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GREENSBORO — The life-size posters of C.J. Spiller didn't last long at the ACC Football Kickoff at the Grandover Resort on Sunday.

The day began with a stack of the posters — which bill the 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior as a Heisman Trophy candidate — mixed in among the media guides and bowl game brochures. In a few hours, they were all gone.

Spiller doesn't even have one of the big pictures, which have showed up on eBay and been gobbled up by Clemson fans, although he said his mother has "four or five."

It all seems a bit much for the soft-spoken Spiller, who needs 921 all-purpose yards this season to become the ACC's career leader. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry last season, but shared the tailback load with James Davis, who is gone to the NFL.

"The one question everyone's asking is, 'Can I hold up (without Davis)?'" Spiller said. "Well, we'll see as the season goes on. Only time will tell."

Spiller, who needs just 12 credits (four classes) to earn his sociology degree, will undoubtedly carry the bulk of the load for Clemson this season. The only person who might doubt it is Spiller.

"We have two other great backs," he said. "People aren't really talking about those guys, but I've seen them this offseason. I've seen all the work they've put in. I told those guys, 'I don't really need to take all the load.' As a running back, you need more than one in college football. You need more than one so you can stay fresh. Those guys really took that to heart, and I'm looking forward to sharing the backfield with two really great running backs."

For the record, those runners are sophomore Jamie Harper (34 carries for 133 yards last year) and freshman Andre Ellington.

DUKE: So much for that play-them-one-game-at-a-time cliché.

Thaddeus Lewis, Duke's senior three-year starter at quarterback, admits he looks ahead at the big picture. The Blue Devils play on the road against Kansas and star quarterback Todd Reesing in the third week of the season.

Lewis, who led the ACC with an average of 197.4 passing yards per game last season, can hardly wait.

"I visualize the whole season every day," he said. "When I'm day-dreaming, I see myself making plays here and there. (Playing Kansas) is just a great opportunity for us to represent the ACC against the Big 12. There's a lot of fuss and fight about what's the best conference. The SEC's always at the top, but then it's a toss-up between the Big 12 and ACC. &ellipses; No matter what happens in that game, you just want to win and represent the ACC well, especially against the Big 12 in their own backyard."

NORTH CAROLINA: On the one hand, E.J. Wilson says the Tar Heels "want to play 12, one-week seasons," using a lot of short-term goals to accomplish a long-term goal of playing for an ACC title.

On the other hand, the Heels' senior three-year starter at defensive end, knows full well who the 12th one-week season is against: North Carolina closes the regular season against N.C. State.

"They've got us the last couple of years," Wilson said. "It's a great rivalry, and I'm just looking forward to playing them in the last game of the season. &ellipses; I think if we have the season we're planning to have, then that game will turn out to be a really important game for the outcome of the season. That's going to add extra interest to the game. Not just beating a rival, but also playing somebody that could have ACC championship implications."

N.C. STATE: Senior halfback Jamelle Eugene led the Wolfpack in rushing yards last season, but he's not taking anything for granted.

Eugene knows that Ragsdale alum Toney Baker of Jamestown is back for his senior season after two knee surgeries.

"Toney is back. He's overcome a lot, and he's put himself in position to be back at 100 percent," Eugene said. "I can't do anything but praise him &ellipses; because a lot of people wouldn't have come back after two times like that. He's really overcome a lot."

So will the Wolfpack go with a running back by committee system? After all, N.C. State has Eugene, Baker, Curtis Underwood and freshmen James Washington and Brandon Barnes.

"When it comes to competing, I'm taking it as me against everybody," Eugene said. "I'm taking it as it's Toney and Curt and all the young guys ahead of me and I'm at the bottom of the food chain trying to come up."

Eugene said all that competition is healthy — especially from the freshmen.

"I try to tell them everything," Eugene said. "I want them to be the best they can be right now and in the future so N.C. State can be successful. Look, if you're better than me, then you're going to play. And if I want to play, then I've got to be better than you. That's only going to make us better."

WAKE FOREST: His 26 wins as a starter are the most in school history. His .673 completion percentage right now is the best in ACC history.

Yet senior quarterback Riley Skinner knows the Demon Deacons will likely be overlooked by the pollsters early on. And he's OK with that.

"I hope we fly under the radar," Skinner said. "That's usually when we play our best, when our guys sneak up on people. We lost some great players from last year, there's no question about it &ellipses; but we've got some playmakers coming back who have the ability to change the game. They're guys who aren't known yet, and that's perfectly fine with us."

Skinner said redshirt freshmen Chris Givens and Terence Davis could make an immediate impact on a little-heralded receiving corps that also includes sophomore Y'Lou Brown and juniors Jordan Williams and Marshall Williams.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com