ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 2, 1996 TAG: 9601020180
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: RANDY KING AND JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITERS
After refusing to speak to the media, except for a short oratory upon Virginia Tech's arrival in New Orleans, Hokies All-America defensive end Cornell Brown held court Sunday night.
Following Tech's 28-10 Sugar Bowl victory over Texas, Brown broke his silence.
Brown, who created a mini-stir when he taped the numbers of suspended teammates Tony Morrison and James Crawford over his helmet's ``VT'' logos during practice, maintained he came to New Orleans to play a game, not to hone his public-speaking skills.
``I was down here for business, and a lot of people were trying to talk more about the distractions instead of the game at hand,'' Brown said.
Brown, decked out in a black headband and sunglasses, said he didn't hit Bourbon Street once before the game. But he planned to spend some time there Sunday night and Monday morning.
``Now, I'll be able to enjoy New Orleans,'' the Lynchburg native said.
Brown, who was hampered by a left hamstring pulled during Wednesday's practice, had a season-low four tackles. All four, however, were for losses, including a game-high three sacks of Texas quarterback James Brown.
``I fell and I pulled the hamstring again [on Texas' first-quarter touchdown play] and I was in a lot of pain,'' Brown said. ``I didn't know if I was going to get back in. It felt bad, but the doctors got me ready to play. It's killing me now, but I can live with it.''
Brown also can live with his role as a primary force in Tech's past three bowl appearances.
``This means a lot to me,'' he said. ``Tech wasn't that well known when I got here and my goal was to put Tech on the map. I feel like that's what I've done since I've been here.''
Brown still wouldn't say if this might have been his last game as a Hokie. He has until Jan. 10 to decide if he will forgo his senior season to enter April's NFL draft.
``I guess I'll have to make up my mind pretty quick,'' he said.
RANKINGS GAME: Tech's victory ensures it will wind up with its highest ranking ever in The Associated Press' final poll.
The Hokies, No.13 before beating No.9 Texas, are certain to leapfrog the Longhorns and No.12 Oregon, which was routed by No.7 Colorado 38-6 in Monday's Cotton Bowl.
In a matchup of Top 10 teams Monday night, No.8 Florida State beat No.6 Notre Dame 31-26 in the Orange Bowl, but it is unlikely the Hokies will vault over the Irish.
Since Nos.10 and 11 - Kansas State and Kansas won their bowl games convincingly - and the top five of Nebraska, Florida, Northwestern, Tennessee and Ohio State don't figure to drop far no matter what happened in their games, it figures Tech can finish no better than 10th.
Tech's previous high in the final poll was No.20 after the 1986 season.
TEXAS TRIBUTE: Longhorns coach John Mackovic was plenty impressed with the Hokies.
``Their defense was every bit as good as anyone we've played this year,'' said Mackovic, whose club was held to season lows in points (10), rushing yardage (78) and total yardage (226). ``They had better overall team speed than anyone we've played. They're probably the best we played, period.''
The 'Horns should have called a tow truck for their ``BMW'' offense, led by quarterback James Brown and backs Shon Mitchell and Ricky Williams. All three Texas stars were held far below their typical numbers.
The Longhorns failed to convert their first nine third-down situations and finished 3-for-16 for the night.
TECH TOUGH: Tony Brackens, Texas' star defensive end, left the Superdome impressed with the Big East Conference champion Hokies.
``We got outplayed,'' Brackens said. ``They're a great team. We got outcoached and outplayed. They were mentally ready and physically ready.
``They have the best offensive line I have ever faced. Those tackles [Mike Bianchin and Jay Hagood] were really good. They were big, and they had good blocking skills, too.''
Brackens paid special tribute to Hagood, Tech's junior left tackle. ``He's the best pass-blocker I've ever faced,'' Brackens said of the 6-foot-4, 292-pound South Carolina native.
CROWD NOISE: The crowd of 70,283 was the smallest for the Sugar Bowl since the Superdome opened in 1975 and the game was moved from Tulane Stadium.
The numerous empty seats were noticeable, and scalpers outside the dome were eating tickets in the rain, too.
Bowl officials didn't expect a sellout, because in the first year of the Bowl Alliance, the Southeastern Conference champion no longer serves as host for the Sugar. However, it was the bowl that fumbled its ticket plan.
