Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 3, 1994 TAG: 9401030045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Sunday, the poll kept the Hokies in neutral.
Tech finished 22nd in the final AP poll - the same position Tech held before it routed No. 21 Indiana 45-20 on Friday in Shreveport, La.
"Really?" Beamer asked Sunday.
He started to respond, then said: "Really?"
Yes, really. Michigan (8-4), which ripped North Carolina State 42-7 in the Hall of Fame Bowl, leapfrogged Tech (9-3) into 21st. The Wolverines got 397 points to Tech's 321. Indiana fell out of the poll.
The four teams who entered bowl games in the 17th through 20th spots - the teams Tech needed to lose if the Hokies were to move up - all won: Colorado, Alabama, Oklahoma and Kansas State.
"You beat a ranked football team and you beat 'em pretty soundly," Beamer said. "You'd think you would move up."
Beamer said several times in Shreveport that he hoped the Hokies could finish higher than any Tech team in a final AP poll (15th). The '93 team didn't even finish higher than the '86 squad, which was 20th after a 10-1-1 season and a Peach Bowl victory.
But Sunday, he said the Hokies don't need to worry about their final ranking but about preparing for next year.
Don't think that final ranking won't be perceived as a lack of respect for Tech, however. The Hokies apparently have more work to do before they're taken as seriously as a traditional Top 25 program such as Michigan.
"It kind of shows you a little bit about polls, [how sometimes] they just don't take things into consideration," Beamer said. "We beat a very good football team. If that's not cause to move up, the question would be, what is? It gives us something to work for."
Beamer also has said a high preseason ranking is important, but after Tech stalled in the final '93 poll, he wouldn't predict where the Hokies might wind up next August.
"If you're relying on other people to handle your future, you're probably in trouble," he said. "Let's get back to work and keep grinding this thing."
by CNB