ACC needs to work on its reputation in football

Early birds and other notes:

Virginia Tech won the past two ACC football championship games at season's end, but the ACC's national stature this season could ride on the beginning.

The Hokies will play title contender Alabama in the big TV showdown Sept. 5 at the Georgia Dome. Last summer, ninth-ranked Clemson took a 34-10 fall against Alabama in the same game. Combined with East Carolina's upset of Virginia Tech, the Atlanta meltdown exposed the ACC's soft underbelly.

Although the Hokies eventually beat Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl, ending the ACC drought in BCS games since the 1999 season, the league never joined the mythical national race. In the eyes of N.C. State's Tom O'Brien, that's why fewer outsiders respect the ACC than any time since expansion.

"You have to win football games," O'Brien said. "You get your respect by winning games. Certainly the big thing last year was the first two weeks of the season. I guess we lost more than we won, and everybody said the ACC is doggie. Then, all of a sudden, we ended up winning more games by the end of the year. We got better as the year went on. Still, the perception is that you have to go out and do it on the football field. It doesn't matter how much you talk. It's 100 yards by 53. That's where you have to prove yourself."

FSU's Bobby Bowden says he knows the secret formula for the ACC's comeback.

"It doesn't take but one team to do that," he said. "Just get one national contender out there and try to win the ballgames you're supposed to win. I don't know the answer to that. We might have somebody. We might not."

Virginia Tech gets the nod, with 15 starters returning. Tech, Southern Cal and Texas are the only schools with 10 wins in each of the past five seasons. The Hokies will play another barometer game Sept. 19, at home against Nebraska. Two projected division challengers, Miami and North Carolina, will travel to Blacksburg.

Early hit

Every NFL team takes an injury hit sometime during the season. The Carolina Panthers wasted no time, losing nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu on the first practice day with a torn Achilles tendon.

The Panthers could wind up looking beyond the roster because their veteran backup, Nick Hayden, begins his second year with three career tackles. As the injured Kemoeatu's sub late last year, Hayden played two games. The Giants rushed for 301 yards -- not entirely Hayden's fault, of course.

Anyone waiting for quarterback Michael Vick to show up in the Carolina camp might want to consider this magic number: Jake Delhomme's contract extension is worth $42.5 million over five years -- a lot of Cajun chicken.

Ageless wonders

You often hear people call out an aging star and suggest that he retire while still near the top of his game. This has always seemed absurd, no matter how sentimental. The athlete should decide when to stop trying.

Imagine what the sporting public would have missed under the give-up strategy: Tom Watson finishing second at the British Open, Lance Armstrong finishing third at the Tour de France, Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine winning their 300th games.

In terms of physical exertion, Armstrong's performance nearly defies nature. He survived testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain. He won every Tour de France from 1999 through 2005 and retired. Four years later, Armstrong became the oldest rider among the top three since a 40-year-old Frenchman in 1976. At 37, he just found a new sponsor and plans to chase the title next summer.

The Braves released Glavine, 43, after a 2-4 struggle pushed his career record to 305-203, but he refuses to announce his retirement. Johnson, 45, might not return from a rotator-cuff injury. His 8-6 record extended his career totals to 303-166 with a 3.29 ERA. Consider these Johnson stats: 603 starts, 4,131 innings, 410 homers allowed, 4,869 strikeouts and 1,497 walks.

Lefty Jamie Moyer, 46, has been rocked lately, but Manager Charlie Manuel probably will keep him in the Philadelphia rotation because of his 10-8 record and proven grit.

Test balloon

Lou Holtz, the former football coach who lives on the ESPN set each fall, stunned Florida Republican leaders by floating his name as a possible 2010 candidate for the U.S. House seat held by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas. Holtz, 72, lives in the Orlando area, far from the scenes of his one pro and six college jobs.

A far-from-scientific poll in the Orlando Sentinel finds 55 percent generally in favor of the idea and 45 percent opposed. About 26 percent checked the box that said: "No, Congress doesn't need another windbag."

The Republican county chairman, Lew Oliver, told the AP that Holtz might not have sufficient name recognition. "It would be different," Oliver said, "if the guy was named Bob Griese or Don Shula or someone with Florida connections."

Does anyone know what Steve Spurrier's doing next year?

■ Lenox Rawlings can be reached at lrawlings@wsjournal.com.