THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 1, 1994 TAG: 9408270396
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: R18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Football Preview: College Football '94
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
``Very disappointing,'' is how the coach referred to it. ``A disaster,'' said the defensive star.
Those would seem to be fitting descriptions of the seasons Temple or Pittsburgh had last year in the Big East. But they are the words chosen to describe last season's 9-3 failure at Miami.
A failure at 9-3? For Miami, yes.
``At Miami, we call that a disaster,'' defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. ``You don't reflect back on seasons like that, you just look forward to going forward.''
This seemingly backwards thinking is a product of history. At Miami, good seasons conclude with national titles. Bad seasons do not.
``I think the expectations were set before I got there,'' coach Dennis Erickson said. ``I could kick Howard (Schnellenberger) in the rear end, and Jimmy (Johnson), too.''
There is the surest sign that the Hurricanes' swagger has been reduced somehow. Miami is accustomed to kicking tail on the field; now the head coach wants to kick the tails of his predecessors.
``Something's happening, I don't know what it is, but everyone used to be kind of intimidated by them,'' said quarterback Maurice DeShazo of Virginia Tech.
It's not that Erickson hasn't lived up to the legacy of his predecessors. In five seasons he has a national championship ring for each hand. But some Hurricane fans were ready to wring his neck after last season's failure.
First West Virginia - not Miami - won the Big East. Then Arizona blew out the Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl, 29-0. It was Miami's worst loss in 20 bowl games and the first time the 'Canes had been shut out in 169 games.
And, for the first time since 1985, Miami didn't finish in the top 3 in the final Associated Press poll.
All of which has added fuel to the preseason magazines' firestorm of stories about how the intimidating, trash-talking, overpowering Hurricanes are a genre gone the way of the leather helmet.
Are they?
Before you buy into it, read this: Miami has the best record in college football over the last six years at 76-7 (.916), is the near-unanimous favorite to win the Big East, and is given an outside shot at a national title.
``It's no fun to read about the demise of our program,'' Erickson said. ``I think it's ridiculous to think there's a demise in our program. As I look at our athletes and our football team, we're as good as we've ever been.
``If people think there's a demise in our program, they're going to have some problems with us.''
SURE THING: Miami is Alive and Well, Part II: The Hurricanes have already tied Alabama's home winning streak record of 57. They will break it in their opener at the Orange Bowl Sept. 3 against Georgia Southern. Miami last lost in the Orange Bowl Sept. 7, 1985 to Florida. Washington, Florida State and Virginia Tech have the best chances to tweak the streak.
SOME WELCOME: New Boston College coach Dan Henning, a William and Mary graduate and onetime Virginia Tech assistant, returns to coaching on a college campus for the first time in 20 years after working in the pro ranks. He must feel like someone pulled the old college prank of short-sheeting his bed:
The best offensive player in the Big East last season, Eagles' quarterback Glenn Foley, is gone and is virtually irreplaceable.
The Eagles have the toughest schedule in the Big East with non-conference games at Michigan, at Louisville and home against Notre Dame. Of the league favorites, only BC's game with Virginia Tech is at home.
More than 12,000 seats have been added to Alumni Stadium. In Henning's estimation, that means, ``I have the toughest job of any BC coach before me, because I have another 12,000 people to satisfy on Saturday afternoon.''
Henning is regarded as a great offensive mind, but had little success in previous head coaching stops with the Atlanta Falcons ('83-86) and San Diego Chargers ('89-91).
HE'S CALLED ``LIGHTNING'': Rutgers' Terrell Willis did it without the same kind of fanfare, but he destroyed the NCAA freshman all-purpose yardage mark Georgia's Herschel Walker set in 1980.
Walker amassed 1,805 yards as a freshman and was a consensus All-American. Willis, nicknamed ``Lightning,'' struck for 2,026 total yards last season. He led the league and was 10th nationally with 1,261 yards rushing, 704 on kickoff returns and 61 receiving. He made first team all-Big East, but received no All-American mention.
GIVE HIM A ZIP CODE: Syracuse linebacker Dan Conley has been around as long or longer than six of the league's eight head coaches. The NCAA granted Conley a rare sixth season in which he could complete his fourth year of eligibility.
Conley, who was regarded as a Butkus Award candidate in 1992, has had nine surgical procedures on his knees. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Miami coach Dennis Erickson said fans won't accept 9-3 seasons.
by CNB