Three and out
Cavaliers' ACC title hopes vanish with loss to Virginia Tech
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG - Good teams don't need help to find ways to win.

Especially, when they are playing at home in front of more than 65,000 fans. But Virginia gave Virginia Tech all the help it would need, failing to capitalize on a pair of goal line situations.

Those misfortunes helped

11th-ranked Virginia Tech rally for a 24-10 victory over 16th-ranked Virginia at Lane Stadium, giving the Hokies at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

Virginia Tech (9-2, 6-1) can win the league championship outright with a victory at Miami on Saturday.

With the loss, Virginia finishes its regular season at 8-3 overall and

5-3 in the ACC. It also drops the Cavaliers into a fourth-place tie in the league standings with North Carolina and left their bowl plans up in the air.

"I guess you don't need a calculator to figure out that we left 14 points out there," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "Clearly that's how we see it."

The Cavaliers had two chances to take an early lead in the first quarter.

After the Cavaliers' first possession started at the Virginia Tech 46, set up by a 54-yard kickoff return from Marquis Weeks, Virginia moved the ball to the Tech 24.

Facing a 3rd-and-3, quarterback Marques Hagans was sacked for a 4-yard loss by Tech linebacker Jimmy Anderson.

That set up a 45-yard field goal attempt by kicker Connor Hughes. After a low snap, Virginia Tech's Jim Davis blocked Hughes' kick at the line of scrimmage.

Two possessions later, tailback Alvin Pearman broke off a 78-yard run down the Virginia Tech sidelines on first down with 4:17 left in the first quarter, moving the ball to the Tech 16.

After a pair of runs by Wali Lundy set up a 1st-and-goal at the 4, Lundy fumbled the exchange on a handoff from quarterback Marques Hagans and Davis fell on the loose ball.

"It is a play that occurs hundreds of times, but it just wasn't made cleanly," Groh said. "In that particular circumstance, it's the quarterback's responsibility to see that the back gets the ball and it's the backs responsibility to see that he takes the ball."

From that point, each team punted three times, leaving the game scoreless at halftime.

Virginia capitalized on good field position early in the third quarter when Virginia Tech's? return man Eddie Royal fumbled a punt at his own 31 after being hit by Virginia senior Isaiah Ekejiuba and fellow senior Dennis Haley pounced on the ball.

Three plays later, Hagans scrambled in the pocket buying him enough time to loft a 32-yard touchdown pass into the end zone to Pearman, who made an acrobatic catch over Tech defensive back Jimmy Williams.

Virginia Tech answered with an 8-play, 66-yard drive to set up a successful 31-yard field goal by Brandon Pace, making it 7-3 with 7:20 left in the third.

After the Hokies defense forced Virginia to punt for the fifth time in the game, Virginia Tech scored again.

This time, quarterback Bryan Randall found the end zone in just one play.

After dropping back, Randall lofted a floater to a streaking Josh Hyman and he raced into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown.

Hyman sprinted to the UVa 35, then cut inside and blew straight up field past cornerback Tony Franklin. Weeks rushed over to help, but it was too late to catch Hyman.

"I'd say based on what we would expect from that coverage, the results were disappointing," Groh said.

Despite trailing for the first time in the game, Virginia did not quit.

In fact, the Cavaliers used 13 plays in a 17-play drive to move the ball to the Hokies' goal line.

After a pass interference penalty on Virginia Tech's Eric Green in the end zone and a personal foul after the play, Virginia took the ball at the 1.

On first down, Pearman, who gained 147 yards in the game, took the handoff only to find a host of Hokie tacklers and was handed a one-yard loss in a play that Groh said changed the outcome of the game.

After an incomplete pass on second down, Hagans raced around the right side of the offensive line on a bootleg, but the signal-caller ran out of bounds at the 2.

As a result, Virginia settled for a 19-yard field goal by Hughes, tying the game at 10 with 13:03 left.

"That was huge. They had a first down at the one-yard line and there was some great effort right there and that was the difference," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.

It was all Virginia Tech from there.

Seven plays into an 80-yard drive, Randall picked on Franklin again as he connected on 32-yard touchdown pass to Hyman with 9:52 left, giving the Hokies a 17-10 advantage.

Virginia promptly went three-and-out on its next possession.

Hagans was sacked for a five-yard loss on first down and mustered only a 3-yard gain on a keeper up the middle on second down, setting up a 3rd-and-12 from Virginia's 24.

Hagans rolled to his left and after seeing that his downfield receivers were covered, the quarterback connected on a short 2-yard pass to Tom Santi, which forced Virginia to punt.

Virginia Tech made it 24-10 just six plays later when tailback Cedric Humes scored on a 37-yard touchdown run.

UVa's fate was sealed on its next possession when Hagans was sacked for the third time in the game and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Virginia Tech's Darryl Tapp.

For the game, Virginia finished with 188 yards rushing, but Groh said it was the running game that essentially left the Commonwealth Cup in Blacksburg.

"In the long run, it was two running plays: the one where we fumbled down there and the one where we didn't get in on the first down play. For all the good the running game was for us, it was two running plays that really let us down," Groh said.

While Virginia's bowl fate will likely remain a mystery for another week, Virginia Tech can settle its fate by winning at Miami and earning the ACC's automatic bid to the BCS.

"We can make a BCS, we can win this title outright if we go down to Miami and play a great football game," Beamer said. "I think this football team looks forward to the challenge."

Virginia's players hope they find out in the next seven days if they will, in fact, even play in a bowl.

In a released statement given out after the game, Virginia President John T. Casteen III announced that the school would decline an invitation to a bowl game if it were scheduled during the final exam period, which is held this year from Dec. 13 through Dec. 21.

With the loss, Virginia's expected location was the Champs Sports Bowl, formerly known as the Tangerine Bowl, but that bowl is held on Dec. 21.

"I would love to have another chance, another chance to play again," said UVa defensive lineman Andrew Hoffman.

Hokies stake claim to first ACC crown
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG - The Lane Stadium scoreboard lights burned deep into the chilly Southwest Virginia night as the Hokies celebrated their first ACC football championship on Saturday.
In its inaugural year in the league, Virginia Tech humbled crusty old rival Virginia, 24-10, grabbed bragging rights by the throat and set up yet another big-game scenario at Miami on Saturday for a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

November turnaround
After suffering monumental collapses in NOvember the past two seasons, coach Frank Beamer’s Hokies relabeled the month as YESvember as they won their seventh straight game.
It was just the opposite for coach Al Groh’s Cavaliers, who had owned crunch time in the final month the past two years. For the third time this season and the second time in three weeks, Virginia came up empty against a big-time opponent.
The Wahoos were once again scorched by an opponent’s passing game and committed critical mistakes that robbed them of any chance of cheating the reaper. As a result, Virginia’s bowl fate remained up in the air after the school proclaimed it would decline an offer from any postseason game that is played during its exam period, which ends Dec. 21.
“This was everything that we worked for ... everything was at stake,” said a dejected Virginia senior tailback Alvin Pearman, who rushed for
147 yards and earned a special place in Groh’s heart. “There’s no worse feeling in the world than coming that close.”

