THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 6, 1995 TAG: 9511060173
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
If judged on talent alone, it may be debatable if this is the best University of Virginia football team ever.
But, there can be no argument at this point that this team has accomplished more than any other.
It is the first Virginia team ever to win at Clemson, the first Virginia team to beat an opponent ranked as high as No. 2, and the first team to give Florida State an ACC defeat.
Even some failures have been accomplishments of sorts - one-point losses to Michigan and Texas.
Add a share of the ACC title and a major bowl bid to that list, and this team certainly will be one for the ages.
Still, we can not forget Virginia coming back from Michigan and being outplayed in the second half by William and Mary, or falling behind Duke, 18-0, or struggling with only a 7-point lead going into the fourth quarter against Wake Forest.
A problem these Cavaliers have had has been getting down to business against weaker opponents, and that brings us to this week's opponent, Maryland.
Maryland is not the pushover it has been in recent seasons, but it is a team Virginia should and must defeat to claim at least a share of the ACC title and avoid the chance of being shuttled off to Shreveport again for the bowl season.
- FRANK VEHORN Fans who booed Hokies are now cheering them
BLACKSBURG - In September, Lane Stadium fans sat in a cold rain and let Virginia Tech's football team know what they thought of them by either booing or leaving a shutout loss to Cincinnati early.
Seven weeks later, the fans stuck around until the end of a blowout, despite a wind chill in the mid-teens, to let the Hokies know what they thought of them now following a 31-7 win over Syracuse. Members of the sellout crowd tore down a goal post and pelted the field with sugar cubes and oranges, signifying two potential Hokie bowl destinations.
No one who saw the Cincinnati game would have believed things could be so sweet and juicy for Tech come November.
What a difference seven weeks - and seven consecutive wins - makes.
``We were 0-2 and a lot of people thought we were down the tubes,'' coach Frank Beamer said.
Saturday on the tube, Tech steamrolled nationally ranked Syracuse to take over first place in the Big East.
Sunday the Hokies (7-2, 5-1 conference) vaulted into the national rankings at No. 21 by The Associated Press, No. 19 in USA Today-CNN. Next Saturday, in essentially a Hokie home game with league doormat Temple at Washington's RFK Stadium, they can clinch at least a share of their first Big East title with a victory.
Down the road is either a Sugar, Gator or Carquest bowl berth. The Orange Bowl is a remote possibility as well.
Here's a hint for Hokie fans: pull hard for Miami to lose to either Boston College, West Virginia or Syracuse. One Hurricane loss could propel the Hokies into the Sugar Bowl. Winning at Virginia Nov. 18 would help Tech's chances as well.
The bowls will sort themselves out, but for now the Hokies deserve some credit for sorting things out after an abysmal beginning.
- STEVE CARLSON Recruiting should be easier for the Spartans
Darnell Moore savored the moment - a second 7-3 season in his second year as Norfolk State's head coach - but only for a moment.
He fretted about the loss of senior standouts Aaron Sparrow and James Roe, the best quarterback-receiver combination in Division II. But every school loses its seniors. No reason for prolonged lamenting.
Less than an hour after a season-ending 27-6 win over North Carolina Central, what Moore was thinking most about was the recruiting season awaiting him and his staff.
``I'd like to think the way we do things will be attractive to other top-flight kids,'' Moore said. ``Let's face it, kids like Sparrow and Roe can go to school a whole lot of places. And they might not get a chance to throw the ball 400 times or not have a chance to catch 70-some passes.
``There are all kinds of kids who go to schools for the sake of a name, but they don't get a chance to produce.
``I'm just hoping we're doing something here that will be attractive.''
Don't expect the Spartans to change their tact next season just because of the loss of an All-American pass-catch combination.
Three of their four receivers - Ronald Boone, Marty Conner and Darius Blount - return. Those three combined for over 130 catches and almost 2,000 receiving yards with Roe in the lineup. And backup sophomore quarterback Robert Morris proved in his limited play that he can throw well too.
``We'll try to recruit people to fit into that system,'' Moore said. ``I feel we've built the foundation for a program here. Three or four years from now, we'll know if we've laid the right blocks.''
RICH RADFORD by CNB