ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610280143
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
No wonder Ross Perot is hustling his floundering presidential campaign to Virginia Tech on Monday.
Most every huge underdog has a chance to win at this place.
The Pitt Panthers, unquestionably one of Division I-A football's worst 'dogs, drove home that point Saturday afternoon in front of 43,625 witnesses at rainy Lane Stadium.
Facing what would have been one of the college game's biggest 1996 upsets, 30-point favorite Virginia Tech was forced to score three touchdowns in the final 17 1/2 minutes to come back and repel pesky Pitt 34-17.
Turning it on only after Pitt took a shocking 17-13 lead on Rob Lytle's touchdown run late in the third quarter, Tech used two touchdown catches by Shawn Scales and Ken Oxendine's 1-yard touchdown run to avert a season-wrecking loss.
Although his club improved to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big East, Tech coach Frank Beamer didn't find a lot to like about this one besides the fact his team responded when it had to.
``I don't think we played particularly great,'' Beamer said. ``But I thought a big thing was every time [Pitt] got us or got up, we answered.
``And that's something good. In the Rutgers game, some people said we should have blown this guy or that guy out. But every time we've needed to come around and play, we've been able to do that.''
It doesn't mean the Hokies have to like it, though. Senior center Billy Conaty recalled looking up at the scoreboard in the third quarter and seeing: Pitt 17, Tech 13.
``It makes me sick,'' Conaty said. ``It's not what we should be doing. It's underachieving. It's not because it's Pitt, either it's we're not playing the best we should be playing.
``I know there were screw-ups on offense, defense and special teams. We've got to put it all together if we're going to compete for the Big East title. We can't be screwing around like that just being up three when we should be up ''
Instead of having to crank it up, the Hokies should have had Pitt buried and the shovels put away by the third quarter. But the Hokies haven't been good at getting the hay to the barn early. They proved that earlier at Akron (38-point favorite, Tech won 21-18) and against Rutgers (28-point favorite, Tech won 30-14).
When Tech couldn't put the hammer down, a Pitt bunch that lost its first three road games by a combined score of 172-7 suddenly believed it could do the unthinkable - win.
``I think some people might take some things for granted,'' said Conaty, referring to the Pitts, Akrons and Rutgerses.
``Hey, those [Pitt] guys are on scholarship. They're decent and they've played a brutal schedule. Still, it's no excuse. We should have put them away much earlier than we did.''
Pitt (2-6, 1-4), which hadn't scored in eight quarters on grass this year, took care of that on its first possession, driving 50 yards before settling for Chris Ferencik's career-long 49-yard field goal.
So what, Tech said. The Hokies came right back, going 68 yards on seven plays. After a 37-yard pass from Jim Druckenmiller to Cornelius White took the ball to the Pitt 10, Oxendine scored on a 6-yard run to make it 7-3.
But nothing else would come easy for Tech in the first half. The Hokies repeatedly killed themselves with mistakes - dropped passes, blown assignments and penalties.
Pitt, set up by John Jenkins' 28-yard punt return to the Tech 32, took advantage of a pass interference call on Antonio Banks to go up 10-7 with 3:43 left in the half.
Banks' push of Pitt receiver John Jones wiped out Torrian Gray's interception and gave the Panthers room service at the Tech 2. Dwayne Schulters bowled over the goal line on the next play for the score.
Obviously awakened, Tech decided it was time to retaliate. In workmanlike fashion, the Hokies went 78 yards, primarily on the ground, in 11 plays and cashed in with Brian Edmonds' 1-yard run. Tech still led 13-10 after a high snap botched Shayne Graham's extra-point attempt.
Any thoughts the Hokies would come out for the second half breathing fire were quickly erased. Tech's first drive of the half fizzled when Scales dropped a third-and-10 pass and Graham misfired badly on a 44-yard field-goal attempt.
Meanwhile, Pitt kept hanging around. Lytle, the Panthers' sophomore quarterback, kept the visitors in the game with a valiant effort. Despite being harassed much of the day, the southpaw completed 14 of 34 passes for 152 yards and ran for 39 yards.
After Angelo Harrison fumbled a punt and Pitt recovered at the Tech 15, Lytle scored on a keeper with 6:15 left in the third quarter to put Pitt ahead 17-13.
``That was it,'' Conaty said. "We decided then it [was] time to get the ball and just run it right at them.''
Utilizing all its top three backs - Oxendine, Edmonds and Marcus Parker - Tech went 67 yards in 11 plays to retake the lead at 20-17. Every play was a run except the touchdown, a 7-yard pass from Druckenmiller to Scales, who spun out of a defender's grasp and into the end zone.
After Pitt went three-and-out on its next series, Druckenmiller and Scales hooked up again. This time it was a 71-yard bomb in which Scales torched Pitt cornerback Rasshad Whitmill by a good 5 yards for a score to make it 27-17 with 14:51 left.
``We've been looking for something like that to happen all year long,'' said Scales, who had three catches for 95 yards.
Tech's defense, playing without possibly its three best players (injured Cornell Brown and Myron Newsome, and suspended Tony Morrison), then stepped up and made a play. Loren Johnson snuffed out Pitt's next foray into Tech territory, intercepting a Lytle pass.
The Hokies then turned out the lights on Oxendine's 1-yard scoring run with 6:49 to play. The touchdown only made the final score look a little more as predicted.
``We need to find that killer instinct,'' said Oxendine, whose 111 yards on the ground paced Tech's 265-yard rushing output.
``Sometimes when we get up, though, everyone has a tendency to drift off into wonderland.''
Which is a good way to get bitten by a big 'dog.
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: LORA GORDON STAFF Virginia Tech fullback Brian Edmondsby CNBhurdles Pitt defender Jared Miller during the fourth quarter of the
Hokies' victory. color