DATE: Sunday, October 5, 1997               TAG: 9710050194
SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                        LENGTH:   76 lines

BIG PLAYS DOOM TECH IN UPSET LOSS MIAMI OF OHIO FORCED 2 FUMBLES, BLOCKED 2 PUNTS

Miami of Ohio came into Lane Stadium snarling and chirping with a two-ton chip on its shoulder. Three hours later, the RedHawks emerged with perhaps the biggest upset of the college football season.

The RedHawks added to their lore as giant killers by stunning the 14th-ranked Hokies 24-17 and spoiling homecoming for a Lane Stadium crowd of 42,878.

Unranked Miami (4-1), which claims 24 upsets of Top 25 teams in the last 50 years, was the first visiting team in 13 games to beat Tech. Tech fell to 4-1 and surely will plummet in the rankings this week.

The RedHawks pulled it off with big special-team plays - two blocked punts, including one recovered for a touchdown. They did it with defense. They forced two drive-killing fumbles, including one that led to a touchdown, and sacked Tech quarterback Al Clark six times. They did so with sleight of hand - a fake field goal was transformed into a 32-yard touchdown run.

And they did it with a nasty, in-your-face attitude. From the game's opening play, they carped and gestured at the Hokies, shoving them after the whistle, pointing in their faces after a big hit and exchanging high fives.

``They were talking trash the whole game,'' said Tech running back Ken Oxendine, who rushed for 111 yards but had the two critical fumbles. ``Most of the time we don't let that bother us.

``But for some reason it got to us today. Those guys really got into our heads. They took us out of our game. We let them do it, and it really helped them.''

So, say the RedHawks, did a couple of comments by Tech players earlier in the week. The Hokies were quoted in Ohio newspapers as saying they'd rather play a bigger-name team than Miami and said they'd have to run the score up to move up in the rankings.

``Football is a mind game,'' Tech coach Frank Beamer said. ``When you're talking about who you ought to be playing and how many points you've got to score, you don't have your mind on your opponent.

``We didn't have our mind on Miami, and it cost us.''

Clearly, though, Miami had its mind on Tech.

``We knew we could beat them if we got after them,'' Miami coach Randy Walker said. ``They hadn't played anyone yet, and Syracuse quit on them. We knew this was a team we could beat.''

Tech, a 19 1/2-point favorite, was the superior team for a quarter. The Hokies took a 10-0 lead on Oxendine's 1-yard run and Shayne Graham's 44-yard field goal. But at 14:07 of the second quarter came the play that turned the momentum to Miami. Kent McCullough blocked a Jimmy Kibble punt, which was recovered by Dustin Cohen, who ran 3 yards for the touchdown.

Tech still led 10-7 when the RedHawks scored on a trick play. On fourth down from the Tech 32, Miami lined up for an apparent field goal. But third-string quarterback Mike Bath took the short snap, wheeled and handed to Travis Prentice, who danced around the right end untouched.

It wasn't until he crossed the goal line that the dazed-and-confused Hokies realized what had happened.

Tech retook the lead 17-14 after Oxendine's 3-yard touchdown run at 7:16 of the second quarter. But Oxendine's fumbles, and the Hokies' inability to protect Clark, doomed Tech in the second half.

Late in the third quarter, Oxendine fumbled at the Tech 28, and the RedHawks recovered. Miami took four plays to score and take the lead for good on Prentice's 8-yard run at 4:22.

Tech then marched from its 20 to the Miami 9, where Oxendine promptly fumbled again.

The RedHawks figured to play conservatively so deep in their own territory but boldly passed themselves out of trouble on Sam Ricketts' 42-yard toss to Larry Green. Miami closed out the scoring seven plays later on John Scott's 36-yard field goal. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS color photo

Miami of Ohio's Dustin Cohen, left, and Paris Johnson converge to

record one of the RedHawks' six sacks on Tech QB Al Clark.

ASSOCIATED PRESS photo

Miami of Ohio's JoJuan Armor recovers one of Ken Oxendine's two

crucial fumbles Saturday in the RedHawks' 24-17 upset.

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