Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411230036
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The 14th-ranked Hokies and 16th-ranked Cavaliers meet today in football for the 76th time, at noon at Lane Stadium (WSLS, Channel 10) with more questions to be answered than how big each school's bowl check will be.
Last year, a 20-17 victory in Charlottesville solved a mystery for Tech and started one for Virginia. Who knows what psychological quirks lurk today in unseen corners of the Hokies' and Wahoos' minds?
``I think that this year our team is probably more relaxed maybe, and maybe more focused,'' Tech senior tight end Kevin Martin said. ``We're a lot more confident team this year. Last year, we were finding ourselves. We didn't know how good we were, actually.''
Good enough to win the Independence Bowl and finish 9-3. The loss staggered UVa, which didn't secure a bowl bid until Arkansas upset Louisiana State the following week, excising LSU from the Carquest Bowl and inserting Virginia.
UVa defensive end Mike Frederick, who euphorically went in search of Razorback paraphernalia that Saturday, remembers the previous week vividly.
``We thought they had ended our season,'' Frederick said. ``It just seemed like everything was over. You work so hard all year long and you see you can get some rewards, and at that point it seemed like we had done it all for nothing. We had so much riding on that game. It was terrible. ... It was one of the most disappointing times of my life.''
Virginia bombed against Boston College in the Carquest, which this year yearns for the Hokies - a team the Miami bowl will get probably only if Virginia wins today. The most likely postseason scenario: The winner today takes a bowl coalition spot in the $1.5 million Gator Bowl, and the loser goes either to the $1 million Carquest (Tech) or the $1 million Hall of Fame or $1.1 million Peach (Virginia).
Today's game is Tech's season finale for the fifth straight season, exactly how Tech coach Frank Beamer likes it. The Hokies are 5-2 in the Big East after last week's 41-34 victory over Rutgers.
``We finish one segment of the schedule, the conference schedule, and now we've got one last one,'' Beamer said.
Quarterback Maurice DeShazo is pleased for any number of reasons. He'll end a record-setting Tech career at home, where in five games this season he is 64-for-114 (56.1 percent) for 878 yards and four interceptions - none in his last 68 attempts. He's thrown 10 of his 11 touchdown passes in Lane Stadium.
And, he thinks Tech has an edge because its regular season ends today, while Virginia plays North Carolina State on Nov. 25 in another game with bowl implications.
``We can pull out all kinds of [stuff],'' he said. ``Go deep, go short, do all kinds of things. They've got another game left. Something's on their minds.''
Just ask UVa coach George Welsh.
``I was reluctant to say we've got to put everything into this game because we've got one to follow, but I've changed my thinking,'' Welsh said. ``We've got to let it all hang out. If some guy has to play 80 plays, well, he's just got to suck it up. We've got to do everything we can to win this game and then deal with next week on Sunday.''
Some guys probably won't play at all. Tech senior linebacker Ken Brown, the team's second-leading tackler, is expected to miss the game with a hamstring injury. Replacing Brown is Brandon Semones, whose blocked punt set up Tech's first score last year. And UVa receiver Tyrone Davis, who has 10 of Virginia's 15 touchdown receptions, is on Virginia's dress list but is unlikely to play because of turf toe.
UVa still has the nation's top-ranked run defense, but Virginia also has 19 interceptions and is 18th in pass defense. Defensive back Ronde Barber's seven pickoffs lead the ACC, but linebackers James Farrior (four) and Jamie Sharper (one) have contributed.
``Where they really helped themselves is at the linebacker position,'' Beamer said, touting the athleticism of Farrior and Sharper.
Virginia also boasts the ACC's second-rated passer in Mike Groh, who was 0-for-2 against Tech last year while subbing briefly for Symmion Willis. Tech's defense is 17th overall nationally, allowing 299.5 yards per game and 13th in scoring defense (16 points per game), and is second in the Big East in sacks with 36.
And then there's an intangible no one can measure: emotion. Last year, Tech found it despite having locked up its Independence Bowl bid a week earlier. This year, the Hokies wouldn't mind giving some of the more than 53,000 fans a reason to flood the field.
``I just think we're approaching it as our biggest game of the season,'' Martin said.
Said Virginia's Ryan Kuehl: ``If we don't come out ready to play, they'll embarrass us and have a lot of fun doing it in front of their people. ... It's a hell of an atmosphere, with the fans right on top of you. I really enjoy playing down there.''
by CNB