Wake-Up Call: Jackets, Tigers regroup to decide ACC crown

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

Saturday night's ACC Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium - Georgia Tech vs. Clemson - was going to be the first meeting of two top 15-ranked college-football teams in Tampa history.

Teams on the rise.

Teams filled with excitement, bringing enough out-of-town fans to make it into a worthy event.

There was almost a clean getaway - almost.

Then last weekend happened.

Georgia 30, Georgia Tech 24.

South Carolina 34, Clemson 17.

The ACC's two best teams were beaten by SEC mediocrity.

"It's always difficult to lose a rival game," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "But we'll turn the page. We'll get refocused.

"We've beaten (South) Carolina many times. But Clemson hasn't won a conference championship in 18 years. We know what's ahead of us and we'll be ready for it."

Georgia Tech (10-2) vs. Clemson (8-4).

It has no national-title implications (winner goes to the Orange Bowl). It's not Florida State-Miami, the dream game for Tampa organizers.

But it's significantly better than last season's ACC matchup (Virginia Tech-Boston College) that had an actual attendance of just 27,360 fans. The ACC title game will move to Charlotte, N.C. - where 75 percent of the league's membership is within six hours driving time - for 2010 and 2011. Obviously, that region is probably better-equipped to support a wide variety of ACC matchups.

Despite the weekend foibles, Georgia Tech-Clemson could be a highly entertaining show.

Clemson has one of the nation's best players in senior running back C.J. Spiller, who set an NCAA record on Saturday with his seventh career kickoff-return touchdown. Spiller has 7,115 career all-purpose yards, fifth in NCAA history.

Georgia Tech's "flex-bone" triple-option attack, which features junior back Anthony Allen (of Jesuit High School), is one of the nation's most relentless running games.

It's a rematch of one of the season's most exciting games - Georgia Tech 30, Clemson 27 on Sept. 10 - in which the Yellow Jackets built a 24-0 lead, fell behind in the fourth quarter, then won with a field goal in the final seconds.

It's two old-school ACC teams that are long overdue - Georgia Tech hasn't won the league since 1990; Clemson hasn't won the league since 1991 - and you'd guess that the respective fan bases would be plenty excited.

We'll see how the local fans feel.

Plant goes for two, ties record

Friday night, the Plant Panthers tied a Florida record for most points scored in a state playoff game.

And they got there on a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, making it a 77-16 victory against the Alonso Ravens in the Class 5A second-rounder.

Here are the other times a Florida prep team has scored 70 or more points in a playoff game.

• Venice 77, Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 14 (2000 Class 5A final).

• Ponte Vedra Beach Nease 76, Citrus 6 (2004 Class 3A second round).

• Belle Glade Glades Day 72, Admiral Farragut 7 (2001 Class 1A first round).

• Pahokee 72, Miami Florida Christian 0 (2006 Class 2B first round).

• Jacksonville Trinity Christian 70, DeFuniak Springs Walton 39 (Class 2A first round).

• Jacksonville Bolles 70, Orlando Jones 6 (Class 2A first round).

The previous playoff scoring record for a Hillsborough County team occurred in 2003, when the Jefferson Dragons defeated Pasco 69-22 in a Class 3A first-rounder.

Lang scores for UConn

University of Connecticut freshman Mike Lang (Largo) scored on an 80-yard kickoff return in Saturday's 56-31 victory against Syracuse. It was the second touchdown this season for Lang, who gets to play against his home-area team, the University of South Florida Bulls, next Saturday at UConn.

UCF to St. Petersburg Bowl?

The University of Central Florida Knights (8-4, 6-2 Conference USA) are a good bet for the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field on Dec. 19. UCF would likely face UConn or Rutgers from the Big East.

Following Saturday's 34-27 win at UAB, Knights coach George O'Leary asked his players which bowl they preferred.

The answer was overwhelming.

"St. Pete! St. Pete! St. Pete!"

UCF sophomore tailback Brynn Harvey (Largo) rushed for 130 yards, giving him a regular-season total of 1,077 yards and 14 touchdowns.

McCluster 15 yards shy of 1,000

Ole Miss senior running back Dexter McCluster (Largo) had 82 yards rushing in Saturday's 41-27 loss against Mississippi State. McCluster needs 15 yards for 1,000 - and he should get that in a bowl game, maybe even Tampa's Outback Bowl, although the SEC bowl picture still needs some sorting out.

Looking good: Florida vs. Syracuse

The SEC/Big East Basketball Challenge - set for Thursday, Dec. 10 - has a good one brewing at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The Florida Gators (6-0) and Syracuse Orange (6-0) were unranked in the preseason, but now they are two of the nation's hottest teams. The Gators are coming off a great week with victories against Florida State and Michigan State. The Orange are the only team to defeat North Carolina.

Florida-Syracuse will be preceded by Mississippi State-DePaul.

UT volleyball in Elite Eight

The University of Tampa volleyball team (31-2) is just three victories away from earning its second national title under Coach Chris Catanach.

The Spartans, heading to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament at Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.), will face Cal State San Bernadino (32-1) in Thursday's quarterfinals at 6 p.m.

If the Spartans prevail, they would play the winner between host Concordia (34-0) and Indianapolis (35-1) in Friday's semifinals. The championship match is Saturday night at 8:30.

McGriff on Hall of Fame ballot

Former first baseman Fred McGriff (Jefferson), who is tied with Lou Gehrig for 26th all-time in major-league home runs with 493, is among 15 first-time candidates on this year's Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. The new class will be announced on Jan. 6.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to former USF basketball player Jimmy Baxter, an exceptional leaper who was a high-level performer in the NCAA track and field high-jump competition. Today, Baxter turns 29.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Friday's trivia question:

Former San Francisco 49ers running back William Floyd, who played at Lakewood High School, scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XXIX.

Monday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

Not counting the three schools added in the most recent expansion (Boston College, Miami, Virginia Tech), which current ACC school has gone the longest without winning a football conference championship?

Check for the answer in Tuesday's Wake-Up Call.