ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 1, 1996 TAG: 9612020107
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
Maybe those round objects being thrown from the stands at Lane Stadium on Friday evening really weren't oranges.
Maybe they were crystal balls in disguise.
On an upsetting Saturday during which ACC champion Florida State chopped up plans of the Bowl Alliance, Miami won one of the most lucrative victories in Virginia Tech football history.
The Hokies didn't need to get much more than their palms sweaty.
The Hurricanes' convincing win at Syracuse left the Big East title in a three-way tie, and all the tri-champion Hokies can do is wait.
Their 26-9 victory Friday over Virginia brought a school-record 10-1 regular season. Now, their fate is in the hands of bowl executives, coaches and sportswriters.
And the Hokies thought their last four weeks of the regular-season schedule were scary?
The Hokies will be waiting until the Bowl Alliance selection show next Sunday at 5:30 p.m. to see where and who they will play, and what most everyone figured to be their first meeting with North Carolina in 50 years will wait longer.
With the average ranking in the Associated Press writers' poll and CNN/USA Today coaches' rankings as the tie-breaker for the Bowl Alliance, Tech has a clear edge over Miami and Syracuse, each 8-3.
However, the polls to be released today aren't the final regular-season rankings. Those used as the tiebreaker aren't voted on until late Saturday night, after a Southeastern Conference championship game that Florida suddenly has to win just to stay in the alliance.
If the Gators beat Alabama in the Georgia Dome, an Orange Bowl pairing of Florida-Virginia Tech seems most likely. However, the Hokies also could meet Penn State, the Crimson Tide or perhaps Notre Dame.
Miami's triumph boosted Tech's Big East bowl check from the Gator's $1.5 million to the $3.5 million a Big East alliance player keeps from a pot of $8.5 million. It also means the state's Division I-A rivals will be getting together again sooner than expected - but not for a rematch.
UVa will play a Big East team in the Carquest Bowl four days before a New Year's eve night date for the Hokies at the same site, because the Orange has been moved this year to Pro Player Stadium near Fort Lauderdale.
Syracuse probably played its way down to the Big East's No.4 postseason destination, the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. The Gator, which wanted the Hokies for their fan following against UNC, isn't locked into Miami, either.
West Virginia, also 8-3, could be almost as big a winner as Tech in the Miami-Syracuse outcome. The Mountaineers travel well, and if the Gator doesn't take them, it's likely the Carquest.
Carquest executive director Brian Flajole said Friday that a Syracuse loss would probably push WVU into the Carquest's Big East berth for the Dec.27 date with Virginia.
Tech coach Frank Beamer said after Friday's win over UVa that with a 10-1 team, he thought the Hokies should have been considered for one of the two at-large alliance spots.
Now, Tech doesn't need that, after defending at least a piece of its 1995 Big East title that rocketed the Hokies toward a Sugar Bowl thumping of Texas.
An Orange Bowl trip would cap a great two years. In the past two seasons, Tech's 20 victories are exceeded only by Nebraska, Florida (22 each), Florida State and Ohio State (21 each).
When the Hokies digest that, to really savor it, they should recall that three years ago, Beamer's program was thrilled just to get a vacancy in the Independence Bowl.
With the victory over the Cavaliers, Beamer tied his mentor, Jerry Claiborne, for second place on the all-time Tech coaching wins list with 61. At season's start, the pupil honestly didn't expect to get those 10 victories this soon.
Tech has played through injuries, arrests, suspensions and dismissals. However, on the field, the Hokies have been nothing but impressive, except for the mess they left on the Carrier dome rug two months ago.
In their final four games, the Hokies beat teams with a combined record of 31-13. The last three were ranked.
On the Miami-Syracuse telecast, CBS analyst Terry Donahue called Tech "the most underrated team in the country by far.''
The Hokies got their piece of the title by doing what no one else in the Big East's short history has - beating Miami under the palms two weekends ago.
Tech needed help from those Hurricanes to a trip back to their neighborhood, but when you're 10-1, you definitely don't have to apologize to the Orange for wearing maroon.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 linesby CNB