Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509180135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Well, the Hokies finally made it there Saturday.
In a performance that had the Lane Stadium boo-birds singing early and often, Tech was brutal in an embarrassing 16-0 loss to two-touchdown underdog Cincinnati.
A rain-soaked crowd of 36,328, which had dwindled to maybe 5,000 or so by the finish, saw Tech get shut out at home for the first time since Nov. 21, 1981, when VMI turned the trick, 6-0.
"We were ugly, plain and simple,'' said Jim Druckenmiller, Tech's junior quarterback. "We couldn't do anything right. It's days like this that you have nightmares about.''
The lingering effects of this one may not be imminently shakable. A Tech team that only 10 days ago was ranked 24th in the nation has started 0-2. Now it gets 19th-ranked Miami next, and after that, plays six of its final eight games on the road.
"It's hard to say how we'll recover after a day like this,'' said Druckenmiller, who led Tech's misery parade, throwing three interceptions.
"I know this is as bad as I've ever played. I sure can't imagine how it could get any worse.''
Coming off a tough 20-14 loss to Boston College in its opener, Tech saw previously winless Cincinnati (1-2) as a good chance to get well before the Hurricanes blew into town.
"But,'' said Tech center Billy Conaty, "it doesn't matter who you play if you don't block, catch and throw the ball. You can't beat anybody playing like we did today.''
Assessing the damages, Tech coach Frank Beamer concurred.
"It's a team we should have beaten and we didn't,'' Beamer said. "We didn't do a whole lot of things right. Our defense played well, but our offense didn't. We didn't run it, we couldn't throw it and we couldn't catch. You can't win a game turning the ball over five times.''
Tech should have been tipped off early on what was in store. Druckenmiller, as shaky as he was solid against BC, fumbled the game's first snap, which teammate Brian Edmonds recovered. Then, two drives later, Edmonds turned a Druckenmiller screen pass into a 64-yard gain to the Cincy 19, only to have all but 17 yards of the gain wiped out by a holding penalty.
"It was just mistake after mistake,'' Druckenmiller noted. "It was unbelievable.''
Early in the second quarter, Tech embarked on its only decent drive of the day, marching from its 9 to the Cincinnati 21.
Druckenmiller, who had 52 of his 135 yards in passing on the possession, then burned the drive. After faking left, Druckenmiller came back right on a double screen to Edmonds.
But Cincinnati's man of the hour, sophomore Brad Jackson, stepped in front of Edmonds, picked off the pass and raced 71 yards untouched to the end zone.
"We had worked on that play in practice this week,'' Jackson said. "I saw the back [Edmonds] sit down and I was doing what I could to make a play.''
What a play it was.
"It turned the game around,'' Beamer said. "We're getting ready to take it in and instead they score. It's a 14-point swing.''
Only 13 seconds later, the Hokies gave the visitors another gift. Tech's Marcus Parker fumbled on the next play from scrimmage, setting up room service for Cincinnati at the Hokie 15.
Three running plays later, the Bearcats were partying in the Tech end zone, courtesy of fullback Orlando Smith's 4-yard TD blast. Mark Richards' point-after attempt was blocked by Lawrence Lewis, leaving the score at 13-0.
Tech, which had 198 of its 239 yards in total offense in the first half, set up a third Bearcat score in the second quarter when Jermaine Trent intercepted Druckenmiller at the Hokie 35.
The Bearcats' drive stalled at the Tech 23, where Richards came on and nailed a 41-yard field goal.
Down 16-0, Tech had a chance to get some points right before halftime after Michael Stuewe partially blocked Steve Smith's punt, setting the Hokies up at the Bearcats' 26 with 1:01 on the clock.
Making certain no area was without error, Tech squandered its shot to score when Atle Larsen pushed a 26-yard field-goal attempt right on the final play of the half.
If the Tech coaches read their players the riot act at halftime, it didn't work.
In the final two quarters, Tech ran exactly one play on Cincinnati's half of the field. The Tech offense, in its worst effort under coordinator Rickey Bustle, produced 2 yards in the third quarter, 37 in the fourth.
If you were a Hokie, this one was ugly.
"This was worse that that,'' said Conaty, when asked if this was the low of the lows in his Tech tenure.
"Everything ... we didn't make any plays. Something is missing, I don't know what.''
Across the way, Cincinnati celebrated only its ninth road win in 58 games over the past eight years. The Bearcats, who have posted only one winning record in their past 12 seasons, enjoyed this one.
Especially Jackson, who intercepted two passes and recovered both Tech fumbles.
"This is one of those games when you're a kid your Mom says don't go out and play in the rain,'' Jackson said. "But coach got some mud and threw it on us before the game. He said let's go play in the rain and get down and dirty.''
It certainly left a serious smudge on the Hokies, who, based on their first two games, may be the country's most overrated team.
"A lot of people are going to be saying that now,'' said linebacker Cornell Brown.
\ see microfilm for box score
by CNB