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Loss to Tech muddles UVa's bowl outlook
 By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
Dec 1, 2002
 
BLACKSBURG - Craig Littlepage used to have a Peach Bowl logo affixed to the lapel of his blue blazer. But even before the opening kickoff of Saturday's game at Lane Stadium, Virginia's athletic director took off that logo and replaced it with a similar one from the Tangerine Bowl.

With the Peach Bowl extending an invitation to Maryland, Littlepage turned his attention to lobbying for a Tangerine Bowl bid. Not that he was particularly happy about it.

Littlepage clearly was displeased that both the Gator and Peach Bowls bypassed the Cavaliers, who beat the ACC teams invited to those games. N.C. State accepted a Gator Bowl bid last week.

"A team's performance should stand for a lot more than being bowl eligible," Littlepage said. "That's the frustrating thing. This team has done all it could, especially in head-to-head meetings with the teams we were competing against."

Virginia lost to Virginia Tech, 21-9, and finished the regular season with an 8-5 record. Had they won Saturday, the Cavaliers still would not be going to Atlanta. Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan issued an invitation to the Terrapins following their 32-14 victory over Wake Forest earlier in the day.

UVa went 6-2 in conference play, tying Maryland for second place in the ACC. N.C. State finished in fourth at 5-3. The Cavaliers defeated the Wolfpack, 14-9, and the Terrapins, 48-13.

Littlepage said he was disappointed that Virginia apparently was punished for its tough schedule. Maryland and N.C. State each finished at 10-3, two games better than UVa, while playing significantly easier nonconference opposition. Gator and Peach representatives cited overall record as a factor in their decisions.

Because of that, Littlepage said he and coach Al Groh have discussed scheduling fewer tough opponents in the future.

"It's a shame to think that way because I know Al wants to play the best, but that has not benefited us," Littlepage said. "When you've had the kind of season we've had and get the short end of the stick, you really have to re-evaluate things."

Said Groh: "With all due respect to Wofford, maybe we should get them on the schedule."

The Tangerine Bowl, played Dec. 23 in Orlando, Fla., will hold a selection committee meeting today at 2 p.m. It will choose either Virginia, Clemson (7-4, 4-4 ACC) or Georgia Tech (7-5, 4-4).

"We would be pleased and honored to have Virginia," said Tangerine Bowl scout Bill Spicer. "It's a great school with a lot of tradition. I think they'd bring a lot of fans to Orlando. But it's up to the committee."

The Tangerine Bowl gives one vote to each of its 100-plus scouts. The bowl sold fewer than 30,000 tickets to last year's game, so the committee may look favorably on the Tigers, whose fans could drive more easily to Orlando. That factor might trump Virginia's superior record and 22-17 victory over Clemson, meaning the No. 2 team in the ACC could be left out of the conference's top four bowls.

"In an otherwise bizarre scenario that has developed over the last two weeks, it would continue to move in the direction of the bizarre," Littlepage said of that hypothetical situation.

Other possibilities are the Continental Tire Bowl, held Dec. 28 in Charlotte, N.C., and the Seattle Bowl on Dec. 30.

Ken Haynes, chairman of the Continental Tire Bowl, said he would have to wait until after the Tangerine's selection to choose from the two teams that remain among Virginia, Georgia Tech and Clemson. The Seattle Bowl has the next pick.

Virginia Tech (9-3) may be the Big East representative in the Continental Tire Bowl. In that case, the bowl is unlikely to schedule a rematch of Saturday's game, so the Cavaliers could end up in Seattle.

"Don't care who we play," said senior linebacker Merrill Robertson. "Anyone, anywhere, anytime. We just want to play."

 

 

Virginia Tech stuffs Virginia
 By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
Nov 30, 2002
 
BLACKSBURG - Those weren't the winds of change blowing through Lane Stadium.

Virginia Tech maintained its stranglehold on the Commonwealth Cup, beating Virginia for the fourth straight time, 21-9, on Saturday. The largest crowd (65,097) to attend a football game in state history braved swirling winds and occasional snow flurries to watch the Hokies extend their reign of state supremacy.

The weather dramatically affected the action on the field, but UVa coach Al Groh repeatedly refused to use the conditions as an excuse. "The other team played well enough to win, whether this game was played in Blacksburg or Bermuda," he said.

It might as well have been the Bermuda Triangle for the Cavaliers (8-5), whose prolific passing game disappeared in the nearly 40-miles per hour gusts. Matt Schaub, the ACC player of the year, threw for a season-low 43 yards on 12-for-23 passing. Virginia Tech's defense also was inclement, snuffing out the screens and short throws that Virginia was forced to try.

The 22nd-ranked Hokies (9-3), meanwhile, were able to turn to their strengths - special teams and a punishing ground game - to create the longest streak in the 84-game rivalry since they won four straight from 1980-83.

They blocked a punt for a touchdown and rushed for 272 yards. On 61 offensive plays, they ran 50 times, with senior Lee Suggs producing 108 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore Kevin Jones running for 91 yards.

"We blocked them well up front and those backs were really running, boy," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Cavaliers now appear destined for either the Tangerine, Continental Tire or Seattle bowls, while the Hokies await an invitation to the Continental Tire or Insight.com bowls.

UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage said it would be "bizarre" if the Tangerine Bowl, played Dec. 23 in Orlando, Fla., does not choose the Cavaliers today. But the Tangerine may pick Clemson because of its relative proximity to the bowl site.

The weather made Saturday's game a bit bizarre. Two of the nation's six top-rated quarterbacks were on the field, but the teams combined for just 136 passing yards. The team with the wind at its back ended up scoring all of the game's points.

"It wasn't a good day for kickers or throwers," said Groh, who opted to take the wind, rather than the ball, to open the game. He hoped the wind would help his team get off to a good start, and it did.

Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall's second pass sailed over receiver Ernest Wilford's head and landed in the arms of safety Willie Davis, who raced 22 yards to the Hokies' 20-yard line.

The Cavaliers advanced to the 2 but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Connor Hughes when fullback Jason Snelling fell on his own fumble on third down.

With UVa ahead 3-0, the momentum turned as soon as the teams changed ends of the field. On the third play of the second quarter, Justin Hamilton shot up the middle and smothered Tom Hagan's punt, Tech's seventh blocked kick of the season. Freshman defensive end Darryl Tapp picked up the ball and rumbled 11 yards into the end zone.

