads
the conference in scoring and should be favored to win their
two remaining ACC games. They've already split with leaders
Carolina and Duke and must pin all their title hopes on losses
by these teams in the coming weeks. They remain outsiders in
the race but this shouldn't detract from the fine job Coach
Lew Holst has done in his first year in Raleigh.

Also in his initial season is Maryland (2-1-1, 3-2-1) mentor
Jerry Claiborn, ex-Virginia Tech boss. Claiborn has had the
Terps moving against low-quality opposition in recent weeks
but a broken collarbone suffered by his quarterback, Al
Neville, is bound to slow the team's progress. If Maryland
continues to get strong running from their young backs and if
Bob Avellini can take Neville's place and if the defense
tightens up the Terps can contend. That's too many "if's."
Either way, a win over Duke this weekend is a must.

I THINK ENOUGH HAS BEEN said in these pages about
Virginia recently but it should be noted that the Wahoos are
still alive in the race but need a win over Clemson on Saturday
in the worst way.

Clemson (0-1, 1-4) has had all sorts of offensive problems
this season and the Tigers have scored only 24 points in their
last four games, all of them losses. A tough schedule, pitting
the Tigers against the likes of Oklahoma, Rice and Georgia
Tech didn't help either. Clemson's big chance to move in the
race was against Duke last week and they messed it up. Like
the Cavaliers, they need a win this weekend to avoid falling
out of contention.

The less said about Wake Forest (02, 1-4) the better.

THEREIN, THEN, HANGS THE ACC TALE going into the
homestretch. North Carolina-Duke on Nov. 18 looks like the
"Big Game" but, somehow, I look for Duke to stumble along
the way. In the meantime, we have a team in Charlottesville
that can still do well. Keep an eye out, though, for Carolina as
I think you'll find them in a bowl game around New Years
time. Like any son of the Tar Heel state, I'd be proud of the
'Heels and the ACC if they could do it again.