Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 21, 1994 TAG: 9411220063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
West Virginia, coming off an upset victory over Boston College, could create even more chaos by beating Syracuse on Thanksgiving night in Morgantown, W.Va.
A West Virginia victory would give the Hokies sole possession of second place in the Big East and a possible bid to the Gator Bowl or Sun Bowl, Carquest Bowl chairman Brian Flajole said Sunday.
A Syracuse victory would create a second-place tie between the Orangemen (7-3 overall, 4-2 Big East) and the Hokies (8-3, 5-2). Tech is ranked higher than Syracuse in The Associated Press and USA Today/CNN Coaches' Poll, but the Orangemen won the head-to-head meeting 28-20
``I've been trying to get in touch with [executive director] Rick Catlett at the Gator Bowl to learn what he's thinking,'' Flajole said. ``We all wished, for Virginia Tech's sake, that their season had ended on a high note. But, if they're still there, we certainly would be interested.''
The Carquest Bowl has the third choice of available Big East teams and would have to take a look at West Virginia if the Mountaineers (6-5, 3-3) beat Syracuse. However, Flajole issued a note of caution.
``It could be a real mess, depending on what happens with Notre Dame,'' Flajole said. ``If Notre Dame loses [at Southern Cal], the coalition still has to get another team from somewhere. It could have a domino effect on the other bowls.''
Virginia, which defeated Virginia Tech 42-23 on Saturday in Blacksburg, suddenly finds itself under consideration for the Cotton Bowl or Fiesta Bowl. The Cavaliers (8-2 overall, 5-2 ACC) entertain North Carolina State (7-3, 5-2) at 11 a.m. Friday.
What isn't exactly clear is what happens if Virginia loses. The ACC this week reached an agreement with the Poulan Weed Eater Independence Bowl, which will have fifth choice of the five ACC teams who are eligible for bowls.
A Wolfpack victory would create a three-way tie for third between Virginia, North Carolina and Duke. But, by then, Carolina and Duke might have made deals with the Peach and Hall of Fame Bowls, which have third and fourth choice of ACC teams.
``I think everything will be done by next weekend,'' Flajole said. ``The bids won't be extended, but there will be a lot of tentative agreements predicated on the weekend's results.''
THE POLLS: Virginia's victory over 14th-ranked Tech marked the second time in the program's history and first time since 1989 that the Cavaliers had beaten two ranked teams in the same season. North Carolina was 15th when it fell to Virginia, 34-10.
The Cavaliers are ranked 13th by AP this week and 11th by USA Today/CNN, which does not include teams on NCAA probation. The Hokies dropped to 18th and 16th, respectively - two spots ahead of Syracuse in both polls.
SACK STUFF: Virginia Tech finished the season with 38 sacks, including four Saturday - all in the first half. Until then, UVa quarterback Mike Groh had been sacked only five times all season. The Hokies' offensive line did not give up a sack by a UVa defense that had 29 before Saturday.
SUPER STAND-IN: UVa junior Patrick Jeffers had not caught more than four passes or had more than 55 receiving yards in a game this season before he caught six passes for 116 yards Saturday.
Jeffers started in place of team receiving leader Tyrone Davis, who appeared to be less than full speed as the result of a sprained toe and served mostly as a decoy. In the second half, UVa hardly threw to anybody, though. The Cavaliers attempted only four passes after intermission.
``I told them in practice Tuesday that our passing game had to be sharp because this team wasn't going to let us run on them,'' said UVa coach George Welsh, after the Cavaliers rushed for 249 yards. ``Shows what I know.''
ON RECRUITING: Neither Welsh nor Tech coach Frank Beamer feels his program's livelihood depends on the outcome of the UVa-Tech game and Welsh, for one, questions the effect on recruiting.
``I don't think it has any, frankly,'' he said. ``We won in '87, we won in '88, we won in '89, lost in '90, and won in '91 and '92. And they [the Hokies] still put together a good football team, mostly with Virginia players.
``I remember what a coach from Texas told me once: `It doesn't matter in our state. Some kids are going to go to Texas A&M and some are going to come to our school. It doesn't matter what the records are.' That's kind of the way it is here.''
UVa has eight players who visited Tech (Davis, Duane Ashman, Trevor Britton, Joe Crocker, Percy Ellsworth, Chris Harrison, Curtis Hicks and Anthony Poindexter). The Tech players who visited UVa are Antonio Banks, Jason Berish, Cornell Brown, Maurice DeShazo, Tony Morrison, Ken Oxendine, Bryan Still and Todd Washington.
by CNB