Red zone woes
The Cavaliers executed the meat of their game plan with a strong rushing game that accounted for 188 yards. But it was two running plays - a lost fumble inside the Tech
10-yard line, and the inability to cross the goal line after gaining a first down at the Hokies’ 1-yard line - that betrayed the Wahoos.
Tech’s mission was to stop Virginia’s run, contain elusive quarterback Marques Hagans and force him to pass. The Hokies stopped the Cavaliers when it counted and bottled up Hagans for the most part.
Virginia’s passing game, which has been less than impressive down the home stretch, was mostly ineffective against a Virginia Tech defense that was ranked in the Top 10 nationally in three categories: total defense (sixth); passing defense (fifth) and scoring defense (third).
Hagans spent much of the afternoon scrambling for his life, completing 8 of 14 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
He was sacked a season-high three times.
In a game that many suspected might come down to the two quarterbacks, Virginia Tech senior Bryan Randall was the difference.
After a scoreless first half, Beamer put the ball and the team’s fate in Randall’s hands. He didn’t disappoint.
The Williamsburg product completed 16 of 22 passes for 200 yards and two big touchdowns and still managed to scramble for 30 yards.
Trailing 7-3 late in the third quarter, Randall’s first deep ball caught UVa senior safety Marquis Weeks by surprise for a 45-yard scoring strike to Josh Hyman. Deadlocked at 10-all early in the fourth quarter, Randall struck again, connecting with Hyman for another
32-yard TD.
“Virginia was in the right coverage on the first one, a two-deep,” Randall said. “But their safety didn’t get back. On the second one, their defensive back had to make a play without seeing the ball. Our offensive line did a good job all day because Virginia is not really a pass rushing defense.”
Weeks said he misjudged the ball, that he was in position, but the ball carried over his head.
Groh praised Randall’s effort, calling him “the difference” in the game.
Virginia’s defense simply didn’t come through in the clutch and gave up the deep ball, a cardinal sin in Groh’s book along with the two lost fumbles and the failure to score in the red zone.
The Cavaliers’ offense seemed to lack imagination, relying rather heavily on a physical game that they didn’t win.
“When it looked the worst, that’s when we played the best,” Beamer said. “We turned the ball over, we had [deep threat and kick return threat] Eddie Royal on the way to an X-ray. Virginia had a touchdown pass and we came back.”
For Groh’s Cavaliers, it was just the opposite. They squandered opportunities like a sheik in Las Vegas.
Maybe that’s the lessons this Virginia team is still learning. This was the first time they were in position to play for a share of the
ACC Championship and couldn’t get the job done.
Critics point out that has been a disturbing pattern for this particular bunch of Wahoos against the big boys - Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech, teams accustomed to getting the job done.
“The theme is that we just didn’t finish,” UVa cornerback Marcus Hamilton said. “Just like the second half against Florida State and Miami.
We were confident at halftime, we just didn’t
finish.”
Senior linebacker Dennis Haley echoed his teammates’ sentiments.
“It’s very disappointing when you can’t finish in the big games,” Haley said.
Perhaps those are lessons learned for Virginia for the future. Instead of a tie for first, the Cavs can do no better than a share of third and no worse than a share of fourth.

Cavaliers fail to capitalize on chances
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
November 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG - If the Cavaliers are looking for an outlet for their anger after Saturday’s 24-10 loss to Virginia Tech, they need only to find the nearest mirror.

Virginia had several golden scoring opportunities at Lane Stadium but fumbled nearly all of them away, quite literally in one instance.

Virginia Tech certainly did do the necessary things to win the game - two decisive fourth-quarter touchdowns are testaments to that - but this game was equally about the necessary things that Virginia could not do.

The Cavaliers twice could not score touchdowns when inside the Virginia Tech 10-yard line. The Cavaliers could not make a field goal at the conclusion of their opening drive of the game. The Cavaliers could not make the necessary defensive stops in the fourth quarter and that all added up to a game the Cavaliers could not win.

“I guess you don’t need a calculator to figure out that we left 14 points out there. Clearly that’s how we see it. With all due respect to the Virginia Tech defense, I think they can clearly say to themselves they saved 14 points,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “If the head coach of Virginia says we left 14 points out there, I’d say the VT defense took 14 points away from us.”

After Virginia’s Marquis Weeks returned the opening kickoff 54 yards to the Virginia Tech 46-yard line, the drive stalled at the 28 and the Cavaliers attempted a 45-yard Connor Hughes’ field goal. The kick was blocked and the Cavaliers came away with nothing.

That actually was not the most painful missed opportunity of the first quarter for the Cavaliers.

On their fourth possession of the game, the Cavaliers drove to the Virginia Tech four-yard line thanks in large part to a 78-yard jaunt by Alvin Pearman. On first-and-goal from the four, however, Wali Lundy fumbled the handoff from Marques Hagans and Virginia Tech’s Jonathan Lewis recovered.

Another golden opportunity had fallen by the wayside.

“It’s a play that occurs a hundred times a game but in this case it was not made cleanly. … It’s the quarterback’s responsibility to get the back the ball and it’s the back’s responsibility to see that he gets it,” Groh said bluntly.

Both Virginia miscues allowed the game to enter the half at a scoreless tie.

Virginia’s next missed opportunity did not arrive until early in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers drove to the Virginia Tech 7-yard line and then got to the 2-yard line when the Hokies were whistled for both pass interference and then an unsportsmanlike penalty when Hagans tried to deliver a pass to Fontel Mines.

Faced with a first-and-goal, Pearman was stuffed on the initial play. A Hagans’ incomplete pass followed that and then on third down, Hagans was stopped short when he tried to spring to the end zone. The final result of the drive, and the clear good fortune given to them by Hokie penalties, was a 19-yard Connor Hughes field goal that tied the game at 10.

“In the long run, it was two running plays: the one we fumbled and the one where we didn’t get in on first down that really kind of let us down,” Groh said.

Added tight end Heath Miller: “When you are down there in those situations, you certainly hope you can come away with seven points.”

Punctuating Virginia’s offensive ineptitude was the fact that on the ensuing Virginia Tech possession, the Hokies took the lead for good and eventually pulled away for the victory.

The Cavaliers seemed quite certain in which area their frustration in this game should be directed.

“We were inside the 10-yard line twice and came away with three points. You just can’t do that against a good team and expect to win,” Pearman said.

Cavalier Football Notebook: Pearman finishes strong
November 28, 2004

POWERFUL PERFORMANCE FROM PEARMAN: It wasn’t the result that Virginia tailback Alvin Pearman was hoping for but the senior still managed to shine in his final ACC game.
Starting at running back for the fifth straight game, Pearman rushed the ball 28 times for
147 yards.
With the performance, Pearman moved from 12th to 8th on UVa’s career rushing list and has
2,342 career rushing yards.
Pearman passed Antwoine Womack (2,207 yards), Marcus Wilson (2,219), Barry Word (2,257) and Jim Bakhtiar (2,334).
The senior from Charlotte, N.C., also caught a 32-yard pass for a touchdown in the third quarter, giving Virginia a 7-0 lead.
Pearman downplayed the reception since Virginia lost.
“It’s nothing but a long foul ball,” Pearman said.
The touchdown tied Pearman for 16th on Virginia’s all-time scoring leaders with Johnny Papit with 162 points.

WELCOME BACK: After missing five games with ligament damage in his ankle, fullback Jason Snelling returned to the field.
Snelling, a sophomore, rushed the ball just one time for a
five-yard gain on the final play of the third quarter.
Snelling entered the game with 20 carries for 138 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Deyon Williams also made a return to the lineup after sitting out last week’s game in Atlanta with an undisclosed ankle injury. Williams made one catch for 18 yards.

