THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, September 11, 1995             TAG: 9509110130
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                         LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

A YEAR OLDER, HOKIES DEFENSE WAS NO WISER IN LOSS THAT HURT

The last thing Virginia Tech wanted to do defensively was pick up where it left off last season.

Virginia Tech's defensive lapses at the end of 1994 were blamed partly on turnovers by the offense that put the defense in difficult situations, and partly on fatigue caused by a lack of depth that caught up with Tech as the season waned.

Neither could explain away the Hokies' defensive problems in Thursday's season-opening 20-14 loss to Boston College.

The Hokies' offense was fairly efficient and committed just one turnover, which was offset by an Eagles' turnover inside Tech's 10. But defensively, Tech was plagued by the same problems that resulted in four losses in the last five outings.

It's a little early in the season to point the finger at fatigue.

Virginia Tech's run defense was superb - allowing 45 yards rushing on 32 attempts. But unable to move on the ground, the Eagles simply took to the air and soared downfield with relative ease.

BC quarterback Mark Hartsell completed 24 of 38 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Tech's defense exerted little or no pressure on the quarterback, and the secondary left receivers wide open time after time. Twelve of the Eagles' 16 first downs came via the passing game. It seemed BC came up with a big play whenever it needed to, as 9-of-18 success on third-down conversions illustrates.

This from a Tech defense that has 10 returning starters, including four in the secondary. Three of the defensive backs were first- or second-team all-Big East a year ago.

Hartsell could be the best quarterback the Hokies will face this season. But in their last four games, Tech has allowed an average of 35 points and 421 yards per game.

Defense wins championships, and those are not numbers of a champion. With NCAA sanctions looming at Miami, the Tech-BC game had more title implications than most conference openers.

To contend for a Big East title or a third consecutive bowl game, Tech will have to quickly stop the defensive porousness that has now seeped over into two seasons.

STEVE CARLSON

by CNB