Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 15, 1993 TAG: 9309150100
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Attack all parts of the field . . . spread out the defense . . . attack all parts of the field . . . spread out the defense . . .
To Virginia Tech's offense, Beamer said Tuesday, it's reality. That's why the Hokies have scored 96 points and gained 1,160 yards - Miami, winner of 51 in a row at the Orange Bowl, heavily favored to extend the streak Saturday in home opener against Virginia Tech. B3 more than one-fourth of Tech's total offense last year - in two games.
Whether it's because of the narrower hash marks, good field position, quarterback Maurice DeShazo's option reads, DeShazo's passing, the hard running of a flock of backs or weak defenses, Tech's numbers have piqued the interest of Miami coach Dennis Erickson as would a hurricane watch for South Florida.
"They run the football extremely well and they run the play pass extremely well," said Erickson, whose team plays Tech on Saturday in the Orange Bowl at 4 p.m. "DeShazo's going to create some problems for you."
Erickson said third-ranked Miami, possessed of a dominating defensive front and tons of speed, will try to force Tech to throw. DeShazo, a suspect passer last year, has completed 72.2 percent of his tosses while helping Tech's running game averaged 5.7 yards per carry.
"Sometimes it becomes a guessing game," Beamer said of beating a defense. "The better your quarterback is at the line of scrimmage, the less of a guessing game it is."
Seven Tech backs have runs of 11 or more yards, led by Dwayne Thomas' 70-yarder, Ken Landrum's 31-yarder and Brian Edmonds' 20-yarder, all against Pitt. Downfield blocks are the key, Beamer said at his weekly news conference.
"None of them have just blazing speed," Beamer said of his runners.
"You look at the video, guys are getting on people and blocking them 5 or 10 yards downfield."
The Hokies are 24-for-35 on third-down conversions (68.6 percent). Last year, they converted fewer than four in 10 third-down tries. Credit is ladled into different cups.
"It gets down to execution, the people you've got and the attitude you have," Beamer said. "[There are] people that can reach down and play better when they need to. It's hard to explain exactly, but I know it's real important."
Offers center Jim Pyne:
"Maurice has come through a lot with really good passes. We've been able to run it down people, and that opens up the pass more."
\ CONSTRUCTION: One of Beamer's concerns this week is squandering his team's quick start and attention-getting 63-21 victory over Pitt. It's happened before. Tech beat then ninth-ranked West Virginia in 1989 and followed that with losses to Florida State and East Carolina, the latter loss blamed for keeping 6-4-1 Tech out of a bowl. In '90, Tech whipped Virginia in the season finale, but lost four of its first six games in 1991.
Tech is an 18-point underdog to Miami and almost no one expects a Hokie victory. Tech trailed 40-3 at one point last year before Miami won 43-23.
"We've got to go into Miami and be a better football team this week," Beamer said. "That's the question I'm going to answer. If the answer is yes, regardless of the outcome, your team has improved and you just keep working and keep going in that direction. That's the key for us right now."
\ INJURIES: Beamer said freshman cornerback Larry Green (sprained ankle) should be ready to play Saturday and backup receiver Jermaine Holmes (sprained ankle) might be available. If cornerback Tyronne Drakeford (sprained shoulder), linebacker George DelRicco (sprained shoulder) and free safety Antonio Banks (sprained ankle) can't play, Beamer said sophomore William Yarborough would start for Drakeford, junior Andy Miller for DelRicco and redshirt freshman Torrian Gray for Banks.
\ SAY WHAT? After Tech gained a school-record 500 rushing yards against Pittsburgh, Panthers defensive tackle Tom Barndt said Tech's line was "fundamentally sound" and added, "It wasn't as much smash-mouth football as it was a lot of positioning."
Upon hearing that, Pyne huffed: "I don't know what he was talking about. I don't think it was too much positioning. They were on the ground."
Pyne said a repeat is needed if Tech's offense is to succeed at Miami where, for example, 6 foot 4, 258-pound defensive end Darren Krein has 4.66-second speed in the 40-yard dash.
"We don't want to be finesse," Pyne said. "We have some big guys across the board, and we want to be physical. That's our strength."
\ SWEATSUIT STORY: A new team rule requires Hokies to wear their loudly colored sweatsuits on road trips when milling around the hotel or seeing the city. That led to some startled Pittsburghers last weekend.
"When we walked around downtown," receiver Steve Sanders said, "we had many people ask us if we were a gang, if we were a drug-enforcement team or something like that."
The dress code, which Sanders said was devised to promote "team unity," extends to practice, where every player has to wear the same uniform.
\ ETC: Tailback Dwayne Thomas, who rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns against Pitt, was the Big East co-offensive player of the week with Syracuse's Marvin Graves . . . Miami's Erickson said Tech has "way more speed than they had before," especially on defense . . . Tech defensive end Cornell Brown said coaches played him mostly to the wide side of the field against Pittsburgh - perhaps to take advantage of his speed - and that prevented head-to-head matchups with his brother Reuben, a Panther tackle . . . During Miami's off week, Erickson said the Hurricanes practiced by pitting their first teams against one another. But during game week, the 'Canes' offensive scout team will try to simulate DeShazo and the Hokies.
by CNB