WHERE’S PHILIP? One of the most obvious players not on the field against Virginia Tech was UVa cornerback Philip Brown. The true freshman had started four straight games for the Cavaliers, a streak that dates back to the Duke game on Oct. 23.
As a starter, Brown made
18 tackles but was called for two pass interference penalties against Georgia Tech.
Virginia coach Al Groh said Brown did not play because of a “coach’s decision.”
When asked if Brown would play in a potential bowl game, Groh said it was “more than likely. We will see.”
Fellow cornerback Marcus Hamilton, who started in Brown’s place, said he had not spoken with the rookie.
“I haven’t really had a chance to talk with him,” Hamilton said. “I think he went home for the break.”
Hamilton said he was confident Brown would “bounce back” from a pair of tough outings against Miami and Georgia Tech.
“As a corner, you have to forget things like that. You have to have a short memory,” Hamilton said. “If something happens, you have to forget it and know what you need to do to correct it.”

SERIES AT A GLANCE: With the loss, Virginia now trails Virginia Tech 44-37-5 in the series.
The Hokies have now won eight of the last 12 contests between the in-state rivals.
Groh’s record at Virginia slipped to 1-3 against the Hokies. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer raised his record against UVa to 9-9.

EXTRA POINTS: Virginia had the ball for three minutes longer than the Hokies in the game (31:34 to 28:26), but Virginia Tech had the ball for 10:21 in the fourth quarter. … Both teams were 1 of 2 in the red zone. … Virginia true freshman Chris Gould punted seven times for an average of 37.3 yards per kick. … Virginia cornerback Tony Franklin led the Cavaliers with nine tackles. … Ahmad Brooks and Andrew Hoffman were both credited with sacks. … Hamilton made two pass breakups, both in the first half. … True freshman Jamaal Jackson assisted on a tackle, just his second tackle of the season. … Matt Stone was also credited with a tackle, his first of the season.
… After not turning the ball over last week against Georgia Tech, Virginia had two turnovers against the Hokies. Quarterback Marques Hagans fumbled in the fourth quarter and tailback Wali Lundy fumbled late in the first quarter. Virginia entered the game with just four fumbles in its last 16 games. … UVa tight end Heath Miller made two catches for 35 yards. Last year against Virginia Tech, Miller made 13 catches. … Virginia is now 44-67-4 in regular-season finales and 5-10 when they close out the regular season with Virginia Tech.

UVa will not go to Orlando
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG - Due to the University of Virginia’s exam schedule, the Cavaliers will decline invitations from any bowl game that falls between Dec. 13 through 21, which eliminates the Cavaliers from participating in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 21.

UVa President John T. Casteen III announced the school’s decision shortly after the Cavaliers’ 24-10 loss to rival Virginia Tech on Saturday.

The decision does not mean that Virginia will not play in a bowl game. Finishing the regular season with an 8-3 record,

5-3 in the ACC, the Cavaliers are still a long shot for the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 31 and could play in another ACC bowl, the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 27.

According to several bowl sources attending Saturday’s game, the ACC could also make a deal with other bowls not tied to the conference because other leagues may not be able to fill dedicated spots in those bowls. Heading into the weekend, there were not enough bowl eligible teams to fill the 56 bowl spots available.

At least four of those bowls may have at least one opening: the Las Vegas Bowl (the Pac-10 cannot fill its slot) on Dec. 23; the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 28; the Houston Bowl in Houston, Texas, Dec. 29; and the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., on New Year’s Eve.

However, Virginia could not attend one of those bowls over the ACC-connected game in Boise, unless the conference worked out a deal with that game due to contractual obligations.

Virginia Tech is still in the running for a Bowl Championship Series bid, having clinched no less than a share of the ACC title by beating the Cavaliers. The Hokies play at Miami next Saturday to determine what team will represent the league in the BCS.

The loser of that game could go to the Gator Bowl or Peach Bowl. Peach Bowl President Gary Stokan said after Saturday’s game that Virginia was still in his game’s mix.

However, that possibility appears slim. The Peach Bowl will likely make a decision on Monday to take Florida from the SEC, although Alabama remains alive for that spot. Would the Peach take Virginia over a possible Virginia Tech vs. Florida, or a Miami vs. Florida matchup?

Not likely.

There is also a possibility of a Florida State vs. Alabama matchup in the Peach Bowl, but Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden has already nixed any thoughts of a rematch against Florida in the Peach.

While there was a thought that the Gator would take Florida State, Rick Catlett, president of the Gator Bowl, said that his game is concerned with filling hotel rooms in Jacksonville. FSU has a strong following, but Tallahassee is only a two-hour drive from Jacksonville.

Prior to Saturday’s game, it appeared that if Virginia won, it would likely play in the Peach Bowl and if it lost, the Champs Sports Bowl would be the most reasonable option. However, once rumors began circulating concerning the dates of UVa’s final exam period, representatives of that bowl and Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage began dodging questions about the scenario.

After the game, Virginia’s media relations department issued a statement from Casteen that addressed the issue.

“It is important for the University to send the right message to its students, faculty, and alumni that academics come first at UVa and that we cannot disrupt the final exam schedule for a sporting event,” Casteen said. “This was a decision made in the best interests of all our students - including students who play football.”

Several Cavaliers said after the loss to Tech that they didn’t care what bowl they play in.

“I can’t even think about that right now,” dejected UVa senior tailback Alvin Pearman said. “When you lose, you want to come back and learn from your mistakes. Wherever the bowl game is, whenever the bowl game is, it’s just another bowl game. ... It’s not a championship game.”

Senior linebacker Dennis Haley said he wants another chance for the seniors to go out with a win.

“We weren’t thinking about a bowl game coming into Blacksburg,” Haley said. “We don’t care when or where. We just want to win again. A victory in your last game is the beginning for the next group of players.”

Virginia’s exam schedule is later than normal and the Champs Sports Bowl, formerly the Tangerine Bowl, is a couple of days earlier than last year’s date. Together, it presented too much of an obstacle for UVa.

Casteen stated disappointment that the bowl schedule was in direct conflict with his school’s exams.

“We have an excellent team and we are eager for the players and the coaches to have an opportunity to conclude a terrific season at a bowl game, but not at the expense of the academic calendar,” Casteen said.

UVa’s president became aware of the conflict in recent days and consulted the school’s provost, Littlepage and other university officials. The group discussed the situation and decided a bowl invitation during exams would be detrimental to Virginia’s academic mission.

This is the first time that Virginia has been presented with such a conflict.

“Al Groh and his players have had an outstanding regular season and are certainly deserving of a bowl invitation,” Littlepage said. “But they all understand the impact of preparing for and playing in a bowl game during final exams.

“Such a major event impacts the entire University community,” Littlepage said. “Especially our players, student managers and trainers, band members and cheerleaders. All of our students should be focused primarily on studying at that time. There will still be a number of good bowl options available to us this year.”

Asked about the bowl scenario, a disappointed Groh chose not to comment on what might happen.

“My thoughts are on the game right now,” Groh said. “[A bowl] is not germane to my thoughts.”

'Old Man' shows spring in step
Josh Hyman, a 21-year-old redshirt freshman, snags two TD passes for the Hokies.
By Mark Berman
981-3125
The Roanoke Times

BLACKSBURG - The "old man" made his presence felt Saturday.

