Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 18, 1995 TAG: 9510180060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
But most of the words spent Tuesday at Tech's weekly football media gathering concerned a school that's not even on the Hokies' schedule. Not yet, anyway.
Tech athletic director Dave Braine, who said last Saturday that a two-year deal to play Auburn in 1996 and 1997 ``could be finalized this week,'' was scrambling in the pocket Tuesday.
``I'm not going to say one more thing about Auburn until it's settled one way or the other,'' Braine said.
``I can't believe there's so much focus on next year's schedule when we've got a couple games coming up [Rutgers and West Virginia] that will decide whether we go to a bowl game.''
Braine said Tech had to look for another opponent when Cincinnati three weeks ago asked out of its '96 and '97 dates with the Hokies because the Bearcats had a chance to play Kentucky.
Braine said there are three things that have to happen in order for the Hokies to schedule Auburn - Cincinnati has to find somebody to play; Tech has to be guaranteed television against the Tigers; and the game(s) must fit in a comfortable spot on Tech's schedule.
Braine, who also has talked with Southern Cal among others, called the Auburn deal a ``50-50'' proposition.
Braine met Monday with Tech coach Frank Beamer to discuss the possibilities of adding Auburn.
Beamer says fine, as long as the date doesn't jeopardize Tech's chances of reaching the program's ultimate goal - winning the Big East Conference title.
``If you ask me whether I'd rather play Auburn or Akron or Cincinnati or who knows, I'd say Auburn,'' Beamer said.
``In addition to seven Big East games, we're going to play Virginia and we'd like to play a `name' opponent and a couple teams that percentage-wise you should beat.
``When you talk about Auburn, my first question is `What part of the schedule are you playing them?'
``And the next question is: `Where is your program?' Right now, I think it's obvious we don't have enough quality backups in our program yet. We will one day. You better have some backups when you play a team like Auburn because you're going against bigger and stronger athletes and it takes something out of you.
``I will always maintain that we were better playing an Akron [a 77-27 victory] Saturday than we would have been playing Auburn with four critical conference games coming up.''
Braine, fed up with complaints about Tech's opponents, said people forget the significance of scheduling and its part in possible bowl rewards.
``Look at Syracuse playing Oklahoma and us playing Arkansas State'' in 1994, Braine said. ``That's why we ended up in the Gator Bowl and [the Orangemen] ended up home. Nobody remembers that.''
AND RUTGERS?: Tech (4-2, 2-1) has been tabbed a 71/2-point favorite against Rutgers (1-4, 0-2), but rest assured Beamer & Co. are not looking past the Scarlet Knights.
The series has been one of the country's wildest since the Big East was formed three years ago. Rutgers won 50-49 in Piscataway, N.J., in 1993, while Tech has won the past two meetings, 49-42 and 41-34 in Blacksburg. Tech is 0-3 lifetime at Rutgers.
``Talk about a dangerous club,'' Beamer said. ``I woke up Monday already scared to death.''
The past three Tech-Rutgers games have been a statistician's nightmare. The three games produced 265 points, 37 touchdowns and 3,106 yards of total offense.
NO MANIC MONDAYS: Hoping for a fresher, stronger team down the stretch than last year, Beamer has started giving his players Monday off, except for meetings.
``Unless we need to, we're not going to physically practice on Mondays from here on out,'' Beamer said. ``I thought last year we got to be a tired team and we just didn't play well at the end.''
Fifteen or so of Tech's African-American players went to Washington, D.C., by caravan on Monday to take part in the Million Man March.
``You get only one time in your lifetime to be into something like this,'' said Lawrence Lewis, a senior defensive end.
``It gives you a feeling of hope and excitement because I'm from Hampton and I've seen a lot of my fellow black men give up, go to jail or shoot each other. To see a million together like that ... everybody said `Hi' to each other and that was kind of exciting.''
ON THE TUBE: Tech's game at West Virginia next Saturday will be the Big East's weekly telecast on WSLS (Channel 10) at noon. The game is a sellout.
WSLS has elected to carry the WVU-Syracuse matchup this Saturday instead of the Miami-Pitt offering.
TECH TIDBITS: Tech's rushing defense yield of 87 yards per game ranks fourth in the nation. Thanks to its 77-point outburst against Akron, Tech climbed from 104th (13.4) to 64th in scoring offense (24.0). Tech's 453-yard rushing effort against the Zips improved the Hokies' ground game from 65th (159.4) to 24th (208.3). Tech's total defense is 21st (311.5). ... Sixty-four of the 66 players who dressed against Akron saw action. The only two who didn't play were Beamer's son, Shane, a backup snapper, and backup kicker Jim Kibble. Plans are for both freshmen to be redshirted. ... After leading the Big East in penalty yardage in 1993 and ranking second last year, Tech has the least penalty yards among league schools in '95 with 274.
by CNB