The Hokies scored again following another special-teams gaffe by the Cavaliers. Hagan dropped the snap on his next punt attempt and alertly threw to safety Shernard Newby for an eight-yard gain. It turned out to be UVa's second-longest completion of the day, but it was a yard short of a first down, so Tech took over at its own 39.

With a favorable wind, Randall completed four passes on the ensuing drive, including a 20-yarder to Wilford on third-and-6 to the UVa 11. Suggs took it from there, running three straight times and scoring from four yards out to make it 14-3. It was the 25th straight game in which Suggs has scored at least one touchdown, extending his own NCAA Division I-A record.

Suggs later clinched the victory with a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter as he and Jones combined for 144 yards in the second half.

"You have to give them credit," said UVa senior linebacker Merrill Robertson. "They both have great speed, great power and they're very shifty. That's all you want in a running back."

Randall did not complete any of his three passes in the second half, but he ran for 67 yards and made several key third-down conversions on nifty scrambles.

The Cavaliers stayed close thanks to freshman tailback Wali Lundy, who rushed for a career-high 127 yards on 29 carries. They also forced three turnovers, two of which led to scores.

Early in the third quarter, reserve defensive lineman Justin Walker stripped Jones of the ball and linebacker Angelo Crowell recovered at the Virginia Tech 29. Five plays later, Schaub threw to tight end Heath Miller, who shed an arm tackle by roverback Michael Crawford and scored on a 15-yard play. It was Schaub's 27th touchdown pass of the season and Miller's ninth touchdown catch.

Hughes was wide left on the extra point, leaving the Cavaliers with a 14-9 deficit, but they still had the wind and, soon enough, another good scoring opportunity.

All-ACC receiver Billy McMullen, who caught four passes for 14 yards, went 19 yards on a reverse to give Virginia a first down at the Tech 33. But Lundy fumbled a pitch from Schaub and fell on the ball for a nine-yard loss. Two plays later, Schaub's deep pass to McMullen was picked off by cornerback Garnell Wilds.

The Cavaliers gained just four yards on two fourth-quarter possessions, and the Hokies put the game away with a six-play, 56-yard drive. Jones carried on the first three plays, gaining 29 yards, and Suggs went the rest of the way on three straight handoffs, scoring with 5:08 remaining.

Virginia's seniors became the first Cavalier class since 1983 never to defeat the Hokies.

"I'm pissed off about it. Nothing I can do about it," Robertson said. "We had a chance to win. We just didn't make the plays and they did. They deserved it."

 

 

 

Cold, windy weather favors 'Beamer Ball'
 By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
Nov 30, 2002
 
BLACKSBURG -

When Al Groh turned on the six o'clock weather from his hotel room Friday night and saw a forecast that called for some of the worst weather that Southwest Virginia had to offer, the coach grew a little more concerned.

With freezing temperatures, wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour and snow flurries swirling throughout Lane Stadium, the conditions reminded the Virginia coach more of some of the old NFC East battles he participated in while coaching with the New York Giants back in the 1980s.

Clearly, this would be a game where grind-it-out, physical football, ruled the day. It's an age-old tenet Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer has built his program upon, a strong running game, intimidating defense and spectacular special teams play.

On most days, particularly when the hawk flies as it did Saturday, the smart money is on "Beamer Ball."

Bottom line: Virginia's All-ACC quarterback Matt Schaub, who came into the game averaging 248 yards passing per game, was held to a mere 43 yards through the air.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech was right on its numbers, depending on their trusty old pak-yaks Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones to stack up 272 yards rushing. Throw in a blocked punt, returned for a touchdown, one of the key staples in Tech football and the results were predictable.

Virginia Tech 21, Virginia 9.

The Commonwealth Cup, which goes to the winner, has resided in Blacksburg for so long that it may be difficult to dislodge from its resting place. It was the fourth straight win for Beamer's Hokies in the series, the longest such streak by either of the old rivals since the early 1980s when Bill Dooley and George Welsh used to wage war on the gridiron.

"The wind probably had a little bit bigger role when the ball was in the air than it did in calling plays, but both teams played in the same wind," said Groh, refusing to use the weather as an excuse. "That is a big part of our game. It made it a little more difficult to execute that, but that's not any excuse."

Still, it is difficult to overlook the fact that Tech throws the ball on average about 19 times per game, while Virginia relies on the airways much more, averaging 31 throws per game.

"They're a throwing team," said Tech back Lee Suggs, who owns an NCAA record of scoring a touchdown in 25 consecutive games. "It's hard to throw the ball when the wind is blowing at 25 or 30 miles per hour and it's snowing. That's difficult to do."

Even Beamer, who has stood on these sidelines for the past 16 years, said it "was probably as rough as I've seen it in there, quite honestly," in reference to the weather.

Wisely, Groh chose to take the wind in the first quarter, knowing Tech's penchant for burying teams early in games. Each time the Cavaliers had the wind at their backs, there was a sense of urgency to play at a quicker pace in order to take advantage.

Into the wind? Forget about it.

What was that old Jim Croce line about spittin' into the wind?

"It was less than optimum conditions," said Groh. "It wasn't a good day for kickers or throwers."

Tech punter Vinnie Burns kicked five times for an average of 28 yards. UVa's punter booted seven, had one blocked in perhaps the biggest play of the game, but averaged 34.2 on the other six.

Hokies quarterback Bryan Randall completed only 5 of 11 passes, but only attempted three throws the entire second half as Beamer wisely chose to keep it on the ground.

Virginia All-ACC wide receiver Billy McMullen ended the night with more yards rushing (19 on an end around) than receiving (four catches for 14 yards).

Schaub, who sent UVa's record-keepers reaching for the white out all season long, said that such wind was a quarterback's nightmare.

"I threw one mini-fade to McMullen [into the wind] and all of a sudden it kept rising and rising and almost went into the stands," said Schaub. "I said to myself, 'I don't think he can jump and get that one.'

"Certain types of throws you have to take into account what the wind might do to the ball," said the ACC Player of the Year. "On touch throws you might have to put more zip on them or the wind can take it and do whatever it wants. And you want to keep the ball low rather than letting it get up into the wind."

