THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411200174
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO<
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
It's time to reconsider the conventional wisdom.
Virginia is not supposed to be a good football team in November, or as good as Virginia Tech in any month of 1994.
You couldn't prove this by what went on Saturday at Lane Stadium. Or by the puzzled looks in the Tech locker room.
``I think the amazing thing,'' Tech coach Frank Beamer said, ``is that we can turn the ball over eight times against a team as good as Virginia and still it was a pretty close football game.''
Pretty close? Pretty ugly, is more like it.
Said Virginia's George Welsh after his team's 42-23 victory: ``You should never lose if you get five interceptions.''
To Maurice DeShazo's misguided missiles, add three Tech fumbles.
The Hokies were generous to a fault. They wouldn't let U.Va. lose.
``Their offensive line was just getting demoralized by the turnovers,'' said U.Va. defensive tackle Ryan Kuehl. ``You could hear them grumble on the field. After awhile, they felt that, no matter how well they blocked, DeShazo was just going to throw another interception.''
More than half of U.Va.'s points came after Tech turnovers. Two of DeShazo's interceptions were grabbed by sprawling U.Va. players after being tipped by Antonio Freeman, Tech's best receiver. It was that kind of day for the home team.
``It doesn't feel like we just blew them out,'' Cavalier center Bryan Heath said.
Felt like it to Tech.
``They set a tempo early,'' Freeman said. ``They drove it down our throats with that tempo.''
By the fourth quarter, U.Va. was driving almost at will.
``I don't feel lucky,'' Welsh said, referring to Tech's sloppy play. ``We won the game because we took control of the line of scrimmage sometime in the second half.''
With a chance for a ninth victory Friday in Charlottesville against North Carolina State, U.Va. remains a candidate for the Fiesta Bowl or Sugar Bowl. At the very least, the Cavaliers are in line for the Gator.
Meanwhile, the muddled Big East race serves as balm for the Hokies. When Boston College was upset by West Virginia Saturday, Tech was assured of no worse than a tie for second in its league.
``We can still finish second in our conference,'' Beamer said. ``It's a heckuva conference. It's a good conference, a tough conference.''
But the way Tech trembled against U.Va., combined with B.C.'s seismic setback, the Big East is starting to show some structural damage.
It's a growing league, not quite a heckuva league. The Hokies, as good as any Big East team outside of Miami, played four big games this season - against B.C., Syracuse, Miami and U.Va. They are 1-3.
Five bowl scouts were on hand for Saturday's game. The Hokies will play in a high-profile bowl, a financially rewarding bowl. Fortunately for them, the U.Va. game was not a crucial audition.
Still, you wonder: Is Tech overrated? Is the Big East?
In this period of reassessment, perhaps it's time to acknowledge that U.Va. may have overachieved.
Recalling the fallout from past late-fall failures, Welsh said Saturday, ``We're playing better in November for a change.''
They're playing better defense than perhaps any U.Va. team of recent vintage.
With good reason, Tech's defense has been praised. After all, it carried the Hokies and DeShazo much of the season. Saturday, though, U.Va.'s defenders were superior. More opportunistic.
And after the game, they were gracious enough to acknowledge the help provided by DeShazo.
``We dominated,'' Kuehl said, ``but I wouldn't say it was total domination.''
It was close enough to it. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Virginia Tech's Tommy Edwards fumbles a kickoff return in the first
quarter. ``Some days, it's just not your day,'' Hokies coach Frank
Beamer said after the game.
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
A U.Va. fan celebrates the Cavaliers' first touchdown Saturday.
by CNB