With Tech and Texas clamoring for more than the 17,400 seats each was allotted to sell on their campuses, about 3,000 loge seats - at $125 each - went unsold because ``of a special marketing program that didn't sell as well as we'd hoped,'' said Troy Mathieu, the Sugar Bowl's executive director.
Mathieu took pains to praise the fans of the two schools, saying the bowl ``was extremely happy'' with the number of Hokies and 'Horns who came to New Orleans.
Without an SEC team for the first time since 1972, there was no regional ticket base, Mathieu said.
He also cited New Orleans' party atmosphere on New Year's Eve as another factor in fewer local sales than expected. The Sugar traditionally had been played on Jan.1, but the alliance rotation changed that scenario.
Next year, the Sugar gets the potential No.1-No.2 alliance matchup the Fiesta Bowl has tonight. This year, it had the fourth (Texas) and sixth (Tech) selections in the Alliance.
SCHEDULE: The Hokies will be going from the Sugar Bowl to the Rubber Bowl. Tech opens next season Sept.7 at Akron, where the Rubber Bowl stadium holds 35,000 spectators.
``If we took as many people to Akron as we did here [to the Sugar Bowl], we could probably fill the place,'' Tech coach Frank Beamer said late Sunday night.
The Hokies still have not received the dates for their Big East games, although athletic director Dave Braine said Monday he expects the conference to finish its scheduling by the weekend.
Tech will have seven home games next season, including an afternoon matchup with Virginia the day after Thanksgiving that seems almost a certainty for a CBS telecast.
The Hokies get UVa, East Carolina, Southwestern Louisiana, West Virginia, Rutgers, Pitt and Temple at home, but have three tough Big East road dates in Miami, Syracuse and Boston College.
COUNT TEN: The Hokies' Sugar Bowl victory over ninth-ranked Texas was their first over a team ranked in the AP Top 10 since Tech won 12-10 at No.9 West Virginia in 1989.
Tech finished the season with a 4-0 record against ranked foes (Miami, Syracuse, Virginia and Texas).
The Hokies were unranked when they beat No. 17 Miami and No. 20 Syracuse. Tech was No. 20 when it beat No. 13 Virginia, then was four spots behind the Longhorns for the Sugar date.
SACK TIME: Tech had five sacks in the Sugar Bowl, and although bowl statistics don't count toward season totals, the number was impressive:
In the final 26 quarters of Texas' regular season, a span including 182 pass attempts, the Longhorns held opponents to five sacks. The Hokies matched that total in four quarters.
TURNOVERS: One of the most stunning statistics from Tech's 10-2 season had to be turnover margin. The Hokies had 24 takeaways, but 25 giveaways.
How many teams on the minus side in turnovers win 10 games?
BOSSES: There were four conference commissioners in attendance at the Sugar Bowl, three of whom have connections to the Hokies.
Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese was in the house, and at one point was told to leave the Tech sideline because he didn't have the proper credential.
Also in attendance were Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno, who was Tech's guest and also attended the Hokies' basketball victory Sunday over Wright State in New Orleans; Big 12 commissioner Steve Hatchell, the former conference boss of Tech's ex-hoops home, the Metro; and commissioner Kyle Kallander of the lame-duck Southwest Conference.
FRANKLY: In the interview room on the floor of the Superdome after the game, Carole Braine, wife of Tech athletic director Dave Braine, ran up to Beamer and hugged the coach.
``I love ya, man,'' she said.
``Carole, tonight, you can have my Bud Light,'' a laughing Beamer said.
POSTGAME DELIRIUM: Several fans wearing Tech paraphernalia were handcuffed and taken away by New Orleans police after storming onto the field following the game.
Also, some fan hurled a billiard ball on the field that hit at one of the 5-yard lines and was fielded on one hop by a bowl official.
And people thought those snowballs being tossed at Giants Stadium on Dec.16 were hard.
LENGTH: Long : 158 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. DON PETERSEN/Staff Tech running back Marcus Parkerby CNBscores a touchdown for the Hokies in the third quarter at the
Louisiana Superdome. color
2. DON PETERSEN/Staff Tech defensive end Cornell Brown shares a hug
with the Hokie Bird on Sunday in New Orleans. color