DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 1997         TAG: 9709100717

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                        LENGTH:   70 lines

'96 SYRACUSE LOSS ON HOKIES' MINDS THE ORANGEMEN, IN TOWN SATURDAY, RUINED TECH'S PERFECT REGULAR SEASON LAST YEAR.

After watching Syracuse manhandle nationally ranked Wisconsin 34-0 in the Kickoff Classic, Virginia Tech expected the Orangemen to come into Lane Stadium 3-0 and hovering near the top 10 in the polls.

Instead, Syracuse's season is hovering near futility, and the Hokies don't know what to expect. Syracuse, the Big East preseason co-favorite with Miami, enters Saturday's game 1-2 after having lost in back-to-back weeks on the last play of the game to North Carolina State and Oklahoma, both projected to be mediocre teams.

``To see them lose those two games to me is crazy, and it's scary,'' Hokies cornerback Loren Johnson said Tuesday. ``You never know if this is the game that they're going to come out and play, that they're going to break loose.

``I don't think (Syracuse quarterback) Donovan McNabb has had a great game, and he's due. (Fullback Rob) Konrad is due. The whole team is due, and I just hope they're not due against us.''

Offensive guard Gennaro DiNapoli said the 22nd-ranked Hokies (1-0) hated to see Syracuse lose last week to Oklahoma, which rolled up 341 rushing yards.

``They're like a wounded animal trying to survive,'' DiNapoli said. ``In their minds they've got to be thinking they have to have this game in order to salvage their season and to win the Big East. Last year that's what they were thinking, and I think we might have underestimated them a little bit. But this year we have the revenge factor.''

Johnson and DiNapoli also admitted to violating that most sacred of football mantras: We take them one at a time.

``Playing last Saturday against Rutgers it was always there, `We've got to play Syracuse next,' '' Johnson said. ``Before we walked on the field I was telling myself, `You've got to be impressive, you've got to look good and you've got to do things to the best of your ability - because when you've got that week off, you need to improve enough to beat Syracuse.' ''

The Orangemen were the one team the Hokies could not beat during last year's regular season.

In retrospect, Tech might have been undefeated and playing for a claim to the national championship in its bowl game were it not for a 52-21 crushing by the Orangemen at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse came into that game 0-2 after a pair of surprising early losses.

``I'm not going to lie, I was thinking about Syracuse as soon as I left that carpet last year,'' said DiNapoli, whose hometown of Cazenovia, N.Y., is about 20 minutes from Syracuse. ``They beat us really bad, but we knew we were capable of playing much better than we did.''

The Hokies were right with Syracuse midway through the third quarter before the game got - as coach Frank Beamer often says - out of whack. Johnson remembers it well.

Tech trailed 24-21 when Syracuse faced a third-and-17. Johnson was covering Jim Turner, went for the ball on a pass and got beat for a 48-yard play that set up a Syracuse touchdown.

``I kind of put the game on my shoulders last year,'' Johnson said. ``I make that play, they punt the ball, our offense gets the ball and drives down field and maybe scores. The turnout of the game is probably different.''

DiNapoli said Johnson should not take the blame for the loss, but he relishes reminding his teammate of another play.

``I do tease Loren though because McNabb did juke him out of his socks once,'' DiNapoli said. ``It was embarrassing, and I keep harping on him just to try to get him pumped up.''

``Since the preseason my mind has been on Syracuse,'' Johnson said. ``They're a great team, probably the best team we'll play all year. We have two tough teams this year, Syracuse and Miami. We play them at home, we have to take advantage of it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Gennaro DiNapoli

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