DATE: Wednesday, November 26, 1997          TAG: 9711260557

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM AND STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITERS 

                                            LENGTH:   68 lines

VA. TECH PROBABLY HEADED TO CARQUEST GEORGIA TECH WOULD LIKELY BE HOKIES' FOE IN DEC. 29 GAME IN MIAMI.

Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer says his Hokies will do no worse than go to the Gator Bowl if they beat Virginia on Saturday, but one bowl official says last week's loss at Pittsburgh might have already knocked Tech out of the Jacksonville game.

``We'll probably end up with Virginia Tech,'' said Mitch Morrall, executive director of the Carquest Bowl, which is played Dec. 29 in Miami. ``The Gator Bowl really wants West Virginia if they win this weekend. They really enjoyed having West Virginia last year and they felt they'd travel again.''

Georgia Tech would likely be Tech's opponent in the Carquest.

While the Hokies still might claim the Big East Conference's Bowl Alliance bid to the Fiesta Bowl, the 30-23 loss to Pitt makes it more difficult.

For Tech (7-3 overall, 5-2 league) to get the Fiesta Bowl bid, Tech must win Saturday and have Miami (5-5, 3-3)upset Syracuseand Pitt (5-5, 3-3) upset West Virginia (7-3, 4-2). Then Tech and Syracuse would tie for the title and Tech would receive the Fiesta Bowl bid based on its 31-3 victory over the Orangemen - unless Syracuse is more than five places higher than the Hokies in the composite of the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.

Beamer thinks the Hokies would be ranked higher.

``If Syracuse loses and we beat a quality team like Virginia, yeah, I think we'll be ranked higher,'' Beamer said.

Things are more muddled if Syracuse loses and West Virginia wins. In that case, those teams tie Tech for the title and the Fiesta Bowl bid would be determined by the composite rankings.

If Tech loses to U.Va. and doesn't go to the Fiesta Bowl, Rick Catlett, executive director of the Gator Bowl, strongly hints his bowl would take West Virginia.

``I would think Virginia Tech needs to win this game,'' said Catlett, whose bowl will likely invite Clemson. ``It would hurt them to lose two games in a row at the end of the season.

``Normally, it's relatively easy (to choose a team). People separate themselves. The reality in the Big East is that nobody has separated themselves.''

What if Virginia Tech loses and West Virginia beats Pitt this weekend?

``I would think in that case that West Virginia definitely separated themselves,'' he said.

Beamer delivered a more upbeat message at his weekly press conference Tuesday.

``If we win and Syracuse loses, we'll probably be back in the Alliance,'' he said. ``If we win and Syracuse wins, we'll be in the Gator.

``That's about all we do know. If we lose, all kinds of things open up. It's hard to say what will happen.''

Unlike the Bowl Alliance, the Gator Bowl, which is played on New Year's Day, does not have to follow any formula. It can take any Big East team with six wins against Division I-A opponents.

Tech might also be shut out of the Carquest if Miami beats Syracuse. Morrall acknowledges the pressure would be great to take the hometown Hurricanes.

``That would be a tough call,'' Morrall said. ``Virginia Tech was here last year playing in the Orange Bowl, that would have something to do with their travel projections and fan excitement. And Miami fans would put some pressure on us. But Virginia Tech beat Miami.''

If overlooked by the Carquest, Tech probably would go to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis to meet Southern Mississippi. However, there's an outside possibility the Liberty Bowl would take Pitt, which hasn't been to a bowl since 1986, if it also qualifies for a bowl.

``The bottom line,'' Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said, ``is that we need to take care of business against Virginia and put ourselves in the best possible position'' to go to the Fiesta Bowl or Gator Bowl.

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