Groh was asked about the effect of the wind so often that he finally ended his frustration with a final weather statement.

"I'm finished talking about it. The other team played well enough to win whether the game was played in Blacksburg or Bermuda," said Groh.

In Bermuda, Groh's guys might have had better odds.

"The wind was definitely a factor but not the biggest factor," said Tech cornerback Garnell Wilds, who slammed the door on UVa's last serious scoring threat with an interception at the Hokies' 11-yard line late in the third quarter. "I think our defense played a big part in that."

Beamer didn't disagree. Tech's defensive coordinator Bud Foster didn't stunt much, which didn't allow Schaub to get single coverage for hook-ups to McMullen.

It came down to good old-fashioned, rock 'em, sock 'em football, something Groh has pined for since his arrival in Charlottesville. He knows that in future meetings with the rival Hokies he will be better equipped to manage these mano o mano battles.

"We held them down pretty good for three quarters," said UVa freshman linebacker Darryl Blackstock. "In the fourth quarter we started cracking. You can't let a team rush for 250 yards or more on you and you can't let them block punts. You're just asking a team to beat you when you do that."

Senior safety Jerton Evans said he never feared Tech's passing game but knew that trying to contain the Hokies tailback tandem, nicknamed "The Untouchables" would be a challenge.

"[Tech] made one good pass play all night," said Evans. "The rest was Jones and Suggs. They made the difference in the game."

Having broken a three-game losing streak, which relegated Tech to a less-than-expected bowl date, the Hokies get their own shot at the nation's No. 1 Miami team this Saturday in the Orange Bowl, where the weather should be dramatically less in Tech's favor.

Virginia, bitter over snubs from the Gator and Peach Bowls, should learn its bowl fate this afternoon or early Monday.

Weather conditions? Hmmm, Orlando, Charlotte or Seattle. Guess which one the Cavaliers would choose.


 

 

Hokies get their kicks against Virginia
By PAUL WHITE, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 1, 2002

BLACKSBURG — On a Hokie kind of day, Virginia Tech finally returned to the Hokie style of play.
Faced with blustery winds, biting cold and occasional snow flurries, the Hokies used “Beamerball” special teams, defense and a grind-it-out rushing attack to fight off Virginia 21-9 Saturday before a state-record crowd of 65,097 at Lane Stadium.

These characteristics, which had defined Tech football under coach Frank Beamer and were the key components in the Hokies’ 8-0 start, were often scarcely in evidence during the three-game losing streak that followed.

But Tech tailback Lee Suggs realized things would be different when he woke up Saturday morning, looked outside his window and saw the leaves swaying wildly on the trees.

“With the wind blowing like that, I knew we were going to have to just settle in and run the football today,” Suggs said.
Suggs did most of the running. Playing in his final home game at Tech, Suggs dashed for 108 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Fellow tailback Kevin Jones added 91 rushing yards and was at his best when he combined with Suggs on the game-clinching, fourth-quarter drive that was vintage “Untouchables.”

After the Hokies took over at the Virginia 44-yard line, Jones zig-zagged through the Cavaliers’ defense for 20 yards, picked up 4 more on his next carry, then bounced off a pile at the line of scrimmage to bull forward for another 5. Suggs skipped up the middle for 6, Jones added 3 more, and then Suggs finished things off by sweeping left for 6 yards into the end zone to give the Hokies their 21-9 advantage.

The Cavaliers still had 5:08 to work with. But with the wind and the Hokie defense in their face, it was clear Virginia was done.

“It’s not easy coming back from three losses when you really know in your heart you could have won each and every one of them,” Beamer said. “That’s why this one was so important. And the fact that it’s Virginia. It’s our in-state rival.”

Bad weather likely won’t be a concern for Tech the rest of the way. After closing out the regular season Saturday at top-ranked Miami, the Hokies (9-3) appear headed to Phoenix for the Insight Bowl on Dec. 26.

The Hokies had seemed bound for the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, which has the fourth pick of Big East bowl-eligible teams. Tech is the conference’s fourth-place team.

But Insight Bowl official Evan Paoletti acknowledged before Saturday’s game that the Hokies were still strong candidates to receive an invitation. Minutes after the final horn, Paoletti was ushered into the Hokie locker room.

The official word could come as soon as Monday.

“We don’t care where we play,” Tech safety Willie Pile said. “Phoenix, Charlotte, Phoenix. Whoever takes us is going to get an excellent program.”

Virginia (8-5) had been the hot team heading into Saturday’s game, as the Cavaliers rode the accurate arm of quarterback Matt Schaub, the ACC Player of the Year, to victories in eight of their last 10 games.

But this time, it was Virginia’s running game that kept the Cavaliers in it, as Wali Lundy churned out a career-high 127 yards.

Meanwhile, winds that gusted up to 45 mph rendered Schaub stunningly ineffective. Passes fluttered out of his right hand like knuckleballs and too often either sailed over his receivers’ heads or settled harmlessly into the painted turf in front of them.

Schaub, who completed 12 of 23 passes for just 43 yards, called the conditions the worst he’d ever played in.

The run-oriented Hokies seemed better equipped to deal with the elements. But they surprisingly came out throwing the ball and wound up paying a steep price for this tactic when a Bryan Randall pass was picked off by Virginia safety Willie Davis and returned to the Hokie 20-yard line.

The play set up Connor Hughes’ 20-yard field goal that put the Cavaliers ahead 3-0.

Things stayed that way until the second quarter when the Cavaliers had to punt into the wind and Beamer turned his punt-block unit loose. Coming through clean up the middle, Justin Hamilton smacked Tom Hagan’s kick back to the Virginia 11-yard line.

Freshman end Darryl Tapp collected it and scampered into the end zone to put the Hokies ahead for good.

“I just scooped and scored,” said Tapp, the former Deep Creek High star. “That play seemed to gear everything back on track for us.”

Suggs tacked on a 5-yard scoring run later in the quarter to send Tech into halftime up 14-3.

The Cavaliers capitalized on a Randall fumble — Tech’s third turnover of the day — when Schaub connected with tight end Heath Miller for a 15-yard TD pass with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

But despite having the wind at its back the rest of the quarter, Virginia was unable to mount another offensive. And when the teams changed ends for the final 15 minutes, Suggs, Jones and the Hokie running game sealed the outcome for the home team.

