Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 31, 1994 TAG: 9501030076
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: GAINESVILLE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Really, it wasn't even in doubt that long.
On what was a start-and-stop trip for most from Jacksonville to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Virginia Tech's football team received a speedy police escort to a massacre.
By halftime of the Volunteers' impressive and convincing 45-23 victory, the Hokies had rekindled thoughts of a performance by their Division I-A state rival in the Gator Bowl three years ago.
When the Hokies gave up 35 points in the first half, they erased Virginia from a dubious record in the 50-year history of the nation's sixth-oldest bowl.
Oklahoma scored 34 in the first half of its 48-14 rout of UVa in 1985. Tennessee's torching of Tech produced not only the most points in any Gator half, but also the longest run in the game's history, a 75-yard reverse by Kendrick Jones that began the second quarter.
Even on a chilly, damp night, the Volunteers were just too hot. About 45 minutes before kickoff, alarms sounded in the Tennessee locker room. Seems a grill from an Outback Steakhouse tailgate party sent smoke into the dressing room.
The fire department had to be called to turn off the alarm, and then the Vols went out and fried Tech into well-done Gator bait.
As for the Hokies' continuing climb in search of credibility at the top levels of college football, the only similarity between Tennessee and Tech was their records this season - 8-4.
Tech hadn't given up 35 points in any of its previous seven bowl appearances. The Hokies hadn't even permitted 35 points in a first half since a 77-6 loss to Alabama in 1973.
Tennessee hadn't scored more than 38 points in any of its previous 34 bowl dates. In the 10-quarter stretch that ended at halftime, the Vols had scored 152 points. The Hokies had given up 111.
The scripted start of Tech's game plan went pass, pass and then, depending on down and distance, a reverse. The only misdirection the Hokies saw was Tennessee middle linebacker Tyrone Hines taking the ball in the opposite direction.
Tech quarterback Maurice DeShazo started with a bad incompletion, then a worse interception to Hines. Two plays. One turnover. It was only 15 seconds into the game. The ink on the Hokies' $1.5 million Gator check wasn't dry. Three minutes later, the Vols had scored.
At least everyone found out the problem with Tech's offense - as has been more than just implied in the past month - wasn't the play-calling of former coordinator Gary Tranquill, who has moved to Michigan State.
By the time DeShazo had managed to scramble and option Tech to a semblance of success in the next-to-last quarter of his career, the Vols could have been sipping more than Gatorade.
DeShazo's last game only punctuated his senior struggles. He threw poorly and fumbled, and had no one to blame but himself. The protection was there. DeShazo wasn't sacked, only embarrassed.
The Vols were unranked and undeterred. They used big plays, be they of the long-distance variety or the right stuff at the right time, for just the right yardage. They weren't picky. They were plucky.
They burned Tech's secondary through the air and ran through and around the Hokies on the ground. The Hokies' pass rush was nonexistent against the Vols' stellar offensive front.
Frank Beamer, Tech's coach, must have had flashbacks to his last game as a Hokies player, when quarterback Archie Manning led Ole Miss to a comeback Liberty victory in Manning's first bowl game in 1968.
Archie's son, Tennessee freshman Peyton Manning, played like a veteran in his first bowl. Manning's backup and teen-age classmate, Branndon Stewart, wasn't a sigh of relief for the Hokies, either.
In its biggest bowl game, Tech was bowled over. The Hokies' only fond memory of Gator Alley will be their 18,000 fans who ventured into ``The Swamp.''
Had they all been in uniform, Tech might have had enough personnel to beat Tennessee. Perhaps. Maybe.
by CNB