ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610220011
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
George Welsh lifted his gag order Saturday at Scott Stadium.
Apparently, nobody told North Carolina State.
After Virginia's loss at Georgia Tech two weeks earlier, Welsh put his football team off-limits to the media after the veteran coach thought some of star running back Tiki Barber's published opinions coaxed the Yellow Jackets toward the upset.
Considering what Welsh said about the woeful Wolfpack a week ago, perhaps he should zip his lips this week, or he'll have third-ranked Florida State - which UVa visits next Saturday - sounding like the Green Bay Packers.
As good as the 20th-ranked Cavaliers were on a windy, sunny afternoon, the 'Pack was pitiful. Virginia's 62-14 victory was a Cavaliers' scoreboard high in an ACC game. Which left Welsh's comments about the visitors awfully hollow.
After an 0-3 start, State had pounded a punchless Maryland club and then lost only 24-19 to eighth-ranked Alabama last weekend.
``It's a different football team,'' Welsh said. ``It's a transformation unlike anything I've ever seen, in some ways.''
What was unlike anything I've ever seen was UVa safety Anthony Poindexter's first 20 minutes against State - unless it was the sight of Ralph Sampson hawking T-shirts during the game.
The sophomore from Forest, who wears No.3, turned in a Ruthian performance. Poindexter had two of his school record-tying three interceptions, a blocked punt and four tackles in the Wolfpack's first 21 plays.
By then, the score was 31-0, and this is where Tony La Russa would have gone to his bullpen. All State coach Mike O'Cain could do was yank his cap further down his forehead.
About the only shortcoming by Virginia was that it couldn't quite erase its own dubious entry in the ACC record book. The Cavaliers' 45 first-half points came up short of the league-record 50 - in the same stadium - in a half by Wake Forest against the Sonny Randle-coached Cavaliers in a 66-21 loss 21 years earlier.
``We were about as bad as they were good,'' O'Cain said.
A few days before the game, the State coach said, ``In my opinion, Virginia is better than Alabama.'' The Cavaliers made his opinion more accurate than that of their own coach.
Offensively, Virginia's discovered some consistency with an improved passing game, and Barber continued his string of triple-figure ground-gaining days, with 132 yards, moving into 20th place in ACC rushing history.
The Roanoke rusher is going to need help against the Seminoles, however. The Cavaliers got two touchdowns on Barber's early 74-yard punt return and another punt block, by Antwan Harris. They may need such specialties from the special teams against a team that hasn't lost to anyone in the ACC except Welsh's 1995 club.
``Basically, it's the ACC championship right here,'' said UVa defensive tackle Todd White. ``If you're going to win the ACC championship, you have to beat Florida State. The bid for the title goes through Tallahassee.''
As for transformations, how about what the Cavaliers did with an open week following the loss at Atlanta? Maybe Welsh should extend that gag order until the 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Doak Campbell Stadium next Saturday.
``Maybe he did so we'd keep all of our frustrations inside and take them out like this,'' White, one of the more gregarious Cavaliers, figured. ``I don't know if I could handle that.
``I thought I might have to go on CPR if we had to go through another week of not talking to you guys. With that extra week, I was starting to swell up. I was having to talk to my teammates too much.''
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB