Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993 TAG: 9309040040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
At the moment, Bowling Green football's biggest booster may reside in Blacksburg.
"Bowling Green wouldn't have any trouble playing in the Big East," said Frank Beamer, whose seventh Virginia Tech team meets the Falcons at 4 p.m. today at Lane Stadium. A crowd of close to 35,000 is expected.
Beamer's spin is that Bowling Green is no pushover opener, and if Tech wins, credit is due.
Virginia might have the same problem. A victory in its noon opener against rebuilding Maryland today at Byrd Stadium won't elicit oohs and aahs - unless one considers that UVa has won only once in College Park since 1971.
"Hmmm, 1971? I wasn't even born yet," Cavaliers defensive tackle Ryan Kuehl said.
Neither was UVa defensive end Curtis Hicks, a Covington native who has noticed rough treatment of the Cavs in preseason publications.
"We're trying to prove we've still got it. They're trying to prove they're getting it," Hicks said. "If they win, it will say a lot to the rest of the ACC. I think whoever wins will have a much better season [than the loser]."
In other openers today, VMI is at Richmond and Ferrum visits Thomas More.
Virginia is 6-5 in season-openers under George Welsh, among the losses Maryland in 1991 and a blowout by Notre Dame in the 1990 Kickoff Classic. The '91 Terrapins team finished 3-8 and coach Joe Krivak was fired.
Today, the Cavs face coach Mark Duffner's second Maryland team. Welsh says the Terps' run-and-shoot offense improved dramatically as the '92 season progressed, which worries him.
"We've been less than scintillating in openers," Welsh said. "I can't put my finger on it."
Tech wants Bowling Green under its thumb today, but the Hokies will be going with a new defensive set that includes a bunch of young players trying to stop a team that has two bowl victories in the past two years.
Beamer said it was a "big help" that he already knew the players - it wasn't like installing the wide-tackle six when he arrived at Tech in '87 - and said the new defense made for a "refreshing" preseason.
He's had enough, however.
"I'm not sure exactly how we're going to play," said Beamer, whose teams have won their past five home openers. "But we've made as much progress in preseason as we can up to this point. It's time to play a game."
The Hokies have junior quarterback Maurice DeShazo to lead what is expected to be a productive offense, but Virginia breaks in its fourth quarterback in as many years - sophomore Symmion Willis.
Willis beat out Mike Groh and Tim Sherman, though apparently not decisively.
"It was the most difficult personnel decision I think I've ever had to make," Welsh said. "At other positions you can split the playing time 50-50, but I don't like to do that with quarterbacks."
Tech and Virginia enter the season accompanied by some sour forecasts. The Hokies stumbled to 2-8-1 last season, while Virginia started 5-0 and finished 7-4.
UVa was ranked 54th by Sports Illustrated - "in the bottom half" of 106 Division I-A teams, Hicks noted - and Tech was 83rd. SI noted "dark days" in Blacksburg, and of Virginia said, "The swoon starts in October, just like last year."
"You can't blame 'em," Hicks said. "For the last three years we've started like gangbusters. They've hyped us and hyped us. We've made the top 10, even been ranked No. 1, then toward the end we fold up our tents. We don't deserve any credit till we start winning big games and start winning in November."
Tech would settle for winning, period. The Hokies' last victory was Sept. 19, 1992.
"I know we're going to be ready for this game," tackle Chris Barry said.
by CNB