“It is my strong objective to be a good running team and a good passing team, and I think we’re getting close,” Beamer said. “But there are times when you need to just run the football. This was one of those times.”

 

 

Bowling leaves Cavs in gutter
In all likelihood, Virginia either will play in the Tangerine Bowl or the Continental Tire Bowl.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

BLACKSBURG - Virginia's hopes for a Peach Bowl bid had vanished before the Cavaliers ever took the field Saturday at Lane Stadium.
Could the Tangerine Bowl be the next postseason game with ACC ties to snub the conference's co-runner-up?

"In an otherwise bizarre scenario, as this has evolved over the last two weeks, it would continue to move in the direction of the bizarre," UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage said Saturday.

"It certainly could happen."

Virginia had hoped, after a 48-13 victory over Maryland that clinched at least a second-place tie with the Terps, that it would be under consideration by the Gator Bowl and Peach Bowl.

The Gator Bowl, with the second choice of ACC teams, announced Monday that it was taking fourth-place North Carolina State (10-3, 5-3 ACC) after saying that it would postpone its decision until this weekend.

As ACC champion, Florida State (9-4, 7-1) was guaranteed a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

The Peach Bowl, with the third choice of ACC teams, had a scout at the UVa-Virginia Tech game but made its preference apparent by sending bowl president Gary Stokan to the Maryland-Wake Forest game.

Maryland (10-3, 6-2) was putting the finishing touches on a 32-14 victory when the Terps started preparing a news release that was faxed to the media at 2:57 p.m.

The Tangerine Bowl, with the fourth choice of ACC teams, could announce its pairings as early as today. UVa (8-5, 6-2) is no sure bet to get that bid over Clemson (7-5, 4-4).

Only the Gator Bowl and Peach Bowl are bound contractually to take a team that finishes two games ahead of another bowl-eligible team in the conference race.

If the Tangerine Bowl passes on the Cavaliers, next up would be the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., although that could be a problem if the Continental Tire Bowl gets Virginia Tech.

Continental Tire Bowl executive director Ken Haines said Saturday that his bowl has an understanding with the Big East that the conference will send Virginia Tech or West Virginia to Charlotte if possible.

The Big East could strong-arm the Insight Bowl into taking Pittsburgh, but that is unlikely. Pittsburgh played in the Insight Bowl two years ago.

In all likelihood, Virginia either will play in the Tangerine Bowl on Dec.23 against a Big 12 opponent or in the Continental Tire Bowl on Dec.28 against Pittsburgh.

It might be easier for many Virginia fans to get to Charlotte, N.C., but neither Littlepage nor Groh is comfortable with the way the Cavaliers have been treated.

"I hate to beat a dead horse," Littlepage said, "but when you talk about head-to-head competition, you talk about strength of schedule, you talk about the second-place finish, finishing strong [and] beating Maryland 48-13, how could you not take Virginia?

"The thing that separates Virginia from N.C. State and Maryland is wins against Eastern Michigan and Wofford [for Maryland] and East Tennessee State and Massachusetts [for N.C. State]. That is the only difference."

The Terrapins and Wolfpack each have 10 victories, two more than Virginia, which is now re-evaluating a schedule that included nonconference games with nationally ranked South Carolina, Penn State and Virginia Tech. Colorado State, the Cavaliers' opening-game opponent, later entered the Top 25.

"I think the bowl people have made a statement that, while the players and coaches understand that the issue is decided on the field, in this particular case the issue was decided through some back-room politics," said Groh, seen huddling long after the game with ACC assistant commissioner Mike Finn.

"I think they've also confirmed that it doesn't pay [to play a strong schedule]. With all due respect to Wofford, maybe you should get them on the schedule."

 

 

Wind doesn't blow game in anyone's favor
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

BLACKSBURG - You could spend a lifetime playing and watching and coaching football and not see a team do what Virginia did Saturday at Virginia Tech.
Hokies coach Frank Beamer, gracious after a 21-9 victory, never had.

"Not that I haven't thought about it," said Beamer, whose team got the ball to start both halves Saturday as the result of UVa's decision to take the wind.

The Lane Stadium crowd had barely settled into its seats when the head referee flipped his coin and turned to Lee Suggs and three other Tech game captains, who indicated Tech would defer its choice until the second half. The referee then asked UVa captains Billy McMullen and Angelo Crowell for their decision.

When McMullen motioned toward the north end zone, the first inclination was to think he had made a mistake. There were discussions with both coaches, as if some explanation was needed.

There was no mistake. One week after Detroit Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg was crucified for taking the wind in a game the Lions lost to the Chicago Bears, Groh sized up the 35-mph wind gusts at Lane Stadium and decided he didn't want to go against the wind in the first quarter.

It would be unfair to compare the Groh and Mornhinweg decisions. For one thing, Mornhinweg's decision came with the score tied at the end of regulation and the Lions facing sudden death.

As it turned out, Chicago kicked a winning field goal without Detroit getting the ball, but Mornhinweg may have been hailed as a genius if his move had the same result as Groh's.

On Tech's third play from scrimmage, Virginia safety Willie Davis intercepted a ball that Tech quarterback Bryan Randall overthrew and returned it to the Tech 20. Seven plays later, UVa had a 3-0 lead that it would keep until the second quarter.

"I don't think it was bad strategy," Beamer said when asked about Groh's call. "Matter of fact, I talked to [assistant] Billy Hite when we were telling Lee Suggs about what we wanted to do. I said, 'I almost want to take the wind right here.'"

In the Detroit-Chicago game, the first 34 points in a 20-17 game were scored by the team with the wind at its back. At Lane Stadium, all 30 points were scored by the team with the wind.

Beamer said he felt relieved that the Cavaliers led only 3-0 after the first quarter. After falling behind 14-3 at the half, Groh had another decision to make: take the wind in the third quarter or the fourth.

Normally, teams like the wind at their backs in the fourth quarter, but Beamer figured Groh would take the wind in the third quarter. UVa wouldn't want to fall too far behind, Beamer reasoned, and he was right.