Josh Hyman, a 21-year-old redshirt freshman, caught two touchdown passes to help Virginia Tech beat Virginia 24-10 at Lane Stadium. Hyman's nickname on the receiving corps is "Old Man Hymes." The group includes true freshmen Eddie Royal, Justin Harper and Josh Morgan; sophomore David Clowney; and fifth-year senior Richard Johnson. Hyman said he feels like a senior leader on the team.

"Some days I feel old, some days I feel young," Hyman said after Saturday's game. "Today, I feel young."

With so many wideouts jockeying for quarterback Bryan Randall's attention, it can be hard for Hyman to make a splash, even though he starts. Entering the game, Royal led Tech in catches and receiving yards.

"Some games, I felt like, 'Man, is Eddie Royal the best guy?'" Hyman said.

On Saturday, Hyman caught a team-high four passes for 93 yards. He still ranks second on the Hokies with 22 catches, but he now has a team-high 420 receiving yards. He also has a team-high four TD catches.

"He's always been a playmaker," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "He's just got an uncanny ability to go and get the ball. He's got toughness to him. He's got great speed."

Hyman opened some eyes with a 12-yard TD catch in the opener against Southern California.

"I put myself on the map" with that catch, said Hyman.

Hyman's low point came in a 27-24 win at North Carolina on Nov.6. He had no catches, dropping a number of balls.

"That one was so hard for me," he said. "I never had a day like that."

Hyman had a much better day Saturday. In the third quarter, he beat cornerback Tony Franklin and safety Marquis Weeks to haul in a Randall pass at the UVa 5-yard line and completed a 45-yard score to give Tech a 10-7 lead.

"When I got around the corner, I just read the safety and Bryan Randall just threw a great pass," Hyman said.

Hyman beat Franklin in man-to-man coverage with 9:52 to go. He caught Randall's pass at about the UVa 12 and sprinted up the right sideline for a 32-yard TD catch to give Tech the lead for good at 17-10.

"I had a feeling he [Randall] was going to come to me, so I just tried to get rid of the guy and when I turned around and saw the ball, I adjusted to the ball," he said. "The corner, that was like the weak area of the defense, so we just attacked."

Royal got hurt Saturday, so he wasn't in the game when Hyman made his first TD catch. He returned to the game before Hyman made his second TD catch.

Hyman earned All-Group AAA honors as a receiver at Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, Va. Hyman said Tech, UVa and Maryland eyed him.

Deep Creek is the alma mater of former Tech stars DeAngelo Hall and Vegas Robinson, who is Hyman's cousin. Hyman wanted to follow in their footsteps and sign with Tech, but he didn't have a good enough SAT score. So he joined Fork Union Military Academy's postgraduate team.

"It was hell," Hyman said of Fork Union. "Waking up at 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock in the morning, go to bed at 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, it was just hard. But it helped me be a better person."

After boosting his SAT score at Fork Union, Hyman signed with Tech. He redshirted with the Hokies last fall, but Randall said he could tell in practice last year that Hyman was going to be good.

"He's made plays in practice since he's been here," Randall said. "Anytime you've got a guy like that out there who's got sticky hands, you want to get him the ball."

Randall got him the ball Saturday.

"I stepped up my game," Hyman said.

Hokies called and Humes answered
Commentary by Aaron McFarling
The Roanoke Times

BLACKSBURG - "HUUUUUMES!!"

Lane Stadium shook with the noise of 60,000 single-minded fans. Down on the field, Virginia Tech tailback Cedric Humes nodded his head up and down as he ran toward the sidelines. Yes. Yes. Yes. "HUUUUUMES!!"
ONLY ONLINE

Mike Imoh met Humes there, cloaked in a jacket. For six straight games, Imoh had been the man, the hero. But at that moment, he was just one of the revelers. He wrapped his arms around Humes, his embattled backup, and lifted him off the ground.

"HUUUUUMES!!"

Humes had just tacked on the final touchdown in a 24-10 victory over Virginia. The way he'd done it was spectacular: Hitting the hole with purpose and speed, breaking away from two fleet defensive backs, outrunning everybody for 37 yards, stomping the doubts with each stride.

"HUUUUUMES!!"

Humes smiled broadly on the sidelines and let the praise shower over him - as well he should have. He represents everything that is right about this team, this season and the values this game instills.

Want to know why the Hokies are 9-2 when many preseason forecasters thought they might struggle to reach .500? Why they've won seven straight? Why they're one win against Miami away from a BCS bowl bid? Why they're guaranteed at least a share of the ACC title in their first year in the league? Why lately, they always seem to come up with a big play when they need it?

Take a look at No. 32.

No, Humes didn't win this game on his own. This was a collaborative effort, to be sure, with quarterback Bryan Randall making great decisions and freshman receiver Josh Hyman making plays and the defense making one stop after another.

But what Humes did deserves to be remembered.

For six straight games, this team has been like a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces fit snugly. Suddenly, though, before the biggest game of the year, one of those pieces began to shake loose. Imoh, whose October promotion to the starting lineup had coincided with the winning streak's origin, could barely run this week - unless you count jogging from the hot tub to the bathroom.

A pulled hamstring and a stomach virus, a bad combination. And as Imoh tried to run through it in the first half, everyone could tell he wasn't himself. He rushed for 22 yards on seven carries in the first two quarters as the Hokies and Cavaliers played to a 0-0 draw. He also tweaked his hamstring again, leaving that puzzle with a gaping hole right in the middle.

But then, snap. Humes found his spot and secured himself an eternal place in the hearts of Tech fans.

"HUUUUUMES!!"

It wasn't just the 95 yards on 15 carries, or the big 10-yard run he had during Tech's go-ahead touchdown drive, or his own game-clinching score, or the demoralizing power dives he delivered while the Hokies ran out the clock.

It was what all that stuff symbolized, something Tech teams from the past few years didn't seem to understand: If you stay humble, wait for your chance and play unselfishly, you will be rewarded.

You want adversity? Try waiting three years for your shot, as Humes did, then having it jeopardized when your leg snaps in spring practice. Try running with a bum ankle day after day, wondering if your old speed burst will ever return. Try watching your starting spot get taken by a 5-foot-7 lightning bolt who immediately captures the imagination of teammates and coaches and fans.

You're dang right Humes was frustrated, and he should have been. But the way he responded was to accept the fact that he'd lost that spot on his own. Nobody had stolen it wrongfully. Nobody had disrespected him. And nobody was going to feel sorry for him, least of all himself.

So he went to work quietly, steadily getting better. He constantly asked coaches about his progress. He leaned on roommate Randall, who had experienced his own share of frustration in his career.

About two weeks ago, he felt it - or rather, he didn't feel it. For the first time all season, the pain was gone. Humes could see then that all he needed was a chance, and when he got it, he showed everyone what he already knew.

After the final whistle Saturday, Humes was surrounded at midfield by students and fans. He grinned as he labored his way toward the locker room - drawing dozens on pats on the back, accepting a high-five from a man in a camouflage jacket, pausing while a woman took a picture of him. Then right before he got to the tunnel, he stopped and and shot a glance toward the stands, where Tech supporters began one final salute.

"HUUUUUMES!!"

He's earned it.

UVa chooses studies over Disney World
President John Casteen says because of UVa's exam schedule, the Cavs will not play in Orlando's Champs Sports Bowl.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

BLACKSBURG - If Virginia had held on to upset Virginia Tech on Saturday, presumably nobody would have seen a news release that had been stashed in some UVa official's briefcase.

Nevertheless, athletic director Craig Littlepage had been unusually standoffish when asked about the possibility of Virginia playing in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla. "We'll be able to answer that after the game," Littlepage said.

When 11th-ranked Virginia Tech scored 24 second-half points and defeated No. 16 Virginia 24-10, out came the news release.

The Cavaliers (8-3, 5-3 ACC) finished in a fourth-place tie with North Carolina (6-5, 5-3), but will not be going to the Champs Sports Bowl, which has the fourth choice of ACC teams.

Neither will Carolina, which already has accepted an invitation to the Continental Tire Bowl, but school president John Casteen effectively ruled out Orlando, the home of Walt Disney World, as a destination for Virginia, where the exam period extends from Dec. 13-21.

The Champs Sports Bowl, previously known as the Tangerine Bowl, will be held Dec. 21.

"It is important for the university to send the right message to its students, faculty and alumni that academics come first at UVa and that we cannot disrupt the final-exam schedule for a sporting event," Casteen said in a prepared statement.

"This was a decision made in the best interests of all our students, including students who play football."

There will be a bowl slot for Virginia because the ACC has six tie-ins and only six teams able to go. In fact, the possibility exists that UVa still could go to the Peach Bowl, which has the third choice of ACC teams.

Peach Bowl executive director Gary Stokan said his committee hopes to settle on a Southeastern Conference representative as early as Monday. If Florida goes to the Peach Bowl, Stokan said, his committee would be opposed to a rematch with Florida State.

"That's the only given," he said.

The Seminoles are under consideration for a Bowl Championship Series bid and a Gator Bowl bid that go to the ACC's top two teams, but Gator Bowl executive director Rick Catlett said he might choose Virginia Tech over FSU based on potential ticket sales.

Stokan said the Virginia announcement caught him by surprise.

"We don't usually analyze [the Champs Sports Bowl] because we pick ahead of them," Stokan said. "I think, from a presidential standpoint, it makes the right kind of statement.

"We've seen what the presidents have done at Clemson and South Carolina. I think the presidents are heavily invested in what's going to happen in collegiate sports and that's a good thing."

Clemson would have given the ACC a seventh bowl-eligible team, but presidents at South Carolina and Clemson decided not to let their teams play in bowls after a brawl at the end of their regular-season finale.

As a result, the MPC Computer Bowl in Boise, Idaho, still has a spot for an ACC team. Georgia Tech could go to the Champs Sports Bowl and Virginia to the MPC Computers Bowl, which has the sixth pick.

When asked about Virginia's unavailability, Champs Sports representative Michael Strickland said his bowl would want a worthy replacement for Virginia.

"We will work with the conference to come to a resolution to this situation, but we still expect a team of an equal level," Strickland said.

The Champs Sports Bowl may not settle for a 6-5 Georgia Tech team when it was expecting to get one of four ACC teams that had eight victories before Saturday.

The alternative is to seek a trade with another conference and Stokan was mentioning several bowls without ACC connections -- the Music City, Independence and Liberty - as possible UVa destinations.

ACC assistant commissioner Mike Finn, seeking to protect the interests of the bowls with ACC connections, declined comment. Virginia coach Al Groh wasn't much more forthcoming.

"My thoughts aren't that far gone," Groh said. "My thoughts are on the game at hand."

Virginia Tech beats Virginia 24-10 in quest for ACC title
By HANK KURZ JR., Associated Press
© November 28, 2004 | Last updated 2:03 AM Nov. 28

BLACKSBURG -- Bryan Randall is wrapping up his career at Virginia Tech in style, and with the biggest stakes in front of him.

Randall threw two second-half touchdown passes, and the No. 11 Hokies moved one victory away from what once seemed an improbable Atlantic Coast Conference title Saturday with a 24-10 victory over No. 16 Virginia.

Click here "The stakes just keep getting bigger," Randall said after leading the Hokies to their seventh consecutive win and ninth in 10 games.

The Hokies (9-2, 6-1) can win the league title - and a Bowl Championship Series berth - by winning next week at No. 9 Miami, the team that moved from the Big East to the ACC with Virginia Tech this season.

"To go down to Miami and get a win and the whole championship outright by ourselves in the first year, it would be phenomenal," Randall said.

"It would mean a lot to our whole team, the coaches, the program," said Randall, one of 19 seniors honored Saturday. "It would make people respect us. I think we've gained a lot of respect for what we've done."

The Hokies, picked to finish as low as eighth in the ACC this year, have done it by returning to the style of football that lifted them into the national elite a decade ago, using hard-nosed defense, big-play special teams and an efficient offense to wear down their opponents.

That senior quarterback has been a big part of it, mentoring a young receiving corps and playing the best football of his career.

"He plays his best when things look the worst," coach Frank Beamer said. "There's just something special about this kid. What a player."

Randall finished 16-for-22 for 200 yards with the touchdowns, and passed Don Strock to become the career yardage leader at Virginia Tech.

Strock ended his career with 6,009; Randall now has 6,061.

The record came in dramatic fashion as he eclipsed Strock with a 12-yard pass to Jeff King on second-and-12 with 10 minutes left.

Randall celebrated on the next play, finding Josh Hyman against Tony Franklin for the second time, this one for 32 yards and a 17-10 lead.

"I wanted to throw it up there and give Hyman a chance," Randall said of the 5-foot-11 redshirt freshman, who stopped as Franklin ran by, then beat him to the end zone. "He made a play, just like on the other ball."

Earlier, Randall and Hyman teamed on a 45-yard scoring pass.

Cedric Humes, who ran for 95 yards after Mike Imoh aggravated a strained hamstring, closed the scoring on a 32-yard run with 5:08 left.

The defensive style was especially evident three times against the Cavaliers (8-3, 5-3), who were playing for a share of the ACC title.

First, the Hokies blocked a 45-yard field goal try by Connor Hughes to end Virginia's first series. Then, after a 78-yard run by Alvin Pearman and two 6-yard bursts by Wali Lundy gave Virginia a first-and-goal at the Hokies' 4, Tech's Jonathan Lewis pounced on a fumble by Lundy.

And finally, in perhaps the biggest sequence of the game early in the fourth quarter, the Hokies led 10-7 and stopped three consecutive plays from their own 1, forcing Virginia to end a 17-play, 78-yard march with just a tying field goal. That gave the Hokies a sense of accomplishment.

"Guys just kept responding," Hokies defensive end Jim Davis said. "It's something I can't explain. It was so special. Guys just wanted to play. Guys wanted to go three-and-out and keep those guys from winning.

"Every time our back was against the wall, our defense responded."

Virginia coach Al Groh saw it somewhat differently.

"I guess you don't need a calculator to see that we left 14 points out there," he said. "Clearly that's how we see it."

After the game, Virginia announced that it would decline any invitation to a bowl falling between Dec. 13-21 because of exams, taking the Cavaliers out of the running for the Tangerine Bowl on Dec. 21.

Virginia came in with the nation's ninth-best rushing offense, averaging 247 yards, and had 155 by halftime, but nothing to show for it in a scoreless tie. The second-half failure also was hard to ignore.

