Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 20, 1995 TAG: 9511210016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Everyone knows what happened with :47 left on the clock. What happened with :42 left may have been just as interesting.
The Gator Bowl's representative at the game, Scott McCaleb, left the Virginia sideline and walked over to Virginia Tech's bench. ``I'm going [to] go see [athletic director] Dave Braine and some of those guys,'' he said.
He was probably going to tell the Hokie folks how much he'd love to see them in Jacksonville on New Year's Day.
Minutes earlier, McCaleb had said, ``Virginia Tech really needs to win today.'' As Hokie fans filled the field after their team's 36-29 victory, he said, ``This might get them into the Alliance.''
The Gator Bowl hopes that doesn't happen. A representative from an Alliance bowl at the game said the Gator Bowl is set on taking Clemson with its second pick from the ACC. If it could land Tech, which sold 18,000 tickets to last year's Gator Bowl, as the other team, it would give officials what they want.
``Ticket sales are the big thing,'' McCaleb said.
One bowl representative said the Gator wants ticket sales from Clemson and television ratings from Miami. But the Citrus Bowl, with a Tennessee-Northwestern matchup looming, likely would light up many more screens than Clemson-Miami.
Had the Hokies lost the game, they probably would have landed in the Carquest. ``I've been scouting them for three years,'' said Carquest Bowl chairman Keyna Cory. ``It's about time we got them.''
She said that when Tech trailed 29-14. She'll likely have to go without the Hokies for another year.
Tech's win, and the style in which it came, might have vaulted it into the Bowl Alliance. Tech coach Frank Beamer got on the stump for his team.
``Some programs have been there. This is a team that's on the way there,'' he said. ``This is a program on the rise, and I would think one of those bowls would like to be a part of it.''
He may be right. Early in the second half, Sugar Bowl president Oliver Delery Jr. said, ``If Virginia Tech had won today, I feel like they would have been a virtual lock for the Alliance.''
Some bowl representatives speculated that if Notre Dame keeps hold of its Alliance spot with a Top 10 ranking, the Hokies could meet the Irish in the Orange Bowl.
It has been thought the Orange Bowl would give its bid to Miami if the Hurricanes beat Syracuse next week. Miami's lagging regular-season attendance at the Orange Bowl, however, could cost the 'Canes.
While the Syracuse-Miami winner will tie Tech for the Big East title, Tech's win Saturday looks good in the Orange's eyes.
``A big part of it is how you finish,'' said Orange Bowl rep Ed Williamson. The Hokies have won a school-record nine straight games.
So where does all this leave Virginia? At this point, the most likely spot would be the Peach Bowl on Dec.30. Barring an all-out collapse against Florida next Saturday, league co-champion Florida State will get the ACC's Alliance spot.
The Peach Bowl has the third pick out of the ACC and the fourth pick out of the SEC. Peach Bowl representative Rod Hovater said, ``Obviously, Virginia-Auburn would be a nice matchup for us; could George Welsh beat two Bowdens in the same season?''
But even the Peach isn't a lock. With a Thanksgiving Day win over Georgia, Georgia Tech would be 7-4 and eligible for a bowl game.
Georgia Tech athletic director Homer Rice said the Yellow Jackets would rather travel and have a true bowl experience than stay in Atlanta and play in the Georgia Dome. For that to happen, Georgia Tech would have to say no to the Peach and hold out for an invite from the Carquest Bowl.
But could the Jackets really do that when 6-5 North Carolina is playing N.C. State on Friday with its bowl eligibility on the line? The Carquest certainly is not a lock for Georgia Tech. In fact, the Carquest's Cory will be at the UNC-NCSU game this week.
Hovater said he has enjoyed working with Virginia athletic director Terry Holland in Holland's first go-round in the bowl sweepstakes. He said Holland has marketed the Cavaliers better and more heavily than they ever have been marketed.
Hovater added that the Peach had a good experience with Virginia when the Cavaliers played their first-ever bowl game there in 1984. But he also added, ``If another team can sell 10,000 more tickets, that's something to think about."
by CNB