Wake avoids rust; UVa. on roll

To avoid too much of a break in routine, Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe broke one of his own rules last week.

Grobe has always given his team Friday through Sunday off when they have an open date in the schedule. Not last week.

"Typically, we've given guys that Friday off, but three days is a really long break for them," Grobe said.

Concerned rust might set in, especially with quarterback Riley Skinner finally returning and the Deacs coming off a remarkable rally against Maryland, it made sense.

"Kids get used to routine as coaches do," Grobe said. "We try from time to time to do different things practice-wise, whether we're in full pads, helmets, time of practice, conditioning, etc. We try to mix things up a little bit."

The Deacons (2-2, 1-1 ACC) play Saturday at Duke (1-4, 0-2), which nearly defeated them a year ago.

Grobe believes the improved Blue Devils have last season's 14-13 loss on their minds. Duke coach Ted Roof says last year's game is history. He is looking forward to playing at home after playing four road games.

"After a month on the road, it's good to get back home and play a home a football game," he said. "It's been a while since we've been here."

Wahoo, Virginia

Little optimism surrounded Virginia when Al Groh's Cavaliers walked off the football field in Laramie, Wyo., last month. A four-game winning streak and 44-14 rout of Pittsburgh didn't seem possible, but that's exactly what the Cavaliers have accomplished since.

Virginia (4-1, 3-0 ACC) visits Middle Tennessee State on Saturday and next week hosts Connecticut. Al Groh's team then travels to struggling N.C. State. Imagine going from five first downs and minus-3 yards rushing in a 23-3 loss to the Cowboys to a strong possibility of being 7-1.

"The last few weeks here we're heading in a positive direction," Groh said Wednesday. "And we feel that we've got a real big challenge in front of us to keep it going that way."

The ground attack is a major reason for the turnaround. Cedric Peerman ran for 18 yards against Wyoming; he has 548 in the four-game winning streak.

Eagles flying high

Boston College hopes its best start in more than half a century won't get lost in the shuffle in a region best known for its pro sports. The No. 7 Eagles are off to their first 5-0 start since 1954, and are in the top 10 for the first time since 1992.

But they're facing competition for the Northeast's passionate fan base - from the Boston Red Sox's return to the playoffs, to the New England Patriots' perfect start and the beginning of training camp for the new-look Celtics.

"Being here in Boston and being in such a great sports town, the Sox are getting a lot of attention," rookie coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "As far as the attention, that's more for the media. ... I think the people on Boston College's campus ... are very excited."

Terps On The Rebound

Maryland bounced back from consecutive difficult losses - at home to West Virginia and at Wake Forest - by winning at No. 10 Rutgers on Saturday.

It was the Terrapins' highest-rated victim since defeating No. 5 Florida State in 2004 and their highest-rated road triumph since defeating No. 8 Virginia in 1990.

Now the Terps get Georgia Tech and its swarming defense at home. But they haven't yet settled on a quarterback to face the Yellow Jackets. Jordan Steffy left the Rutgers game with a concussion and backup Chris Turner (14-for-20, 149 yards) played well in Steffy's place.

"I haven't made a decision which way we're going to go yet," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "We're hoping we're going to have Jordan, he's still questionable. We'll know a little bit more… and see where we're at."

Andrew Jones:

andrew.jones@starnewsonline.com