ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 4, 1996 TAG: 9611060004
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Monday morning QB
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
When he went out of his way to praise Virginia quarterback Tim Sherman, Duke coach Fred Goldsmith probably had no idea he would become a prophet.
Sherman, a fifth-year senior, passed for a career-high 253 yards Saturday afternoon as 16th-ranked Virginia rolled over the Blue Devils 27-3 at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Earlier in the week, Goldsmith was asked if he could make any comparisons between the quarterback situation at Duke, which has not started the same quarterback in consecutive games, and Virginia.
``Nope,'' he said after a long pause. ``When one team is 5-2 and they've lost to the No. 2 team in the country and the other is 0-7, it's hard to compare the roles of the quarterbacks.
``Virginia, obviously, has been running the ball well with Tiki Barber, except in the Texas game, when they came out throwing, throwing, throwing. And, in that game, Sherman played as good as a guy can play.''
Sherman wasn't as effective in a 31-24 loss at Florida State, when he missed his first eight passes. But Aaron Brooks wasn't much better and was unimpressive Saturday in a mop-up appearance.
``People are down on [Sherman] because he lost to Florida State,'' Goldsmith said. ``But look at every other quarterback's performance against Florida State and you'll find that Sherman probably did a whole lot more than most of them have.
``He's obviously had some ups and downs, but the guy is still 5-2 as a quarterback and he's had something to do with it. As a coach, you look out there and you see a competitive spirit [and] you see a toughness in Sherman that maybe the press doesn't appreciate.''
Unsung heroes
Coach George Welsh was upset by Virginia's mistakes, including a season-high 12 penalties and four turnovers, but he had no complaints with the defense.
The Cavaliers held Duke to 145 yards in total offense, which was the low against Virginia this season. Three other opponents failed to gain 250 yards against the Cavaliers, two of them less than 200.
Making a move
The Big East made a small move in The Associated Press' Top 25 college football poll, with Syracuse and Virginia Tech moving back into the rankings and West Virginia falling out.
Florida remained No.1 for the seventh straight week, and the Top 10 was unchanged in Sunday's balloting by the 67 sports writers and broadcasters. (Complete poll in Scoreboard. B4)
The Orangemen (5-2), coming off a 30-7 victory over West Virginia, returned to the rankings at No.24, while the Hokies are back in at No.25 following a 47-16 win over Southwestern Louisiana.
West Virginia (7-2), which has lost two straight games, dropped out of the rankings after a six-week stay.
The Gators (8-0), 47-7 winners over Georgia, received 59 first-place votes and 1,667 points - one point more than last week.
Ohio State (8-0), with a 45-0 win over Minnesota, had five first-place votes and 1,582 points to stay at No.2, while No.3 Florida State had two first-place votes and 1,564 points. The Seminoles (7-0) beat Georgia Tech 49-3.
Arizona State (9-0) beat Oregon State 29-14 and was fourth with one first-place vote and 1,477 points, followed by Nebraska, Tennessee, Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan and Alabama.
Virginia is 15th following its 27-3 victory over Duke.
Oxendine shines
Ken Oxendine ran for 140 yards on 22 carries to become the first Virginia Tech runner in 10 years to post three straight 100-yard games.
Eddie Hunter was the last to accomplish the feat in 1986. The last Hokie to hit the century mark in three consecutive regular-season games was Cyrus Lawrence in 1981 and '82.
Tilted field
Counting kicks, there were 152 plays in Tech's 47-15 win over Southwestern Louisiana. Of those 107, began on the USL side of the field.
Those 107 included 54 plays in a row - spanning over 20 minutes of game time - in which the ball did not cross the 50-yard line. The entire second quarter was played on the Ragin' Cajuns' side of the field.
Behind enemy lines?
Western Carolina basketball coach Phil Hopkins was on hand Saturday when the Catamounts' football team visited VMI.
Among Hopkins' entourage was Keydets basketball coach Bart Bellairs. Hopkins knows the Keydets well, and not just because he beat them 97-94 in last year's Southern Conference tournament.
Over the summer, Hopkins hired former William Fleming High School and VMI star Damon Williams as an assistant. Williams' twin brother, Ramon, is an assistant to Bellairs. Hopkins gave a donation to the school in return. His son, Phillip, is a VMI freshman.
Asked which side - his son's or his employers' - he would sit on during Saturday's game, Hopkins was diplomatic. ``The sunny side,'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 97 linesby CNB