• The future is now, and it looks like the past. Virginia Tech did two things really well in last Thursday's bludgeoning of Maryland -- established running back Darren Evans and installed a Wildcat-esque package for hulking tight end Greg Boone at quarterback -- and didn't come close to establishing either Thursday at Miami, where Evans had 43 yards on 17 carries (virtually none between the tackles) and Boone ran once for no gain. The final numbers look close, since Miami's offense was in a funk through the entire second and fourth quarters, but the big takeaway from the Canes' 16-14 win is the official, frightening reawakening of the Miami front seven for the foreseeable future. Most of the starters who wrapped up the Hokie offense in a little bow in the second half are still upperclassmen, but pups accounted for five of six Hurricane sacks: redshirt freshman Allen Bailey had one (the decisive fourth down takedown of Tyrod Taylor on the last meaningful snap of the game), true freshman Marcus Fortson had one, and true freshman Marcus Robinson had three, plus another tackle for loss. The leading tackler was another true freshman, Sean Spence. They're young, they're fast, and they're one North Carolina loss from the Coastal Division lead. No reason to be alarmed.

Speaking of true freshmen, the other takeaway is the catch of the year to date by Hokie noob Jarrett Boykin:

Sean Glennon, by the way, suffered his first November defeat as a starter despite completing six of eight passes, while Tyrod Taylor, with all his "escapability," was sacked four times. Are we sure this game wasn't actually played in the Bermuda Triangle?

• The worst-kept secrets. Clemson continues its coach search world tour today, when Tiger officials are expected to interview Bud Foster, longtime Virginia Tech defensive coordinator, a day after last week's interview with Lane Kiffin was splashed all over the country (Kiffin is really getting around). This just a few days after Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips was spotted in Oklahoma with a university plane, apparently to conduct an interview with Sooner defensive coordinator Brent Venables. Either the Tigers are anxious to drive down the sure-to-be sky-high salary with all the competition, or they have like a hundred leaks to plug, pronto.

• Noles be brawlin', in detail. FSU blog I Bleed Garnet and Gold, gets a gem of an anonymous tip about Wednesday's on-campus brawl involving a fraternity and FSU players -- a bunch of wide receivers, specifically, handing tight as a position group -- and of course it's very wild. Like, chair-throwing, face-stabbing wild:

"Then yesterday at the union, a group of WR’s jumped the sigmas in the union. It turned into an all out brawl. The Sigmas were getting dragged up the stairs of Moore Auditorium and thrown through tables."

"Someone got stabbed in the face with a pencil. A girl trying to split up the fight got punched in the face and another girl was hit in the face with a chair because a Sigma threw a chair at [Cory] Surrency and he ducked. When the police split it up, the football players ran so it was only the Sigmas who told their side of the story."

Root cause: An off-campus fight last week that began -- all together now -- over a girl. The tipster also suggests both melees were started by wideout Taiwan Easterling (right, in happier times). Hope she's worth a three-game suspension and multiple assault charges, when they drop.

Quickly ... UNLV beat Wyoming Thursday night, officially escaping the Mountain West cellar for the first time in three years. . . . Michigan running back Brandon Minor is doubtful to play against Northwestern and definitely won't start. Quarterback Steven Threet won't start, either, but he will play along with Nick Sheridan. . . . USC's Ronald Johnson is looking forward to playing Stanford, mainly for the chance to see something other than a zone defense. . . . Penn State's going all Wildcat to protect Daryll Clark from unnecessary hits. . . . West Virginia's not happy about its failing grade for interviewing minority coaches during last December's coaching search. . . . And basketball stalwart UNC-Charlotte voted unanimously to start a football program to open up in I-AA by 2013 if the school can raise $45 million to hire coaches, fund scholarships and build a 12,000-seat stadium on campus.