In hindsight, it's hard to question Groh's decision. Strategy didn't lose the game for the Cavaliers; execution did.

"To talk about the wind, I think it was a factor in the game, but I'm finished talking about it because it just sounds like an excuse," Groh said. "The other team played well enough to win whether this game was played in Bermuda or Blacksburg."

After spending the last 15 years in Blacksburg, not counting his playing days here in the 1960s, Beamer knows something about playing in the wind. In fact, a building project in which the south end zone was expanded has reduced the wind-tunnel effect.

"I thought about taking the wind last year against Syracuse," said Beamer, whose Hokies were 6-0 before losing to the Orangemen 22-14, "and I thought about taking the wind today. There may be a time when I'll think about taking the wind again."

So, will he ever do it? Not until he sees it work.

 

 

Wind burns Hagan, 'Hoos
Blustery conditions and Virginia Tech's special teams leave Virginia's rookie punter and junior quarterback cold.
By MARK BERMAN
THE ROANOKE TIMES

BLACKSBURG - Tom Hagan's first football game against Virginia Tech did not go the way he had hoped.
Hagan, a freshman punter who graduated from Cave Spring High School, was involved in two special-teams blunders in Saturday's 21-9 loss to the Hokies.

The Hokies blocked a Hagan punt and returned it for a touchdown. Hagan fumbled the snap on another punt and had to pass, paving the way for another Tech score.

"This is a big game, a big loss," Hagan said in UVa's locker room at Lane Stadium. "Special teams is huge in every game, but this game especially because they were known for blocking those kicks and stuff, and it came and bit us in the butt."

Hagan wasn't the only deflated Cavalier. The Hokies (9-3) beat UVa (8-5) for the fourth straight year.

"We're disappointed in how we played," quarterback Matt Schaub said. "We didn't play to our potential and up to our expectations. . .. We hurt ourselves today."

UVa was hurt early in the second quarter when Hagan had to punt into the strong wind for the first time. With UVa at its own 47-yard line, Hagan's punt was blocked by Justin Hamilton. Darryl Tapp picked up the ball at the UVa 11 and ran up the right sideline for a touchdown to give Tech a 7-3 lead.

"I don't see what's developing in front of me while I'm kicking - I'm just trying to get it out," Hagan said, "but right when I looked up, they were there and they blocked it pretty good.

"You look up and the only thing I can do is get it off as quick as I can. Into the wind, you want to get it out of there. That was the most wind I've ever kicked in by far."

Hagan had more trouble later in the second quarter. On fourth-and-nine from the Tech 47, Hagan dropped the snap. A former high school quarterback, Hagan picked up the ball and threw an 8-yard pass to Shernard Newby. The Hokies took over at their own 39 and scored a touchdown nine plays later.

"The snap was really low. I should have caught it, though," Hagan said. "I looked up and they were right on me again.

"It was definitely going to get blocked if I tried to kick it. I just saw an opening and tried to make something out of it, but I got caught a little short."

Hagan, who averaged 34.2 yards on six punts, wasn't the only Cavalier who had a subpar day.

Schaub, the ACC player of the year, entered the game having thrown for a school-record 2,571 yards. The wind made passing difficult Saturday, though. Schaub was 12-of-23 for 43 yards and one touchdown with one interception.

"I've played in some games where there was like a torrential downpour, but nothing as windy," Schaub said. "The wind definitely has more affect [on the game plan] than anything else.

"We knew what the conditions would probably be and tried to prepare accordingly, but sometimes things don't go your way."

Does Schaub wish he could have played Tech under calmer conditions, to see if the Hokies could have stopped the UVa passing game?

"It kind of makes you feel that way, but it was like that for both teams," he said. "They made more plays."

The Hokies certainly did. Tech quarterback Bryan Randall was 5-of-11 for 85 yards, but the Hokies ran for 272 yards. Lee Suggs ran for 108 yards and fellow tailback Kevin Jones rushed for 91.

"We gave up more rushing yards than we wanted to," said senior safety Jerton Evans, a Jefferson Forest graduate. "They didn't have a passing game - No.19 [receiver Ernest Wilford] wasn't even a factor in the game. It was just Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones that we couldn't contain."

UVa's bright spot was Wali Lundy, who walked off the field holding the team most valuable player award after rushing for 127 yards. He would rather have walked off a winner.

"It's a real tough way to end the season, but we had a good season," Lundy said.

 

 

Hokies likely headed to desert
By RANDY KING
THE ROANOKE TIMES

BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech's football team will be heading west for the holidays.
Although an official announcement likely won't come for the next 24 to 48 hours, the Hokies appear to be a veritable lock to be the Big East Conference's representative in the Dec.26 Insight Bowl in Phoenix.

The 8:30 p.m. game to be played at Bank One Ballpark matches Big East No.3 vs. Pacific 10 No.4. UCLA (7-4), Oregon State (8-4) and Washington (7-5) are in the running for the bid from the Pac-10. The Bruins will have the inside track for the Pac-10 spot if they beat Washington State on Saturday, Insight official Evan Paoletti said Saturday.

Paoletti all but said Saturday his bowl will take the Hokies as their Big East team. The Phoenix bowl has the third pick of Big East clubs following the league's BCS entry and Gator Bowl participant, which will be West Virginia (9-3).

Following 22nd-ranked Tech's 21-9 victory over Virginia on Saturday, Paoletti entered the Hokies' field locker room and told the players it "was all but official" they would be coming to Phoenix.

"We're all figuring that's where we're going," Tech guard Jacob Gibson said. "We're glad. We were talking the other day, what are we going to do in Charlotte? Go to the Bass Pro Shop or something?"

Gibson was referring to the fact that recent speculation had Tech ticketed for the Dec.28 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte to face an ACC team.

Pittsburgh (8-4) is expected to get the Charlotte trip now.

Paoletti, who has made the trip to Blacksburg at least three times this season, loves the Hokies and the way they travel.

"Virginia Tech has great fan base and they travel probably as well as anybody in the Big East," Paoletti said. "Personally, I've watched them all year and I know they're only a few plays away from being an 11-0 team. They could have won all three games they lost.

"So I think quality-wise they're a very strong pick for us. There are a lot of things that point to Virginia Tech. I just think they'd be a great representative in our game."

