THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 14, 1995 TAG: 9509140479
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
In the past four seasons, the Big East has had a hand in determining the national champion on New Year's Day - either by playing for a crack at the national title in a bowl game or against the team that won it.
That string isn't likely to continue.
For the first time in its short history, the league has only one team in The Associated Press top 25. That team is Miami, at No. 19 a long way from the national title.
Virginia Tech, Syracuse and Boston College have all been ranked this season, but dropped from the AP poll after losses. BC is 25th this week in the USA Today-CNN poll.
The Big East has a 4-6 nonconference record, with one win over a Mid-American Conference team and another over a Division I-AA foe. Pittsburgh, picked seventh in the conference, is 2-0 and the only undefeated Big East team.
All of this begs the question: Is this a down year for Big East football?
``It's hard to know,'' West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said. ``I know our league is very, very competitive and anybody can beat anybody else.''
Which is another way of saying there are no powerhouses.
``Some things happened that maybe shouldn't have happened early in the year,'' Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. ``I think the Big East is strong. It's the old saying, it's how you finish. I think the Big East will be there in the end.''
MORRISON TO START: Tony Morrison's time as a backup was short-lived.
The Virginia Tech sophomore linebacker from Chesapeake has moved ahead of Myron Newsome and is expected to start at inside linebacker Saturday when the Hokies host Cincinnati at noon.
Morrison played 51 snaps in Tech's opener and had five tackles - four solos and a tackle-for-loss. Newsome, a Butler County (Kansas) Community College transfer out of Hampton High, played 24 snaps and had four tackles, but got burned in pass coverage.
``Newsome's going to be OK,'' Beamer said. ``He got in there and made some assignment mistakes.''
BAD BREAK: West Virginia senior cornerback Mike Logan broke his right arm for the third time in a little over a year Saturday in the Mountaineers' win over Temple.
``Mike Logan has to be the unluckiest guy in America,'' West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said.
Logan first broke it last year in the Kickoff Classic, which caused him to miss more than half of last season. He fractured his right wrist in the spring while playing basketball, and sat out spring practice. Logan, who also returns kicks, will miss at least three weeks this time.
The break is a good one for redshirt freshman cornerback Shawn Foreman out of Chesapeake's Indian River High. Foreman, who has been converted from safety, is a backup but is expected to have an increased role with Logan out.
NONSENSE AHEAD: Is Temple coach Ron Dickerson getting caught in the middle of some blocking drills without a helmet? He said this week as his team prepares for Penn State that in a few years the Owls should have a program comparable to the Nittany Lions.
Temple is 6-40 over the past five seasons, Penn State is 43-7.
QUICK HITS: Virginia Tech's home game with Miami Sept. 23 has been moved to a noon start and will be televised on the Big East Network. . . . The specter of NCAA penalties still hangs over Miami, but coach Butch Davis downplays it. ``We've tried to dismiss that completely and not worry about it,'' Davis said. ago, is out indefinitely with a shoulder separation he suffered in Pitt's opener. by CNB