"For all the good the running game was for us, it was two running plays that really kind of let us down," a testy Groh said.

The Cavaliers' only touchdown came on a 32-yard pass from Marques Hagans to Pearman, who caught the ball over Jimmy Williams.

"We had a chance today and blew it," safety Marquis Weeks said.

Pearman ran for 147 yards on 28 carries, but had just 21 in the second half on 12 carries. The Cavaliers' passing game wasn't much help as Hagans finished just 8-for-14 for 111 yards, the touchdown and three sacks.

Virginia also hurt itself with penalties.

Franklin was called for pass interference when Randall threw deep for Josh Morgan, and on the next play, Kwakou Robinson got a 15-yard personal foul for hitting Randall after he'd been tackled on an 8-yard run.

The plays led to Brandon Pace's 31-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, and then the Hokies' reputation may have helped them, too.

Facing a fourth-and-12 punt from his own 18, and aware of the Hokies' affinity for blocking kicks, Virginia freshman punter Chris Gould got off a wobbler that was downed at the Virginia 45, a 27-yard kick.

On the next play, Randall hit Hyman and the Hokies led, 10-7.

Rise and shine
VA. TECH TOPS U.VA., WILL PLAY MIAMI FOR ACC TITLE
The Virginia Tech defense stands tall at the right moment against Virginia to help the Hokies get closer to a Bowl Championship Series game.
BY NORM WOOD
247-4642
Published November 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG -- All week during practice and film sessions, Virginia Tech's coaches and players talked about wanting to play the game of their lives against Virginia. After all, there was so much at stake: a potential ACC Championship, a bowl game with a multi-million dollar payout, and winning back in-state bragging rights.

While no one had the type of game they talked about, the Hokies beat Virginia 24-10 on Saturday in the same way they've won most of their games this season: a smart offense, solid defense, and opportunistic special teams.

The victory assured No. 11 Tech (9-2 overall, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) at least a share of the ACC championship in its first season in the conference. If Tech wins at Miami next Saturday, the Hokies will win the ACC outright and earn the conference's automatic bid to a BCS game, probably the Sugar Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.

"I've told the team we're on to something special now," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "The way they play when things don't look good, not everyone can do that.

"We've got one big one to go. We're going to enjoy this one a little bit because it's a big win for the program and the coaches and the players and, hopefully, for recruiting."

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster let his defense know how much the game meant after Wednesday's practice by telling them that they couldn't be "just average." One defensive stand early in the fourth quarter proved Foster's words had sunk in.

Trailing 10-7 early in the fourth quarter, U.Va. drove 76 yards to Tech's 4-yard line. With neither offense able to move the ball consistently, a touchdown might have been all the Cavaliers needed. On the next play Tech cornerback Eric Green was called for pass interference in the end zone and cornerback Jimmy Williams was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct to set up first-and-goal at the 1.

Despite being 3 feet away, Virginia couldn't get that touchdown

Tailback Alvin Pearman lost a yard on first down. Quarterback Marques Hagans passed incomplete on second down and was stopped for no gain on a third-down run as he stretched for the end zone. U.Va. had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Connor Hughes that tied the game 10-10 with 13:03 remaining.

Foster's words had sunk in.

"It turned the whole game around," defensive tackle Jim Davis said. "It gave us an opportunity to know that we could stop those guys."

U.Va. (8-3, 5-3) never recovered.

On Tech's next drive, quarterback Bryan Randall led the Hokies to U.Va.'s 32 and that's when that smart offense came through.

On first-and-10 from U.Va.'s 32, Virginia's safety and middle linebacker approached the line like they were going to blitz. Reading the play, Randall took three quick steps back and threw a lob toward the right sideline as the safety and linebacker crashed the pocket. Josh Hyman also read the blitz and beat cornerback Tony Franklin, who fell backward trying to find the ball, to give Tech a 17-10 lead with 9:52 remaining.

"They were blitzing us, and it was about Bryan Randall reading the safeties (on the 32-yard touchdown reception)," Hyman said. "It's one-on-one (against Franklin), and you just have to put some air under the ball and let me do my thing."

After Tech's defense held U.Va. to three plays and a punt on the next drive, tailback Cedric Humes capped the scoring on Tech's next possession. He sprinted through the middle of the line of scrimmage on first-and-15 from U.Va.'s 37 and went untouched to the end zone to put Tech ahead 24-10 with 5:08 remaining.

Humes ran 15 times for 97 yards. He got most of the carries because Mike Imoh sat out the second half after re-aggravating a strained left hamstring late in the second quarter. Imoh had seven carries for 22 yards.

The teams combined for just 10 first downs and 74 passing yards in the first half, which ended in a 0-0 tie. U.Va. looked like it was going to take an early lead in the first quarter when Pearman ripped off a 78-yard run with less than four minutes remaining.

Three plays later, tailback Wali Lundy fumbled at Tech's 4, and defensive tackle Jonathan Lewis recovered. It was one of only two U.Va. drives, including the drive that ended with the 19-yard field goal, that penetrated inside Tech's 20-yard line. Tech's Jim Davis blocked a field goal on the Virginia's first drive of the game.

Tech will need a similar effort next week against ninth-ranked Miami (8-2, 5-2) to earn a trip to New Orleans. "We're not going to talk about winning anything right now," Tech's Darryl Tapp said. "We've got to take care of Miami first."

Beating the Hurricanes, as Beamer said, is a "large, large order."

Hocus pocus in ACC and you get Hokey Pokey
Published November 28 2004
David Teel

BLACKSBURG -- The ACC didn't want Virginia Tech, and don't let any spin doctor convince you otherwise. But backroom politics dictated otherwise, and in order to secure Miami, ACC honchos swallowed hard, donned lampshades and did the Hokey Pokey.

How amusing, then, that in its first year of membership Tech will at least share the conference football championship. And how satisfying for Hokie Nation that Frank Beamer's crew secured the title with a convincing victory over Virginia.

The final at Lane Stadium on Saturday was 24-10, and if they'd played another quarter it might've been 38-10.

Call it the Tale of Two Seasons - another seamless fourth quarter for the Hokies, another undersized performance in a supersized game for the Cavaliers.

Tech won Saturday because its scary-quick defensive line dominated Virginia's offensive line, arguably the ACC's best. Ends Darryl Tapp and Noland Burchette and tackles Jim Davis and Jonathan Lewis harassed quarterback Marques Hagans throughout, and aside from one glitch, stuffed the Cavaliers' league-leading rushing attack.

"It wasn't any big secret," Tapp said, "just our basic defensive scheme."

Hey, why get all dolled up when jeans and a T-shirt work?

In 10 previous games, Virginia had yielded 12 sacks. Tech recorded three, flushed Hagans from the pocket many other times and limited him to 27 yards rushing.

Yes, Cavaliers tailback Alvin Pearman ran for 147 yards on 28 attempts. But 78 came on one first-quarter play. That's 69 yards on Pearman's other 27 carries, a paltry average of 2.6.

Pearman's most telling run came early in the fourth quarter. Tech led 10-7, but Virginia was 1 yard away from the go-ahead touchdown. Pearman barreled into the middle of the line on first down, only to meet Burchette and linebacker Vince Hall (game-high 10 tackles) at the 2.

Hagans threw incomplete on second down and gained zip on a third-down bootleg. Connor Hughes' 19-yard field goal tied the game at 10, but the defensive stand energized the Hokies.

