ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 5, 1995 TAG: 9512050068
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Virginia Tech owes Florida State some thanks after the Hokies drew the best hand possible in Sunday's Bowl Alliance deal.
Fearing it might end up with a Florida State-Tech matchup, the Sugar Bowl chose Texas instead of FSU with its No.4 Alliance pick, thus assuring the New Orleans-based game of what figures to be a more competitive pairing of Texas-Tech.
Troy Mathieu, the Sugar Bowl's executive director, said the Orange Bowl's threat to take Texas with the fifth Alliance pick forced his committee's hand.
Before Sunday, many observers felt the Orange wouldn't want a Texas-Notre Dame rematch. The Irish, the Orange's first alliance pick, beat Texas 55-27 in the regular season.
``It came down to: Did we want Texas-Virginia Tech or Florida State-Virginia Tech?'' Mathieu said. ``By taking Texas instead of Florida State, we thought we would have a better game, on and off the field. Both teams are hot and on a roll, not to mention the fact that both schools travel well and will bring a lot of fans to New Orleans.
``We've got two schools who are asking us how many tickets they can have, rather than telling us how many they can't sell. That's crucial for us.''
The fact FSU played in the Sugar after last season also weighed in the decision, Mathieu said. The Sugar committee had to wonder how excited Seminoles backers would be about a return visit to New Orleans for a FSU-Tech matchup.
With Texas and Tech, the Sugar doesn't have to worry about anybody being excited. Both schools anticipate bringing huge numbers of fans to town for the New Year's Eve game at the Louisiana Superdome.
Texas, a perennial top-10 program before hitting a down cycle the past decade, has returned to prominence in coach John Mackovic's fourth season. The ninth-ranked Longhorns (10-1-1) won their final six games and beat Texas A&M 16-6 on Saturday to capture the Southwest Conference title.
``We've worked very hard over the past four years to get where we are today,'' Mackovic said. ``We had to win our way into it. Our last five games were probably the toughest stretch any team has ever had to face in the Southwest Conference.''
Tech, meanwhile, won its final nine games - a school record - to finish 9-2 and tie Miami for the Big East Conference title. Tech was declared the outright Big East champion when Miami was hit with NCAA sanctions Friday. The Hokies will be making their first major bowl trip in school history.
``This is the first time for us,'' coach Frank Beamer said, ``but we don't plan on it being the last.''
Texas, which is located in Austin, eight hours by car from New Orleans, is making its first trip to the Sugar since 1958. Tech, of course, never has been there.
``We wanted some different teams and we've got them,'' said Sugar Bowl official Chuck Zatarain, in Blacksburg on Sunday to officially extend Tech's bid.
``I think the Bowl Alliance, if it did anything, allowed the bowls to bring some new teams in. We used to pick teams in early October or early November. Very often, once a team was picked, it would let down and lose its last couple of games. We had it happen five years ago with another school from the state of Virginia. I won't mention who it was.''
It was, of course, Virginia, Tech's archrival.
Tech, which would likely have been a two-touchdown underdog to FSU, matches up much more favorably with Texas. Early word out of Las Vegas is the Longhorns will be a slight favorite, if that.
Mackovic and Beamer know each other, but they both confessed to knowing little about each other's team.
``I know Virginia Tech has a great defense,'' Mackovic said. ``I wish Frank didn't have to bring that defense with him.''
Beamer, who got a look at Texas against Texas A&M on television, said: ``I don't know a lot about 'em. They've got a good quarterback [James Brown] who was hobbled a little bit and he's going to be well by the time we play 'em.
``All I know is that growing up, I heard a lot about Texas. When you thought about the best teams in the country, you always thought about Texas. I think it's a perfect matchup for us.''
LENGTH: Medium: 79 linesby CNB