Late Hits: Nov. 3

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Miami: The Baby Canes have taken the inspiring words of Kellen Winslow to heart: “We don’t care about nobody but this U.”

Written off after home losses to FSU and UNC, “The U” could have quit. Or they could have folded after trailing Duke at the half or Virginia in the fourth quarter but the Canes have come alive with four straights wins and are suddenly soldiers in the wide-open Coastal Division.

One-loss teams: BCS coordinator John Swofford says there’s no such thing as a “doomsday scenario” for the BCS title chase. That was before either one or two of the following teams could be missing from Miami on Jan. 8: Florida, Oklahoma, USC, Texas and Penn State.

Either way, a gigantic fan base is not going to be pleased.

Florida State: Bobby Bowden should have heeded Darrell Royal’s old advice: “Dance with the one who brung ya.”

The Noles were on the edge of victory at Georgia Tech and instead of giving the ball to Jermaine Thomas, who had rushed for 130 yards, Marcus Sims got the call on the goal line and he fumbled. The Noles lost.

OK, that wasn’t Bowden’s call but he should at least take the time to educate coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher.

Texas Tech: Sometimes you lose, even when you win.

The price of football just went up for the Red Raiders who almost certainly will lose coach Mike Leach, who unsuccessfully begged for the Miami job in 2006, by the end of the season.

Leach’s $1.75 million salary will be at least doubled-up by Clemson or Tennessee, two programs you don’t want to engage in a bidding war.

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The Danger Zone

The ACC and its television partners left viewers in the dark for Wake’s 33-30 win over Duke. Triangle fans will get another dose of ESPN360, an online broadcast unavailable to Time Warner internet subscribers, for Duke’s game with N.C. State on Saturday.

Duke and State have been “360’d” two games in a row. Meanwhile, Clemson — which has fired its coach and effectively given up on the season — was on ESPNU last  Saturday and will be the regional ABC broadcast this Saturday. It’s like the movie producers who picked Kenny Loggins for every soundtrack in the 1980s have taken over the ACC’s television contract.

Meet me halfway (wink), less Loggins and more Messina.

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BCS ‘playoff’ schedule

These four regular-season games will go a long way in determining the two participants in the BCS title game on Jan. 8 in Miami:

Alabama @ LSU (Saturday): The ‘07 champs won’t repeat but they’ll have a say.

Texas Tech @ Oklahoma (Nov. 22): Talk about a Texas two-step.

Michigan State @ Penn State (Nov. 22): Never assume with the BCS.

Florida @ Florida State (Nov. 29): See UCLA-USC ‘06 and Pitt-West Virginia ‘07.