The game pays each school $750,000. Tech is not guaranteed to receive that much because the Big East pools all of its bowl money and splits it depending on where a team finishes in the league race.

The game will be televised by ESPN.

BIG TAPP: Freshman defensive end Darryl Tapp has been playing football since seventh grade. He finally found the end zone for the first time.

Tapp scooped up a punt blocked by Justin Hamilton and returned it 11 yards for Tech's first touchdown.

SWEET SWEEP: Tech's victory was its fourth straight over Virginia, meaning a career sweep for the 13 Tech seniors.

"It's big," senior safety Willie Pile said. "We had a lot of big-time recruits here, we had lot of big players from state who came to this game. It just says a lot about your program when you go against the other big-time program in the state and you win consecutively. It just shows we have a big-time program around here.

"I haven't lost to 'em since I've been playing and hope these guys right behind can say that."

SPECIAL DAY: Tailback Lee Suggs had two touchdowns and extended his NCAA record streak to 25 consecutive games with a TD. The Roanoke native recorded his 11th career 100-yard rushing day, running for 108 yards in his Lane Stadium finale.

"I was standing in the tunnel when they were introducing seniors and it finally hit me that I wasn't going to play in Lane Stadium anymore," Suggs said. "It gave me extra energy. I think there was a little extra in everybody's tanks today."

NEXT UP: The Hokies will wrap up the 13-game regular season with a trip to No.1-ranked Miami on Saturday. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. and will be televised by WSET/Channel 13.

 

 

WIND-THRILL FACTOR: Hokies Chill Cavs
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 01, 2002

U.Va. punter Tom Hagan (10) looks back after Tech's Justin Hamilton (27) blocked Hagan's punt in the second quarter. Tech's Darryl Tapp scooped up the ball and ran it for a TD.
(Bruce Parker)
BLACKSBURG - Flags ringing Lane Stadium stood straight. The wind-chill factor made the temperature feel less than 30 degrees for much of the game. Snow flurries fell.

For Virginia Tech, it felt like paradise. A day on a Hawaiian beach could not have been more enjoyable to the Hokies, who beat archrival Virginia 21-9 before 65,097 well-chilled fans. The victory was Tech's fourth straight over Virginia, and it snapped a three-game losing streak.

"Anytime you're winning, it makes you feel a little warmer inside," Tech quarterback Bryan Randall said.

The largest crowd to see any football game in the state saw Tech improve to 9-3 with one game remaining. Virginia closed its regular season with an 8-5 record.

Wind tilted things in the favor of Tech.

The Hokies rely on a strong running game, which worked. Lee Suggs (108), Kevin Jones (91) and Randall (67) were the big parts of a ground game that netted 272 yards. Virginia relies on a strong passing game, which did not work. Though Virginia got a career-high 127 rushing yards from freshman Wali Lundy, it had just 203 total yards. Quarterback Matt Schaub, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year who had a 229.2-yards-per-game passing average, threw for only 43 yesterday.

Virginia coach Al Groh acknowledged that the wind was a factor. But after numerous questions Groh said, "I'm finished talking about it because then it just sounds like an excuse. The other team played well enough to win, whether this game was played in Bermuda or Blacksburg."

Tech coach Frank Beamer joked that he didn't even notice the weather. Then he fessed up.

"I did," Beamer said. "It was about as rough as I've seen in a while."

All 30 points were scored in the south end zone, when the teams were driving with the wind at their backs. In the first quarter, throwing into the wind, Randall was 0 for 3 passing with an interception. In the second quarter, Randall was 5 for 5 for 85 yards.

"You have to have a rocket arm to zing it through that wind," Randall said. "You want to act like it's not going to affect you. Being real, you know it is."

Virginia, going into the wind first, could manage only three points in the first quarter. Connor Hughes kicked a 20-yard field goal soon after Willie Davis picked off Randall.

Tech scored a pair of touchdowns on its first crack into the wind, though one had nothing to do with conditions. Justin Hamilton blocked a Tom Hagan punt, and Darryl Tapp picked it up and carried it 11 yards into the end zone. Later in the quarter, the Hokies got a 4-yard touchdown run from Suggs.

Virginia's turn. The Cavaliers got another turnover when Jones fumbled early in the third quarter. Taking over on Tech's 29, they scored on a 15-yard pass from Schaub to Heath Miller. Hughes' conversion kick missed.

Later in the quarter, Garnell Wilds picked off a Schaub pass near the end zone. That was Virginia's final possession with the wind at its back. Virginia Tech kept the ball for 11:21 of the final quarter and allowed Virginia just 4 yards on its two final-quarter possessions.

"Our defense did a good job," Groh said. "But I think you certainly have to recognize the great job Suggs and Jones did, particularly Lee Suggs, who obviously is a kid with great heart."

Beating a Virginia team that was coming off successive victories over ranked teams gave a team that needed one a significant boost.

"For our guys to come back and beat a quality team like Virginia says what they're all about," Beamer said. "I think my wife can tell you I haven't slept much the past couple of weeks.

"It's not only coming back from three losses when you really feel you could have won all of them of them. It's Virginia, our in-state rival."

Said defensive end Cols Colas, "We needed this one bad. Really bad."
 

 

 

Return to Beamerball basics is Hokies' route to triumph
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Dec 01, 2002
Contact Bob Lipper at (804) 649-6555 or e-mail blipper@timesdispatch.com

BLACKSBURG The students didn't rush the field. Maybe they were frozen stiff. Maybe they had a mass conversion to sanity at halftime. Whatever the case, they went with the flow.

This wasn't raucous stuff they witnessed yesterday. This wasn't razzmatazz or 7.0 on the Richter scale. This was no-frills, grunt-work football. You watch a tractor-pull of a game progress to gratifying conclusion, you applaud your hearts out from the stands and let it rest. Go nuts some other time.

Virginia Tech's Hokies laid a 21-9 lump on Virginia on this wind-swept occasion, and they did it the old-fashioned Beamerball way. The Hokies squeezed U.Va.'s offense dry. They bludgeoned the Cavs' pliant run defense with Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones. They got a special-teams TD on a blocked punt.

