ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 2, 1997 TAG: 9701020074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MIAMI
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Ten hours after the 63rd Orange Bowl had ended, Frank Beamer was preparing to hit the golf course in South Florida.
Rest assured, the Virginia Tech football coach wasn't teeing it up at Doral's famous ``Blue Monster'' course.
``Naw, I don't want any of that place,'' Beamer said. ``Way too tough for me. Besides, I saw all the monsters I wanted to'' Tuesday night.
Except these were dressed in red. Big Red.
``Nebraska is even better than I thought they'd be,'' Beamer said. ``They're big, they're strong and they just blow you right over.''
Teaching wanna-be college football power Tech a rude lesson, the Cornhuskers shucked the Hokies 41-21 in front of a crowd of 51,212 at Pro Player Stadium.
The Hokies, who finished 10-2 for the second consecutive season, fought gamely, but in the end couldn't hang with the 1994-95 national champions.
Sixth-ranked Nebraska simply had too much. Too much size. Too much muscle. Too much talent. Too many players.
Overpowering No.10 Tech's overworked defense in the final 20 minutes, Nebraska (11-2) outscored the Hokies 17-0.
The 'Huskers' depth charges drowned Tech, Beamer said.
``They just keep coming at you in droves,'' the Hokies' coach said. ``I think Nebraska has more good depth than anybody in the country. I thought that was an issue on how we looked in the fourth quarter. They had more left in the fourth quarter than we did.''
Tech's defense, which had overachieved all season, found the fuel needle on ``E'' late in the game. After the Hokies pulled to 24-21 on Jim Druckenmiller's third touchdown pass - a 33-yarder to Cornelius White with 4:56 left in the third quarter - the Tech defense couldn't find a stopper.
As if saying enough was enough, the 'Huskers simply jammed the ball down the Hokies' throats the rest of the way, running for 152 of their 288 yards on the ground in the final 20 minutes.
``We thought sooner or later we could take over,'' said Damon Benning, the third-string I-back whose 33-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left in the third quarter put the 'Huskers up 31-21. ``We just kept pounding and pounding on them. That's what we do. That's Nebraska football.''
It was too much for Tech.
``We couldn't stop them,'' Beamer said. ``We never could make them punt. We couldn't stop them on third down.'' The 'Huskers converted 11 of 16 third downs.
While Tech helped Nebraska with some shoddy tackling, the bottom line was the Hokies were worn out. Unlike the 'Huskers, they don't have another high school All-American on the bench at virtually every position.
``I don't know if our front four got wore down or whatever, but things started to get to the perimeter,'' said Loren Johnson, a Tech cornerback. ``And when the perimeter has to make a lot of tackles, you tend to have a lot of yards being gained on defense.
``Our front four got wore down and they were tired. We were in shape, but we just got worn down by the depth. They just kept coming at us and coming at us. You saw in the fourth quarter they busted couple long ones, and that showed the fatigue we had.''
Nebraska's big boys up front showed people who was boss down the stretch.
``Their offensive line is big and athletic, and they really got after us,'' said Waverly Jackson, a senior defensive tackle for the Hokies. ``They stayed on blocks 5 or 6 yards down the field. They're great, man. I can see why they're two-time defending national champs.
``Our offense kept putting points on the board, and it was up to our defense to stop 'em, but we couldn't.''
Tech played well enough offensively to win most games. The Hokies finished with 407 total yards, second only to Texas' 503 against Nebraska in the Big 12 Conference title game this season. Led by Ken Oxendine's 150 yards, the Hokies ran for 193 yards - the most against the 'Huskers all season.
``I was actually surprised we ran the ball so well,'' Beamer said. ``We had it going. If we could catch some balls ''
Tech hurt itself by dropping at least six passes.
``We had chances for some big plays, and against Nebraska you have to take advantage of those when you get the chance. And we couldn't do it.''
The 'Huskers also didn't give Tech any help in the turnover department.
``They had to help us a little bit and they didn't come close turning the ball over,'' Beamer said.
Although those who saw only the final score Wednesday won't know better, the game was a contest.
``We did lots of things to show we could play with the big guys,'' said Oxendine, who was named Tech's most valuable player in the game.
The Tech locker room was an emotional scene afterward. Each senior addressed the team, longtime head trainer Eddie Ferrell said.
``I've been around a long time and that's the most emotional I've seen,'' said Ferrell, who has been at Tech for 26 years. ``It was just the words that were said. It got me going. I'd never seen any one quite like that.''
Life will go on, Beamer said.
``We'll be back,'' Beamer said. ``You haven't seen the last of us.''
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. & 2. ERIC BRADY STAFF Senior Brandon Semones (21),by CNBjoined by teammate Loren Johnson, walks off the field for the final
time in his Virginia Tech football career. Semones, a linebacker
from Glenvar High School, and senior center Billy Conaty (top photo)
are two big reasons the Hokies won 37 games in the past four
seasons. color
3. DON PETERSEN STAFF This Tech cheerleader had plenty to celebrate
in the first half of Tuesday night's game. The Hokies led 7-0 in the
first quarter and trailed mighty Nebraska just 17-14 at the half.
color
4. DON PETERSEN STAFF Tackle T.J. Washington and fullback Marcus
Parker comfort each other as the final seconds of the Orange Bowl
tick away. color