THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 30, 1996 TAG: 9609300133
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 98 lines
VIRGINIA 37 TEXAS 13 Virginia gets revenge, respect by toppling Texas
CHARLOTTESVILLE - In 1988 a good Virginia team traveled to Louisville and was beaten 30-28 by a late field goal.
The next year, a good Louisville team came to Charlottesville, where it was beaten, 16-15, by a late field goal.
As Virginia offensive assistant coach Tom O'Brien and then-Louisville defensive assistant Rick Lantz shook hands, O'Brien commented that ``paybacks are hell.''
O'Brien and Lantz, now on the same sideline as U.Va. offensive and defensive coordinators, saw further proof of how pleasurable paybacks can be Saturday night.
Virginia players and coaches had waited a year to get revenge on a Texas team that beat them 17-16 a year ago on a last-second, 50-yard field goal into the wind. Making the defeat more bitter were a few questionable calls by officials.
Virginia got its revenge Saturday, winning 37-13, and there were even a few controversial calls that went the Cavaliers' way - but not enough to make a difference in a 24-point decision.
The game was more than a sweet payback, though. The convincing win provided further proof that George Welsh has a program capable of competing with any.
The Cavaliers snared national attention last year with 1-point losses on the road at Michigan and Texas, and nationally televised victories over Florida State and Georgia.
But some thought last year was a fluke. One national commentator said coming into the Texas game that Virginia was too much of an academic school to be taken seriously as a national power.
Tailback Tiki Barber expressed the hope following Saturday's victory that ``this will get rid of the doubters out there.'' It should.
Next game: Saturday at Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m. (WVEC)
- FRANK VEHORN
SYRACUSE 52 VIRGINIA TECH 21 After being whipped by Syracuse, Tech has time to recoup
The lone bright spot for Virginia Tech following Saturday's humiliating loss to Syracuse on national television is that the Hokies have a bye month in which to recover.
That's right, a bye month.
For all intents and purposes, that's how October stacks up for Tech.
The Hokies are off next Saturday, then host woeful Temple on the 12th, followed by yet another off week. Virginia Tech closes out October at home against Pittsburgh on the 26th.
Pitt - outscored 117-0 in its last two games - and Temple are a combined 2-7. Neither should pose a challenge for Tech, especially at home. The same can be said for Southwestern Louisiana (2-2), the Hokies' first game in November.
After that, things get interesting again.
Tech closes out the season with East Carolina, Miami (No. 8 in this week's Associated Press poll), West Virginia (No. 19) and Virginia (No. 12). Miami is the Hokies' only remaining road game.
Those four teams are a combined 16-1.
That four-week stretch will be Tech's chance to bury the memory of Saturday, which was the Hokies' most lopsided loss in a Big East game. Only eight times in 103 seasons has a Tech opponent scored more points than Syracuse did.
The loss to the Orangemen makes a Big East title defense unlikely for the Hokies (3-1). It also raises questions about how good Tech - which dropped from the Associated Press poll and slipped six spots to No. 22 in the USA Today-CNN poll - really is.
For the answers, wait until November.
Next game: Oct. 12 at home vs. Temple, 1 p.m.
- STEVE CARLSON
NORFOLK STATE 27 DELAWARE STATE 23 Win bolsters NSU's confidence in move up to Division I-AA
NORFOLK - While it's only natural to wonder if Norfolk State is ready for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the more important question has become: Is the MEAC ready for Norfolk State?
When the Spartans move up from Division II to Division I-AA next season, the plan is to join the MEAC. In preparation, this season's schedule includes four MEAC schools.
The Spartans (4-1) ran their record to 2-0 against the MEAC Saturday with a 27-23 victory over Delaware State, one week after beating Bethune-Cookman 41-29. MEAC members Howard and Hampton University await on Nov. 2 and Nov. 16.
The Spartans are playing for pride this season, ineligible for the Division II playoffs because they have applied to the NCAA for a status change.
But next year they will be playing for a MEAC title and its reward, a trip to either the I-AA playoffs or the Heritage Bowl, the symbolic national championship game for historically black colleges.
While seniors lead the Spartans in tackles - Sunnil Motley has 53, Robert Johnson, 41, and John Green, 39 - safety Robert Weaver and cornerback Theo Roach are tied for fourth with 28 each. Weaver and strong safety Lonnie White both have three interceptions this season, tied for the team lead with Motley.
Offensively, the Spartans have some big-play seniors who will be gone after this season - tailback John Quinerly, receivers Darius Blount and Marty Conner and tight end Ronald Boone. But an experienced line will return virtually intact, quarterback Robert Morris is just a junior and tailback Mike Majette is waiting in the wings.
Next game: Saturday at home vs. Central State of Ohio, 7 p.m.
- RICH RADFORD by CNB