Win = bowl eligibility: Clemson University can attain bowl eligibility if it defeats Wake Forest on Saturday, the university learned on Thursday.
The Tigers are 5-3, so a victory would assure them of at least a 6-6 record. The complication is that one of those victories came against Division I-AA Furman University.

Normally, teams can only count a I-AA victory every four years toward the required six wins. Clemson used a I-AA victory over Wofford in 2001, when it played in the Humanitarian Bowl. However, all I-AA games from that year were counted with no penalty, because of mass rescheduling required by the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Tigers' case was interesting, because the Clemson-Wofford game was already on the schedule and had nothing to do with Sept. 11. But the NCAA informed Clemson on Thursday that the Tigers would be bowl eligible with six wins, sports information director Tim Bourret said.

However, Clemson could still finish 6-6 and not go to a bowl. According to NCAA Bylaw 30.9.2.1, teams that are 6-6 are only eligible for bowls with which their conference has a contractual affiliation. The ACC has six such affiliations.

So, if the Tigers were to finish 6-6, and if six other ACC teams were picked ahead of them, they would not be eligible to go to any other bowl.But in that scenario, a non-ACC bowl with an opening could pick an ACC team with a winning record, thereby opening a spot for Clemson in an ACC bowl.

The Tigers, of course, hope to win enough games that their fans will not have to reach for the aspirin bottle trying to think about all of this.

More lineup changes: The Tigers' offensive line shuffle will continue this week, coach Tommy Bowden said.

Junior Tommy Sharpe is back as the starting center for freshman Dustin Fry, and freshman Roman Fry is back in at left tackle for William Henry. Sophomore Chip Myrick has retained the starting job at right guard. The Tigers rotate players at every line position.

Bobby Williamson (back injury) is listed as probable and is expected to start at tight end, Bowden said. Receiver Airese Currie (sprained ankle) also is probable, but he remains limited in what he can do, Bowden said.

Linebacker Eric Sampson (sprained ankle) will make the trip to Winston-Salem but is questionable to play, Bowden said. Tailback Yusef Kelly (sprained ankle) is doubtful to make the trip.

Bowden: Wake not dirty: The Demon Deacons are known for their use of low blocks against opponents to gain an edge in the running game. Such blocks are only illegal when another player is making contact with the defender. In that case, they are called "chop blocks."

Legal or not, some opponents have taken offense to the practice, but Bowden said he has no problem with it.

"I wish I could get my team to play that aggressive," Bowden said. Then with a laugh he added, "I'm a (Wake Forest coach) Jim Grobe fan. I'm his one fan club