THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 25, 1995 TAG: 9509250157
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
Some critics thought George Welsh was nuts last spring when he added Michigan to Virginia's already perilous road schedule this season.
Welsh created more head-shaking by contending that playing a
12th game against a national powerhouse in its 100,000-plus seat stadium would make his Cavaliers stronger from the experience, win or lose.
Saturday, after becoming the coach of the first Virginia football team to win at Clemson, Welsh could not resist the temptation to say ``I told you so.'' And who could argue with him?
The Cavaliers are off to a 4-1 start, 3-0 in the ACC, and the only loss was by one point at Michigan.
While most coaches may argue that nothing of value comes out of any defeat, Welsh knows better.
The Cavaliers still believe they won the Michigan game every where except on the scoreboard. And they learned not to be intimidated by a big crowd.
Welsh believes that having played in front of the Michigan masses helped his Cavaliers to get ready for the normal rowdy reception at Clemson's Death Valley.
The Clemson crowd was not as large as usual because of a cold rain, but still at kickoff it was so noisy that Welsh's players could not hear him talk on the sidelines.
It grew considerably quieter after Virginia splashed into a 12-0 lead in the first period and never looked back in finally burying a 40-year non-winning streak in Death Valley.
Winning on the road is the key to Virginia realizing its ACC goals this season, and the Cavaliers may have overcome their biggest challenge with the victory at Clemson.
That is not to say the rest of the journey will be easy, however.
The Cavaliers, who are back home Saturday to play Wake Forest, still have ACC visits to make to North Carolina and Maryland, and another to Texas for an intersectional game against the Longhorns.
Each of the three opponents will go against Virginia seeking to salvage or improve bowl aspirations, so there are some potential potholes in the road ahead.
But it helps that Virginia left Clemson picking up speed instead of climbing out of a hole, as had been the case in previous years.
FRANK VEHORN Hokies have a heartbeat, but it sure has fluttered
BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech assistant head coach Billy Hite had misty eyes on a misty afternoon in Blacksburg as thousands of fans swarmed the field celebrating the Hokies' first-ever win over Miami.
But with the joy of the 13-7 victory came some incredulity.
``How can you be so bad one week and so good this week?'' Hite asked.
Virginia Tech should be 2-1 today and possibly in the national polls
rather than 1-2. But Saturday, Tech was content not to have fallen to 0-3 and off the map of bowl scouts.
After Tech's humbling 16-0 loss last week to mediocre Cincinnati - which lost to Miami of Ohio on Saturday - you have to give the Hokies credit. They bounced back in style against a Miami program with a national reputation, even though it has slipped considerably from the Hurricanes teams that won four national championships from 1983 to 1991.
Virginia Tech proved Saturday that it hadn't slipped a notch from the bowl teams of 1993 and 1994.
``I don't think we were as low as some of you guys made us out to be,'' coach Frank Beamer said. ``If we'd have been as low as some of you guys made us, we probably would not be back today. We'd have rolled over and died.''
Instead, Tech rolled over the Hurricanes, who had beaten the Hokies in all 12 previous meetings and were 20-0 against schools from the Old Dominion. Tech's 300 yards rushing was the most against Miami since Syracuse gained 376 rushing yards in 1979.
The running game was the starkest contrast between Tech's two losses (99.5 yards rushing per game and 2.7 yards per carry average) and the Miami win (6.1 yards per carry). The Hokies should be able to run, and should have more games where they throw 16 passes like Saturday than the first two games in which Tech attempted 43 and 40 passes.
The Hokies play six of their remaining eight games on the road, starting this week at Pittsburgh. But their toughest games other than Virginia are over with.
``I've never been so low as I was after that loss last week, and then we turn around and have the greatest win I've had in 18 years at Virginia Tech,'' Hite said. ``It's a crazy business.''
STEVE CARLSON NSU wants a player or 2 to meet one Harlon Hill
James Roe for the Heisman Trophy?
The idea is a bit of a stretch.
If your team isn't a perennial top 10, it's hard enough to draw the nation's eye. It's almost impossible if
your team doesn't play regularly on national television. And the odds become virtually insurmountable if you're not playing for a Division I school.
In the last 10 years, two outstanding Division I-AA players, two-way standout Gordie Lockbaum of Holy Cross and Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair, had phenomenal senior seasons and could only muster enough votes for long-shot consideration.
So even in a season where a month of games has transpired and there is no clear frontrunner, James Roe for the Heisman is out of the question, even though he may be the best receiver in the country.
The Harlon Hill Award? Now there's something to shoot for.
The Hill trophy goes to the top player in Division II, and Spartans officials are poised to launch an assault on the 140 Division II sports information directors who vote.
Roe, who already owned almost every receiving record at Norfolk State before his senior season, has been absolutely spectacular in the season's first four games. He has 26 receptions for 627 yards and six touchdowns.
Those numbers don't include the four times quarterback Aaron Sparrow has gone to Roe on two-point conversions.
Roe, who has caught at least one scoring pass in 10 consecutive games, isn't the fastest receiver to ever play, but he has an outstanding knack for finding creases in a defense and uses his downfield blockers as well as anyone in college football.
In Saturday's wild 62-50 victory over Elizabeth City State, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Roe caught a 12-yard hitch pass over the middle, read his blocks to perfection and turned the simple pattern into a 50-yard pickup. He'd already done the same thing for an 85-yard touchdown against Virginia State and an 87-yarder against Livingstone this season.
Roe is one of two Spartans under consideration for the Harlon Hill along with Sparrow, last year's CIAA offensive player of the year. But Sparrow's cause was damaged by a subpar season-opening performance against Virginia State on national television.
While Sparrow has recovered his confidence with back-to-back games of 480 and 409 passing yards, the voters' confidence might still be in question.
Sparrow was intercepted four times on that opeing night, but Roe caught five passes for 199 yards.
Posters of Roe, and of Sparrow, are now being produced and will be sent to Harlon Hill voters around the country, as will weekly updates on the performances of each.
The only drawback in having two candidates is that one could rob the other of votes. Right now, Roe might be the more promising candidate.
RICH RADFORD by CNB