"This is a special team right now," Beamer said. "The way they play when things don't look good, not everybody can do that."

Virginia certainly can't. The Cavaliers' schedule included three definitive games: Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech. They lost all three by a combined 57 points.

Virginia (8-3, 5-3) falls to the Champs Sports Bowl in the ACC's postseason food chain. But in a transparent fit of hubris, the school announced Saturday that it will not accept an invitation to any bowl that conflicts with final exams Dec. 13-21. The Champs Sports Bowl is Dec. 21 in Orlando, Fla.

Don't want to play football because of academic commitments? Fine, commendable even.

But bowl and exam schedules were finalized months ago, and according to bowl sources, Virginia didn't have the courtesy to inform ACC or Champs Sports officials of its stance until Wednesday. So spare us the proclamations from university president John Casteen about sending the proper message to "students, faculty and alumni that academics come first at U.Va."

While Virginia wallows in self-righteousness, Virginia Tech plays with house money. Win at Miami on Saturday and the Hokies (9-2, 6-1) capture the ACC outright and qualify for a Bowl Championship Series game, probably the Sugar. Lose and Tech shares the title with Miami and Florida State, probably sending the Hokies to the Peach Bowl.

Either way, the Hokies have turned this into a benchmark season with a series of fourth-quarter escapes: Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia - the first three on the road.

"It's one of those intangibles good teams have," quarterback Bryan Randall said of Tech's late-game success. "There's very little that separates good teams, and one of those things is intangibles."

Randall epitomizes those intangibles. Playing his final home game, he overcame the loss of his most effective weapon, tailback Mike Imoh, to a hamstring injury and threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

It's stunning, really. From 2001-03, the three seasons after Michael Vick, Tech was a combined 11-10 in the Big East. Yet here the Hokies are atop a superior conference, a conference that didn't even want them.

High Tech
With their conquest of Virginia, Hokies will meet Miami for BCS bowl berth
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG - Who says there isn't an ACC championship game this season?

Though the official ACC title tilt doesn't start until next season, Virginia Tech and Miami, in their first year in the league after shifting from the Big East, will play a game Saturday in Miami that works pretty much the same way.

Thanks to the 11th-ranked Hokies' 24-10 victory over No. 16 Virginia yesterday before 65,115 at Lane Stadium, the implications of the Tech-Miami game are simple.

If the Hokies (6-1, 9-2) win, they are outright ACC champions and will represent the league in the Bowl Championship Series - almost certainly in the Sugar Bowl. If the Hurricanes (5-2, 8-2) - idle this weekend - win, they will be tri-champions of the league along with Tech and Florida State (6-2, 8-3).

Miami would then get the BCS slot based on a higher finish in the BCS rankings.

In short, the Miami-Tech game is winner take all for the ACC's biggest bowl. The loser will fall to the Gator Bowl or the Peach Bowl.

"We got one big one to go," said Tech coach Frank Beamer, whose team has won seven straight. "We're going to enjoy this one. It is a great win for this program, these kids, our coaching staff . . . we can make a BCS [bowl] and we can have this title outright. It's going to be a large, large order. I think this football team looks forward to challenges."

Said senior defensive tackle Jim Davis, "Just when you think the games don't get much bigger, you turn around next week and have an enormous one down in South Beach. It's not going to be easy. I've been there twice and got my tail handed to me twice. Miami, you never know what you're going to get with them. We'll get their best shot. It'll be a different environment, but we've been up for the challenge all year long."

It would not be possible for Tech if it hadn't been able to avenge last year's loss to Virginia. The Hokies have now won five of the past six against the Cavaliers, and they retook possession of the Commonwealth Cup.

Last year, Virginia did what it wanted on offense to the tune of 458 yards.

Yesterday, Virginia gained 299 yards, and 78 of them came on a single run by Alvin Pearman. It would have been a 94-yard touchdown if Tech's Jimmy Williams hadn't run him down. Pearman finished with 147 yards on 28 carries. No other Cavalier did significant damage. Heath Miller, who had 13 receptions against the Hokies last season, had two yesterday.

Particularly damaging to Virginia were two trips inside the Tech 20 that netted three points. On the first, Wali Lundy fumbled and Jonathan Lewis recovered for the Hokies. On the second, the Cavaliers had first and goal on the 1 after a pass-interference penalty and were forced to settle for a 19-yard Connor Hughes field goal.

"That was a great effort right there and that was the difference," Beamer said.

Said Virginia coach Al Groh, "In the long run, it was two running plays: the one where we fumbled down there and the one where we didn't get it on the first down play. For all the good the running game was for us, it was two running plays that really kind of let us down."

Tech, meanwhile, hurt Virginia from long range three times after the teams played a scoreless first half. Senior quarterback Bryan Randall found freshman receiver Josh Hyman with 45- and 32-yard scoring passes. The scoring ended with 5:08 to play when junior tailback Cedric Humes, getting extensive time because of Mike Imoh's injured hamstring, burst through the line and scored from 37 yards out.

The first Randall-to-Hyman touchdown pass gave Tech the lead with 5:41 to play in the third quarter. Virginia, which scored its touchdown on a 32-yard pass from Marques Hagans to Pearman, tied it with 13:03 left on the Hughes field goal. Randall found Hyman again on Tech's next possession.

"When it looked the worst, that's when we played the best," Beamer said. "And that's been this team . . . I think we have a lot of heart."

Virginia's regular season is finished. The Hokies' isn't - the big one in Miami remains. Tech has beaten Miami six times, including a 31-7 decision last year in Blacksburg. Two of those six victories, in 1996 and 1998, came in Miami.

"It would mean so much" to win, senior linebacker Mikal Baaqee said. "I've been here five years now and never been to a BCS game. I believe in this team."

Cavs feeling blue over red-zone errors
U.Va. misses out on two big chances when it can't convert inside Hokies' 4
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG With 10 minutes left yesterday, Virginia and Virginia Tech were tied at 10. So to say the game slipped away from the Cavaliers in the first 50 minutes might not be altogether accurate.

Still, two series will haunt U.Va. until it meets its biggest rival again next year at Scott Stadium.

The first came late in the first quarter, with the score 0-0. Two plays after senior tailback Alvin Pearman raced 78 yards to the Hokies' 16, junior tailback Wali Lundy rumbled 6 yards for a first down at the 4. Lundy, who's rushed for an ACC-best 16 touchdowns this season, got the call on the next play, too.

It ended in disaster for the 16th-ranked Cavaliers. Lundy failed to gain control of junior quarterback Marques Hagans' handoff, and the ball came free. Defensive tackle Jonathan Lewis, a Varina High product, pounced on the fumble.

U.Va. (5-3, 8-3) entered the game having lost only three fumbles this season, the fewest of any ACC team. Hagans and Lundy declined to meet with reporters after Virginia's 24-10 loss at Lane Stadium, but fourth-year coach Al Groh addressed the turnover.

"It just looked like an exchange that occurs hundreds of time," Groh said. "It just wasn't made cleanly. In that particular circumstance, it's the quarterback's responsibility to see that the back gets the ball, and it's the back's responsibility to see that he gets the ball."

If that had been the Wahoos' only red-zone breakdown, they might have retained the Commonwealth Cup for another year. But after picking up a first down at the Hokies' 1-yard line about a minute into the final quarter, they couldn't get the ball into the end zone and had to settle for a Connor Hughes field goal that made it 10-10 with 13:03 remaining.