Sound familiar? Michael Vick's dazzle notwithstanding, this is how Virginia Tech has been winning for a decade. Run it, stop it, block it. The flip side is the Hokies had been losing for the better part of a month by performing a 180 from the tried and true. They were the ones whose kicks were blocked. They threw for 504 yards at Syracuse and lost.

And their resistance to any running back Pitt and West Virginia trotted out against them? Well, let's just say this crew wasn't looking as if it could claim Bruce Smith and Corey Moore as ancestors.

"Virginia Tech's been known for their defense, and I don't think we pulled our weight the last three games," junior end Cols Colas conceded. "We had to do it."

And they did - in spades. Tech's defense had been lit up for 1,474 yards in those three consecutive setbacks. Virginia managed only 203. The Cavs shook Wali Lundy loose for 100 yards in the first half. He finished with 127. Matt Schaub came to Lane Stadium with gaudy stats (69.7-percent completion ratio, 2,751 yards, 26 TDs) and ACC player-of-the-year credentials. He was 12 for 23 for the grand total of 43 yards and threw a damaging interception in Tech territory when it was 14-9 and still up for grabs.

"They did play pretty well," Schaub said. "They're a pretty high-motor defense. They kept coming after us."

Two plays - one open-space tackle, one punt block - pretty much decided this matchup. Oh, sure, there was more to it, of course. Suggs' power running and two TDs were big. U.Va.'s passing-game calls - long, chancy sideline and deep routes instead of quick pops into the gusting wind - were questionable. But what this outing boiled down to was Tech's ability to run the ball and bottle up Virginia's attack.

And those two plays.

The first of them was produced by Willie Pile, Tech's old, reliable free safety. Three snaps into this baby, Bryan Randall tossed a lousy pass U.Va. intercepted and returned to Tech's 20. It soon was third and goal from the 2. We're talking here about a squad on a three-game bender. Get socked with an early turnover and quick-strike touchdown, and who knows what happens to its tender psyche.

Instead, Pile stopped Jason Snelling for no gain after the 220-pound U.Va. fullback gathered a pass from Schaub. U.Va. got a field goal - but not the touchdown it wanted and Tech feared.

"We definitely thought we'd get seven out of that," Schaub said. "I think that would've been a huge momentum swing for us. That was almost like a mini-victory for them."

Justin Hamilton's punt block was of the maxi-results variety. He zoomed up the middle to all but smother Tom Hagan's attempt, and Darryl Tapp converted the effort into the go-ahead-for-good TD by scooping up the bouncing ball, racing 11 yards to the goal line and doing a lovely swan dive into the end zone.

"I had hoped all week I could do something big," Hamilton said. "I thought I maybe got the team going a little bit and helped us win. That's all I wanted to do."

All Tech wanted to do - needed to do - after that was pound away at U.Va. and muffle a Cavs offense that grew less productive as the game wore on.

"You always go back to the basics," Hokies linebacker Mikal Baaque said. "That's the way you win. Why change?"

Answer: You don't. Which tells you all you need to know about how Tech changed course and got its groove back.

 

 

U.Va. passing game can't weather Tech
QB Schaub's 43 yards 185 below his average
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 01, 2002

BLACKSBURG His predecessor as the University of Virginia, George Welsh, watched the Weather Channel religiously.

Second-year coach Al Groh may not be a budding meteorologist, but "given that the hawk flies around here quite a bit," he said last night, referring to the wind, "I started checking the extended forecast [last] Sunday morning to find out if we would in fact have a day like today."

Watching the 6 p.m. news Friday, Groh got his answer. "I was a little less than thrilled about it."

He wasn't thrilled about what unfolded at Lane Stadium yesterday, either. In blustery conditions that made it virtually impossible for either team to pass into the wind, Virginia ended its improbable regular season with a 21-9 loss to No. 22 Virginia Tech. Gusts reached 40 mph.

"It was kind of like you're throwing the ball, and where it goes, nobody knows," said Tech quarterback Bryan Randall, who completed 5 of 11 passes for 85 yards, with one interception.

In his postgame comments, Groh repeatedly said he didn't want to use the wind as an excuse. His players said the same thing. Both teams had to play in the wind, the Cavaliers accurately noted.

Tech (9-3), though, has two of the nation's premier tailbacks in Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones and likes to pound opponents with the run. They combined for 199 yards and two touchdowns rushing yesterday, and Randall ran for 67.

U.Va. (8-5) got a career-best 127 yards rushing from freshman Wali Lundy, but its offense is built around the right arm of Matt Schaub, a 6-5 junior who had thrown for 26 touchdowns in 12 games. Schaub, the ACC player of the year, entered with a completion rate of nearly 70 percent. Yesterday, he connected on only 12 of 23 attempts for a season-low 43 yards, about 185 fewer than his average.

In the fourth quarter, throwing into the wind, Schaub completed three passes for 6 yards.

"The wind was pretty strong and affected some of the things we wanted to do," Schaub said, "things that had worked for us in the past. It was a tough wind to play in for both teams, and we can't really use it as an excuse. But it was a factor in what we were trying to do."

Schaub said he's played in torrential downpours and prefers them over high winds.

"Wind definitely has more effect than anything else," Schaub said.

To hear Tech safety Willie Pile, however, the Hokies' defense had more to do with Schaub's struggles than the weather.

Schaub put up huge numbers "against good competition in the ACC," Pile said. "This is Virginia Tech. He hadn't played against us yet. Scheme-wise, we were able to do what we wanted. We stayed back, played basic coverage and manned up outside."

U.Va., with the wind at its back, pulled to 14-9 on Schaub's 15-yard TD pass to tight end Heath Miller with 10:09 left in the third quarter. In the final seconds of the third, however, Schaub underthrew a wide-open Billy McMullen, who was running a post pattern, and cornerback Garnell Wilds intercepted at the Tech 3.

The interception was only Schaub's seventh this season.

 

 

U.VA. NOTES
Dec 01, 2002

DESTINATION UNKNOWN: Virginia expects to learn today in which bowl it will play, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said yesterday at Lane Stadium.

If the Cavaliers (8-5) don't land in the Dec. 23 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla., they'll probably play in the Dec. 28 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., though Littlepage didn't rule out the Dec. 30 Seattle Bowl.

