ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610070152
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
There Virginia stood, with its undefeated record and No. 12 ranking on the line, facing a fourth-and-one with 56 seconds remaining.
And there All-ACC tailback Tiki Barber stood, watching the proceedings from the Cavaliers' bench.
UVa chose to put its fate in the untested hands of sophomore Aaron Brooks and, like everything else the Cavaliers' quarterbacks touched Saturday, it turned into misfortune.
Brooks threw over the head of wide receiver Germane Crowell and unranked Georgia Tech was able to run out the clock for a 13-7 victory before 44,900 at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Virginia outgained the Yellow Jackets 314-183, but was unable to overcome five turnovers, including three interceptions and a fumble by starting quarterback Tim Sherman.
``This is the worst feeling we've had so far season,'' said Sherman, who left the game with a bruised right thumb. ``It's even worse for me, seeing as how I was really ineffective. I let a lot of people down.''
It was a Sherman pass into double coverage that set up Georgia Tech's lone touchdown. Mike Dee intercepted at the UVa 24-yard line and, five plays later, the Yellow Jackets took a 10-0 lead with 1:20 left in the first quarter.
``That hurt,'' said Sherman, who was 4-of-12 for 31 yards. ``If there was one throw I could have back, that would be the one. They made some changes in the secondary that I didn't recognize right away.''
The Yellow Jackets (4-1 overall, 4-1 ACC) added a second-quarter field goal, but they already had enough points to beat a Virginia team (4-1, 2-1) that was ranked No. 1 in the ACC in total offense.
Georgia Tech entered Saturday's action with the ACC's top rushing defense, but that didn't prevent UVa from going 65 yards - all on the ground - to cut the deficit to 13-7.
Barber rushed for 40 yards on that drive, including his ninth touchdown of the season, a 1-yard dive with 10:38 remaining in the half. He finished with 24 carries for 123 yards, including 100 in the second half.
When the game was on the line, however, the Cavaliers called a run-pass option and replaced Barber with redshirt freshman Anthony Southern for blocking purposes.
``I thought it was a good call,'' Barber said. ``That's probably the best call you could make in that situation. It was only one yard. Aaron probably could have run the ball and made it easily, but he saw Germane open.''
The play that will haunt Barber came on third down. He flared out of the backfield and appeared to be open in the right flat before 6-foot-4 Georgia Tech defensive end Ralph Hughes swatted down Brooks' swing pass.
``It was a touchdown,'' said Barber, who pointed to the end zone in resignation as the ball fell to the turf. ``It was wide-open out there. There was an easy path into the end zone.''
UVa head coach George Welsh said he felt Brooks made the right decision in passing the ball on fourth down but didn't make a good throw. He said the Cavaliers' staff almost changed its mind before the play.
``I didn't want to run it, though,'' Welsh said. ``I was afraid to run it. If I had it to do over, I would have run it on third-and-one. If you're going to second-guess something, that's the thing to second-guess.''
It was one of two UVa scoring threats in the closing minutes, the first of which ended with 2:09 remaining, when Nathan Perryman intercepted a Brooks pass intended for Terrence Wilkins.
Nobody would say who was at fault, but Wilkins broke to the outside just as Brooks was throwing the ball down the middle. It was the ninth time the Cavaliers have been intercepted this season, compared to one touchdown pass.
The turnovers and Georgia Tech's strong kicking game helped account for poor Virginia field position all day. UVa started three of its second-half drives at its 6-, 4- and 1-yard lines, the last after a 77-yard Rodney Williams punt.
The Cavaliers also were penalized nine times for 70 yards, including a clip, an illegal block and a procedure call on the drive that ended with Perryman's interception. Wiped out was an apparent 24-yard gain by Barber, who twice reversed field on a screen pass.
The offensive miscues overshadowed a stunning performance by the UVa defense, which held the Yellow Jackets to two first downs in the second half, one via penalty. Tech had a total of 7 yards on its last eight possessions.
``We could have won the game because of our defense, but the turnovers hurt and they won the kicking game,'' Welsh said. ``We didn't have good field position, but offensively we've got to be able to dig it out.
``It's a 60-minute football game. In spurts we're doing fine. We're making catches and we're running the ball [and] Tiki's bouncing off [tackles]. And then, at other times, we don't do anything. It's the inconsistency that's the problem.'' see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. AP Virginia receiver Derick Byrd (8) eludes Georgiaby CNBTech defender Keith Brooking and looks for running room in the first
quarter. coloR
2. AP Georgia Tech running back C.J. Williams (23) fights for
yardage as UVa linebacker Wali Rainer tries to bring him down. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL