Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9410050015
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SYRACUSE, N.Y. LENGTH: Long
Thirty-four yards long, 42 yards long, 39 yards, 38, 34, 31 and so on.
Any wonder why Virginia Tech and its formerly second-ranked defense left here 28-20 losers?
``I guess I was surprised at how effective they were,'' Tech rover Torrian Gray said. ``They just shoved the ball down our throats. I can't remember our defense missing as many tackles as we did.''
Syracuse (4-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big East Conference) edged ahead of the 14th-ranked Hokies (4-1, 2-1) in the Big East race by bashing and baffling the Hokies' defense for 461 total yards - more than twice the average Tech has allowed - with explosive running and choosy passing.
Tailback Kirby Dar Dar's 34-yard touchdown run on an option pitch around the left end with 5:42 left put Syracuse ahead 21-20 after Tech had overcome a 14-3 deficit to lead 20-14.
About three minutes later, Malcolm Thomas' 42-yard sprint up the middle - he had only to bat away tackle J.C. Price's hand-tackle in the backfield - effectively ended the Hokies' hopes for an unbeaten season.
Thomas gained 145 yards and Dar Dar 108. Tech had been allowing entire teams an average of 81.5 per game on the ground.
Before Saturday, Tech had allowed 23 plays of 10 or more yards (out of 274 total). Syracuse had 16.
``This is why I came to college, to be a tailback and to make things happen as a tailback,'' Dar Dar said.
The Hokies missed starting tailback Dwayne Thomas, out with a knee injury, although freshman Ken Oxendine had 78 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown run.
Tech's offense gained a season-high 486 yards, employing a four-wide-receiver set at times. Maurice DeShazo had 290 yards passing and receiver Antonio Freeman tied a career-high with eight receptions.
But the Hokies fumbled three times and committed eight offensive penalties - five holding calls that wiped out 20 yards gained, an ineligible-downfield flag that erased an 8-yard gain, and two illegal procedure penalties. One of those negated a third-quarter DeShazo sneak on fourth-and-one on which he appeared to get the first down at the SU 47.
``The refs were really on us tonight,'' Tech tackle Jay Hagood said. ``We weren't getting our hands inside [the defenders' pads]. It wasn't because of execution or anything like that.''
Syracuse's offense received three flags, had only one fumble and didn't throw an interception. Tech had picked off 16 passes over its past seven games dating to last year, and nine in its past three games.
Syracuse often neutralized Tech's speed with straight-ahead runs. Thomas gained 47 yards on back-to-back between-the-tackles runs on SU's second drive.
As for Tech's defensive philosophy of stacking the line and forbidding the run ...
``We wanted to run the ball on them no matter what defense they were in,'' Dar Dar said. ``We attacked them with the run, and whatever happens, happens.''
Tech had defensive low marks in several categories, including total yards (previous was 242 to Boston College) and rushing yards (Syracuse had 278, tipping Arkansas State's 125).
Syracuse, the Big East's best third-down conversion team, made eight of 14 against the Hokies, who had allowed 12 (in 62 tries) all year.
Tech was spotty against the option, although coach Frank Beamer blamed the tackling and not bad reads. And Tech's pass defense was exposed as versatile SU quarterback Kevin Mason completed nine passes for 183 yards - 20 yards per connection.
After Tech had taken a 3-0 lead on the first of four Ryan Williams field goals, a 27-yarder with 8:24 left in the first quarter, Mason put SU on the Tech 6 with a 32-yard completion to Marvin Harrison. Cornerback Larry Green fell down on Harrison's fake and only Harrison's momentum took him out of bounds instead of into the end zone.
It didn't matter, however, because Dar Dar had an unbothered trot into the end zone on the next play for a 7-3 Syracuse lead with 1:24 left in the period.
On SU's first second-quarter drive, Mason and Dar Dar connected for a 39-yard gain to the Tech 14. On third-and-six from the Tech 10, Hokie Cornell Brown jumped offsides. On third-and-one from the 5, Hokie Jim Baron jumped offsides.
On first-and-goal from the 3, the Hokies jumped offsides again and Dar Dar scored. Syracuse led 14-3 with 11:36 left.
Tech set about clambering back in the game, getting a Williams 21-yard field goal with 6:56 left for a 14-6 score - but that came two plays after fullback Brian Edmonds dropped a touchdown pass.
Tech tightened it more on the last play of the second half. Maurice DeShazo completed a tipped Hail Mary pass to Kevin Martin at the SU 15 (for a 40-yard gain) to end the half - but Syracuse's Brian Tarrant belted DeShazo in the head and was flagged.
Play can't end on a defensive penalty, so Tech, at the Syracuse 7, had one play left. Beamer brought Williams out, who hit from 25 yards to make it 14-9.
``Yeah, there was,'' Beamer said when asked if there was thought of going for a touchdown. ``But the risk was too great. You get some points out of it and feel good it's a 5-point game.''
Williams' 37-yard field goal with 3:46 left in the third quarter made it 14-12 Tech, and three minutes later, Oxendine's 62-yard run on a pitch sweep to the right put Tech ahead 18-14. DeShazo converted the two-point play on an option keeper, diving in while 243-pound linebacker Scott Freeney fell on him.
Syracuse's Sean Reali missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 9:42 left, but Tech went three-plays-and-out on its next possession before Dar Dar's 34-yard go-ahead touchdown run.
``After they got the first 14 points, we were like, `OK, this is enough,''' said Gray, perhaps remembering Southern Mississippi's 14-0 lead after five minutes of an eventual Tech victory.
Then he shook his head slowly.
``I don't know,'' he said. ``They just outplayed us.''
The loss broke Tech's seven-game winning streak. The Hokies had not won eight in a row since their 11-game streak from 1917-19.
by CNB