Pearman lost a yard on a first-down run, and then Hagans threw an incompletion on a pass intended for sophomore wideout Deyon Williams, well-covered by safety Vincent Fuller. On third down, the elusive Hagans turned the corner along the right sideline, but cornerback James Anderson forced him out at the 2.

"I guess you don't need a calculator to figure out that we left 14 points out there," Groh said. "Clearly that's how we see it, but with all due respect to Virginia Tech's defense, I think they can clearly say to themselves they saved 14 points."

The Cavaliers came in leading the ACC in total offense and ranked third in scoring offense (31.9 ppg). Only once, in a 36-3 loss to Florida State, had U.Va. been held to fewer than 16 points. It totaled 299 yards against the Hokies, 137 less than its average.

"We did fine with the running game throughout the game, but obviously we couldn't muster enough in the passing game to balance it out," Groh said.

And yet, he pointed out, for "all the good the running game was for us, it was two running plays that kind of let us down."

Pearman finished with 147 yards on 28 carries, and he made a spectacular catch in the end zone on a 32-yard pass from Hagans for Virginia's lone touchdown. Take away that play, though, and Hagans was 7 for 13 passing for 79 yards.

All-America tight end Heath Miller, who had 13 catches for 145 yards against Tech last season in Charlottesville, was held to 35 yards on two receptions yesterday.

 
U.Va.'s bowl berth cloudy
Cavs would decline Orlando bid because of conflict with exams
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech remains in contention for a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

Virginia's postseason destination? Who knows?

Most observers around the ACC expected that if the Cavaliers lost to Tech yesterday - which they did - they'd end up facing a Big 12 opponent in the Dec. 21 Champs Sports Bowl at Orlando, Fla.

But that was before U.Va. made a stunning announcement immediately after the game at Lane Stadium.

In a news release, U.Va.'s president, John T. Casteen III, said the team would decline an invitation to any bowl held during the university's final exams, which run from Dec. 13 to Dec. 21. So much for Orlando.

"It is important for the university to send the right message to its students, faculty and alumni that academics come first at U.Va.," Casteen said, "and that we cannot disrupt the final-exam schedule for a sporting event. This was a decision made in the best interest of all our students - including students who play football."

Possibilities for the Cavaliers (5-3, 8-3) now might include the Dec. 27 MPC Computers Bowl at Boise, Idaho, the Dec. 28 Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La., the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn., and the Dec. 31 Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tenn. The conferences with tie-ins to those last three games may not have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all their available slots.

Virginia's decision shocked officials in Orlando, who weren't informed until the middle of last week that there might be a problem.

Asked before yesterday's game about potential issues with the Champs Sports Bowl, formerly the Tangerine, U.Va. Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said, "Right now, all I'd be able to say is we're going to be working with the conference office to see where we are."

In the release, Littlepage said a bowl game has an impact on "the entire university community - especially on our players, student managers and trainers, band members and cheerleaders. All of our students should be focused primarily on studying at that time.

"There will still be a number of good bowl options available to us this year."

The ACC has tie-ins with the BCS and five other bowls: the Gator, Peach, Champs Sports, Continental Tire and MPS Computers. Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State, in some order, figure to fill the ACC's slots in the BCS, Gator and Peach. North Carolina has accepted a bid to play in the Continental Tire. Georgia Tech, which lost yesterday to Georgia, wasn't a team in which the Champs Sports had much interest, but Virginia's decision could change that.

The Cavaliers may well end up in Boise if the ACC doesn't engineer a trade in which a team from another conference would switch with Virginia in a bowl.

U.Va. coach Al Groh declined to discuss his team's possible destinations.

"I'm really just thinking about this game here. We weren't thinking about the future coming down here, we were just thinking about how to win," Groh said.

"But I can tell you that we're looking forward to playing another game, we're looking forward to doing the things necessary to improve our team and make it better than it was today, and we're looking forward to winning whoever and wherever we play."

Stand defined Tech defense
Stand defined Tech defense as a team unit Cavs were kept out of end zone from the 1 by several contributors
BY NATE RYAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 28, 2004

BLACKSBURG When its moment to shine arrived in yesterday's 24-10 victory over Virginia, the Virginia Tech defense fittingly took turns sharing the spotlight at Lane Stadium.

On first and goal from the Hokies' 1, linebacker Vince Hall and defensive end Noland Burchette stuffed Cavaliers running back Alvin Pearman for a 1-yard loss.

On second down, free safety Vincent Fuller lunged and knocked away an end zone pass intended for U.Va. wideout Deyon Williams.

On third down, linebacker James Anderson flushed Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans out of bounds for no gain.

It was a goal-line stand that defined the Hokies' defense as a team unit and doomed the Cavaliers' offense to a 19-yard field goal.

"It was huge, that's what provided our momentum the rest of the game," said end Jim Davis, the defense's vocal leader from Highland Springs. "We just hunkered down and screamed that we would not let them in the end zone. That's what turned the game around for us."

The defense kept Tech (6-1, 9-2) in the game while its offense sputtered for two quarters.

The Hokies became the first team to hold the Cavaliers (5-3, 8-3) scoreless in the first half this season, and they did it by neutralizing virtually every offensive option for U.Va. aside from Pearman, who rushed for 78 of his 147 yards on one play.

Heath Miller, the Cavs' star tight end who tore up Tech for 13 catches for 145 yards last year, was held to only two catches for 35 yards. Hagans, who had averaged nearly 5 yards a carry in U.Va.'s previous 10 games, was held to 27 yards on 13 rushing attempts.

They spread the wealth while making the stops. Every starter on defense recorded multiple tackles, and many had memorable moments such as Burchette, another Highland Springs product who forced a fumble on a sack late in the fourth quarter.

His squad's depth and unselfishness pleases Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster.

"Without a doubt, this group of kids has been as fun to be around as any I've had here," Foster said. "It's almost like a new guy steps up every week. There's no individuals; it's all 'we.' [Anderson] exemplifies that. He's paid his dues, earned his starting position and been very, very solid for us. He keeps getting better all the time."

Anderson, a 6-3 224-pounder from Chesapeake, led Tech with 37 tackles on special teams last year but made only four on defense. He surpassed that total with seven yesterday, bringing his season total to 40.

"This year, I fit in more with everybody else because we're more about a team and each other," Anderson said. "We're playing as one together."

Said defensive end Darryl Tapp, who registered five tackles and recovered a fumble: "Guys understand they have to win their own battle and not worry about playing two positions. A lot of times last year, guys got caught out of position because they were getting caught up in other people's plays. This year, everyone focuses on their own battles, and it's working out."

Even during one of its lone breakdowns, the Tech defense didn't break. On a first down from the Virginia 6 with 4:17 left in the first quarter, Alvin Pearman burst through the right side and accelerated down the right sideline.

But cornerback Jimmy Williams chased down Pearman for a touchdown-saving tackle after a 78-yard gain. Three plays later, Varina graduate Jonathan Lewis pounced on a fumble by Wali Lundy.

"Whatever it was, speed or whatever it might be, they played a very good game," U.Va. coach Al Groh said.

Davis, who also kept U.Va. off the scoreboard by blocking his third kick of the season, said it's all about "just keeping everybody together.

"This team is so unified," he said. "The guys love one another, and we want the same thing. We just love to play football, man."