Conference Call

Sporting News, The, Oct 2, 2000

THIS WEEK'S SPOTLIGHT: Early-season surprises

All those years as an assistant helped Chuck Amato get his priorities straight for his first job as head coach.

First, get the best quarterback you can, and throw the ball all over the place. Second, get the best coaching staff money can buy.

Welcome to North Carolina State football, circa 2000, where winning ugly means at least you're winning.

"When I first went to Florida State, we won a lot of games 52-49. What difference does it make?" says Amato, an 18-year assistant under Bobby Bowden before taking over at NC State in January. "The fans are happy."

At this point, they're thrilled with the Wolfpack, led by QB Philip Rivers, the Alabama state player of the year in '99.

Amato landed Rivers just days after taking the Wolfpack job. He then put together the first $1 million coaching staff in ACC history--including offensive coordinator Norm Chow of BYU--which has a combined 217 years of coaching experience. The Wolfpack (4-0) is two wins from reaching last year's victory total--and we haven't reached October.

Looking good

ACC North Carolina State (4-0)

Big East: Pittsburgh (4-0)

Big Ten: Michigan State (3-0)

Big 12: Texas Tech (4-0)

Conference USA: Memphis (3-1)

MAC: Western Michigan (3-1)

Mountain West: Air Force (3-0)

Pac-10: Oregon (3-1)

SEC: South Carolina (4-0)

WAC: San Jose State (2-2)