THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 9, 1995 TAG: 9509090389
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Virginia Tech's football team dropped a lot Thursday.
Tech dropped a bundle of passes. The 20-14 loss to Boston College on ESPN may drop Tech out of the Big East title chase. And the Hokies are apt to drop from The Associated Press regular-season poll for the first time since November 1993.
The dropped balls could have prevented the other plunges.
``I can't remember when we've dropped so many passes in a game,'' Tech coach Frank Beamer said.
There were six in all, offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle said Friday. The biggest was flanker Cornelius White's flubbed reception at the Boston College 8-yard line with 30 seconds left.
The Hokies had three more downs after that, but three incomplete passes left a drive that began at Tech's 31 stalled at the BC 19 with 17 seconds left.
``Those guys sure catch it in practice,'' Bustle said. ``The guys who dropped them normally catch them well.''
The loss ruined an impressive first start for Tech redshirt junior quarterback Jim Druckenmiller, who completed 21 of 42 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown. Druckenmiller performed with aplomb, operating often out of a no-huddle offense and the shotgun.
His passing yardage and total offense (291 yards) were the most for a Hokies quarterback in his first start. The previous highs were held by Erik Carpenter, who threw for 270 yards and had 279 yards of total offense against Cincinnati in 1986. Druckenmiller's numbers surpassed the career totals he had coming into the game: 20-for-38 passing for 209 yards.
``For a first ballgame I thought he played a good football game,'' Bustle said. ``He made a couple of decisions that were bad, but he made a bunch that were good. I thought he was very poised throughout the game and felt very sure of himself and knew what was happening out there.''
Druckenmiller was without his primary target for the entire second half. Flanker Bryan Still - whose second-quarter, 80-yard touchdown catch was Tech's offensive highlight - separated his right shoulder returning the second-half kickoff.
``It's a moderately separated shoulder,'' Tech doctor Duane Lagan said. ``We expect him to miss a game and hope he'll be good to go for Miami (Sept. 23).''
Despite a 418-318 advantage in total yards for the Hokies, BC was in control almost from the start after it scored on its first possession.
``They made the one long play, but other than that, I thought we contained pretty well,'' Eagles coach Dan Henning said. ``They made some yards, but we were able to keep them from scoring.''
The 14 points were the fewest Tech has scored at home since Southern Mississippi held the Hokies to 12 in November 1992. In the Hokies' next 13 home games, their offense had averaged 40.3 points per game and had not been held below 23 points. by CNB