ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 9, 1996 TAG: 9611110106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
RECENT, NOT DISTANT history has left the Cavaliers as heavy favorites against Clemson.
Nobody at Virginia is under the impression that qualifying for a bowl is the same as receiving a bowl bid.
The Cavaliers qualified for a bowl last Saturday with their sixth victory over a Division I-A opponent. However, if they want to play in a bowl game, they would be best advised to win at least one of their three remaining games.
That stretch begins at 3:30 p.m. today, when 15th-ranked UVa (6-2 overall, 4-2 ACC) entertains Clemson (5-3, 4-2) before a regional TV audience and scouts from the Peach and Carquest Bowls.
``It's a must-win situation because our games don't get any easier,'' said UVa co-captain Todd White. ``If you know anything about the past, you know we've gotten the shaft a few times from the bowls.
``This is a very important game. Right now, it's more important than [North] Carolina, if for no other reason than it's before Carolina.''
The Cavaliers play host to North Carolina next Saturday before visiting Virginia Tech for the regular-season finale Nov.29.
``If we lose another game, we're putting ourselves in position where we're watching other teams and not controlling our own destiny,'' said defensive back Ronde Barber.
``If we'd lost to Texas, maybe it wouldn't have mattered as much,'' said Barber. ``But, we've lost two ACC games already and that's a whole different story. Losing to Georgia Tech will be hard to live with till the day I die.''
The Cavaliers enter today's game as a 17-point favorite, which might seem absurd to anyone familiar with the history of the series. Virginia had lost all 29 of its games with Clemson before defeating the Tigers 20-7 in 1990.
Of course, few of Virginia's players were even in high school when the streak was in its final stages.
``I'm sure there are guys, especially freshmen and sophomores, who have no understanding of the streak,'' Barber said. ``I barely have an understanding of the streak. It definitely does not have the aura it once had.''
If there is a player familiar with Virginia football history, it is fifth-year quarterback Tim Sherman. Sherman has lived in Charlottesville since 1982, when his father, Tom, was named to coach George Welsh's first staff.
``We have a long way to go to catch up,'' Tim Sherman said. ``I don't know that many of the guys on the team realize the way [the Tigers] dominated us. It used to be `no chance.'''
Sherman was at the 1984 game, when Clemson thrashed Virginia 55-0, the Cavaliers' most recent shutout loss. He also was at the streak-ending '90 game.
``Everybody started running on the field,'' Sherman recalled, ``but I saw [ex-strength coach] John Gamble out there manhandling people and I decided just to wait it out. It was the same kind of atmosphere we had last year for Florida State. It was electric.''
Today's game has been sold out since before the season, although a limited number of tickets became available when Clemson returned part of its allotment.
The Tigers have had problems selling out their home games, even during their current three-game winning streak. There were 20,000 no-shows at Memorial Stadium last Saturday as Clemson defeated Maryland 35-3.
Some of the disenchantment may stem from the arrest of nine Clemson players since the end of the 1995 season. The Tigers are down to 73 scholarship players - 12 under the Division I-A limit - after the dismissal of leading receiver Tony Horne.
Last week, quarterback Nealon Greene and fullback Emory Smith suffered shoulder injuries that possibly could keep them out of today's game. However, the Tigers have shown weekly improvement on defense and held Maryland to 113 yards last week.
A college football fan will have his or her pick of games today in the area. In addition to UVa and Virginia Tech, which meets East Carolina at 7 p.m. in Blacksburg, teams playing at home today include VMI, Washington and Lee and Ferrum.
VMI (1-7) meets Richmond (2-7) at 1 p.m., and kickoff for the Ferrum and W&L games is 1:30. The Panthers (1-7) entertain Frostburg State (6-2), while the Generals (4-4, 2-2) hope to keep alive their hopes for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship against Emory & Henry (6-2, 3-1).
The Wasps have beaten W&L 13 straight times since 1982.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB