Oct. 14, 2005

CHRIS BARCLAY, RB, WAKE FOREST - The senior has rebounded from an opening-game suspension to lead the ACC in rushing and all-purpose yardage. Barclay's rushing average of 117.2 yards a game is 30 yards better than his next competition.

"Being suspended was a tough time for Chris because our kids admire him so much and he had never, ever been in trouble since he has been here," coach Jim Grobe said. "I didn't know how he would handle it, but he never pouted, he never put his head down, he just came back and went to work. He handled everything with a lot of class and accepted his punishment and has come back strong."

Barclay, who will be 22 on Saturday, has never gotten the publicity he deserves. He has 3,491 career yards, and at his current pace, will become just the fifth 4,000-yard rusher in league history.

"From the time he got here you could tell he was a guy who had a little bit more maturity than everybody else," Grobe said. "He comes to practice in a businesslike manner every day. I've never had a day with Chris Barclay where I thought he came out and had a bad practice."

DAN ENNIS, PK, MARYLAND - Who would have thought little Dan Ennis would be making a difference for a 4-2 Maryland team? The 154-pound walk-on took over the place-kicking duties when Obi Egekeze got injured. All Ennis has done is go 11-for-13 in field goals to tie for second most in the league and hit all 16 extra points.

What's even more remarkable about this story is that Ennis never even played football in high school.

"He's a guy who walked on and probably weighed about 130 pounds," said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen. "Our equipment man told him to try on a helmet to see if it would fit and he said, 'How would I know if it fits I've never had a helmet on before?' "The first day he came out he had trouble kicking field goals from the 15-yard line, but through hard work, the weight room and dedication, he has come through and really kicked the ball well for us."

DREW WEATHERFORD, QB, FLORIDA STATE - The freshman opened the season by beating arch-rival Miami, but he didn't help much in the win. In fact, his stats, 7-for-24 for 67 yards, opened up a debate about the future of the quarterback position for the Seminoles.

Those questions are gone now as Weatherford has completed 83 of 132 (62.9 percent) since the opener and leads all freshmen in passing with 1,275 yards and 10 touchdowns.

"Can you imagine what we would do if he wasn't very good?" Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. "Can you imagine where we would be sitting right now? Every time we win one you say, 'OK. We're ready for another step (with Drew); we're ready for another step."'

JOHN DERANEY, PK-P, NC STATE - The only kicker in the ACC to handle place-kicking, punting and kickoff chores, Deraney has been nearly perfect so far, making eight of nine field goals and all 13 extra points. The junior is also fourth in the ACC in punting with a 41.9-yard average and more than half of his 23 kickoffs have been touchbacks.

This all comes after a season in which he was just 13-of -22 on field goals and was pressing.

Deraney got permission from Chuck Amato to spend the summer at home in Georgia to help tend to his ailing father, who has been battling multiple sclerosis for more than a decade. He returned to Raleigh a more relaxed player.

"I pretty much have changed my attitude toward the game," Deraney said.

VIRGINIA TECH - You've got to give it up to the undefeated and third-ranked Hokies, who have won 16 of 19 games since joining the ACC last season.

Virginia Tech is No. 1 in a lot of ACC categories, including scoring offense (39.3), passing efficiency, turnover margin, total defense and scoring defense (9.0).

The Hokies have this weekend off before a stretch that includes games against Maryland, Boston College, Miami, Virginia and North Carolina.

"There haven't been too many things that this football team has done that haven't been going toward success," coach Frank Beamer said. "But six of the last seven years we've started 6-0. Down the stretch here is going to determine how we feel about ourselves in the end."