THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160605
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
The leaves are off the trees, but there will be plenty of fall colors Saturday in Blacksburg.
The Blazer Bunch - also known as bowl scouts - will be out in force when No. 16 Virginia (7-2) plays No. 14 Virginia Tech (8-2) at Lane Stadium (noon, WTKR). As of Tuesday, the Fiesta, Gator, Carquest, Sun and Independence had requested credentials. The Peach and Sugar have indicated they also may come.
Virginia Tech athletic director Dave Braine projected Tuesday, ``I think we'll end up in Florida.''
That would mean at the Gator Bowl Dec. 30 in Gainesville or Jan. 2 at the Carquest Bowl in Miami.
The Gator pits a third team from the Southeastern Conference against a coalition entrant and offers teams a guaranteed $1.5 million. The Carquest matches a third team from the Big East against a fifth pick from the Southeastern Conference and pays $1 million per team. The Big East doesn't begin revenue sharing until next year, so the Hokies get to keep all their bowl money.
Under the terms of the Bowl Coalition, the Carquest is not able to make a deal yet, but Braine said the bowl has told him Tech is its top choice.
Braine said the $3 million Fiesta Bowl would probably only be interested in Tech if several scenarios develop, one of which is Notre Dame failing to reach the seven victories it needs to qualify for a coalition spot. Even if the Irish fall short, Braine seemed to think the Fiesta would look elsewhere for an opponent to face probable Fiesta entrant Colorado before it would look to Blacksburg.
``There are too many ifs for that to work out, being realistic,'' said Braine, who added he isn't ruling out the possibility of a major bowl bid if Tech finishes 9-2. ``I also know how upstart teams like Virginia Tech have a hard time working their way into a major bowl.
``Right now I have not heard from either the Cotton or Sugar bowls, but I have heard from the Fiesta. It would be very good for us to win big Saturday and have a 9-2 record sitting there waiting.''
Big East commissioner Michael Tranghese said Monday decisions on bowls involving the Hokies were at least two weeks away. The coalition bowls make their selections Dec. 4, the day after the SEC final.
LONG GONE: If you don't have a ticket yet for Virginia-Virginia Tech, forget it. They were sold out by early October.
About 3,000 bleacher seats have been added to the open end zone, bringing Lane Stadium's capacity to 53,150. Six of the top 10 crowds in Lane Stadium history have been for Hokie-Cavalier games, including the 54,157 in 1990 who made up the largest crowd ever to see a football game in the state.
BROWN FEELING BLUE: Linebacker Ken Brown limped along the sidelines during Tech's practice Tuesday, lamenting that his last college home game will be the first game of his life he's missed because of an injury.
``It will be hard on me sitting on the sideline watching my boys out there,'' Brown said. ``It didn't hit me until I came to practice Monday. It's just frustrating.''
Brown pulled his right hamstring on the final play of the first half Saturday against Rutgers. He said he'll be back for the bowl game.
The Hokies will miss him against Virginia. Brown, the only senior starter on defense, is second on the team in tackles (93) and calls the defensive signals.
SIGN OF THE TIMES: Virginia fans traveling to the game via route 460 may be aghast at a billboard greeting people coming into Blacksburg. It says ``Welcome to Virginia Tech Country'' and has a picture of the Hokies from the Independence Bowl, as well as a picture of Governor George Allen with a Hokies cowboy hat on.
The Gov is a Virginia grad.
QUICK HITS: Virginia Tech has won 11 in a row at Lane Stadium, dating back to Virginia's 41-38 victory there in 1992. ... The Hokies are guaranteed no worse than a tie for third place in the Big East standings at 5-2. Boston College (3-1-1) could slip ahead of the Hokies into second place if it beats West Virginia and Miami, and Syracuse could finish 5-2 with a victory over West Virginia. ... The Hokies will be trying for just their fifth nine-win season in 101 years. by CNB