The approximately 100 members of the Tangerine's selection committee will vote on a conference call this afternoon. They're expected to choose between U.Va., which ended its regular season with a 21-9 loss to No. 22 Virginia Tech yesterday, and Clemson (7-5). The Continental Tire chooses after the Tangerine.

The Cavaliers, picked eighth in the ACC, went 6-2 and finished tied for second with Maryland. U.Va.'s victims included Clemson, which was 4-4 in conference play. Still, the Tigers ended the regular season on a high note, beating South Carolina last weekend, and might bring more fans than the Cavs to Orlando.

Should the Tangerine pick Clemson, Littlepage said that Charlotte, because of its location, would be more attractive than Seattle to U.Va.

"But to have the kind of season that we've had and to be going to a bowl is really the bottom line," Littlepage said. "We'll look at any of the bowls as confirmation that we're headed in the right direction."

NEW STRATEGY? Virginia may have to re-evaluate its scheduling philosophy, Littlepage said. "If we get a call asking us to play a game that would have been an attractive made-for-TV-type game, we'll have to think twice about it," he said.

The Cavaliers are incensed about a bowl-selection process that Littlepage repeatedly called "bizarre" yesterday.

The Gator Bowl, which had first pick of the ACC's non-BCS teams, selected N.C. State (5-3, 10-3) Tuesday. Yesterday, the Peach Bowl chose Maryland (6-2, 10-3).

Virginia edged State 14-9 on Nov. 16 and crushed Maryland 48-13 last weekend. Moreover, Littlepage pointed out, neither the Wolfpack nor the Terrapins played a grueling non-conference schedule.

State's opponents: New Mexico, Division I-AA members East Tennessee State and Massachusetts, Texas Tech and Navy, one of Division I-A's weakest teams. Outside the ACC, Maryland played Notre Dame, Akron, Eastern Michigan, Division I-AA Wofford and West Virginia.

Virginia's nonconference foes: Colorado State, South Carolina, Akron, Penn State and Virginia Tech. CSU, PSU and Tech are all nationally ranked and South Carolina was ranked when Virginia beat the Gamecocks.

"With all due respect to Wofford, maybe we should get them on the schedule," U.Va. coach Al Groh said.

SPECIAL-TEAMS SNAFUS: With the wind at his back, Virginia freshman Tom Hagan booted his first punt 27 yards. The game turned on his next punt, which Tech's Justin Hamilton blocked at the Virginia 36. The ball rolled to the 11, where freshman Darryl Tapp scooped it up.

Tapp dived into the end zone to make it 6-3 with 13:30 left in the second quarter, and the Hokies never trailed again.

On his next punt, into the wind on fourth and 9 from Tech's 47, Hagan dropped the snap. He picked up the ball and passed to Shernard Newby, who was tackled after an 8-yard gain. Later in the half, Hagan had a 16-yard punt.

Virginia freshman Connor Hughes, who had opened the scoring with a 20-yard field goal, missed an extra-point attempt that would have made it 14-10 in the third quarter. Hughes is the third U.Va. kicker to miss a PAT this season.

INJURY REPORT: Virginia lost its best offensive lineman, sophomore guard Elton Brown, with 4:37 left in the second quarter. The Cavaliers lost their top defensive lineman, sophomore end Chris Canty, with 14:34 left in the third.

Canty, a second-team all-ACC pick who had made eight tackles, lay writhing in pain for a couple minutes and had his arm in a sling after the game, according to Groh, who said he didn't know the specifics of the injury. Brown has been bothered by a stress fracture in his right foot.

MILLER TIME: Virginia tight end Heath Miller took sole possession of an ACC record when he caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Matt Schaub with 10:09 left in the third quarter. The TD reception was Miller's ninth, an ACC mark for touchdowns by a tight end. Miller, a redshirt freshman who came to U.Va. as a quarterback, had been tied with North Carolina's Mike Chatham (1979).

OFF AND RUNNING: Cavaliers tailback Wali Lundy, who rushed for 102 yards against Akron and 108 against North Carolina, had 100 (on 20 carries) at halftime yesterday. Lundy, a true freshman, finished with 127 yards on 29 carries, both career highs.

Sophomore tailback Marquis Weeks, who had started U.Va.'s previous two games, didn't play from scrimmage. Weeks hurt his ankle early in the second half against Maryland last weekend. - Jeff White


 

 

INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Ranking the ACC coaches
GREGG DOYEL
 

ELEVATOR

JOE ALLEVA

Duke athletics director makes good call on Franks. MOVING UP.

BAYLOR BEARS

Not good enough for Jim Grobe. MOVING DOWN.

BOBBY BOWDEN

Time to go? MOVING SIDEWAYS.

IN MY OPINION

Ranking the ACC coaches, from 1 through 9

Anyone could have picked the 2002 ACC Coach of the Year. How easy was it? Even I picked Virginia's Al Groh, who used freshmen, sophomores and a previously unimpressive quarterback to turn a loser into a winner.But who out there has the gumption, the guile -- the penchant for punishment -- to rank the ACC's coaches, one through nine?

Got yer rankings right here, pal.

Public service announcement: The following is based on what the coach did with the talent at hand -- not how he recruited two or three or four years ago, or how his team might have done if not for this injury or that suspension, or how many fans at Clemson or Florida State have my e-mail address. Bottom line, how did the coach play the hand he was dealt?

Groh is No. 1, for the reason listed above.

No. 2 is Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, who had even less to work with than last season, and almost won as much. Most of the time, when your quarterback is Scott McBrien and your tailback is Chris Downs, you're not Maryland. You're William & Mary. Even though Groh had a better year, Friedgen might be the ACC's smartest coach since Steve Spurrier.

No. 3 is N.C. State's Chuck Amato. He held his team together despite heavy preseason losses, had the Wolfpack in position to win every game, and put together near-perfect defensive game plans against more-talented Clemson and Florida State.

More on Clemson and Florida State in a minute. Make that several minutes.

We're only up to No. 4, and the ACC's No. 4 coach is Wake Forest's Jim Grobe, who has the Deacons bowl eligible for the second consecutive season despite being so desperate for help that at one point he actually asked me to kick field goals.

No. 5 is Chan Gailey, whose most remarkable achievement was keeping Georgia Tech's season intact after season-ending injuries to its best player on offense (tailback Tony Hollings) and defense (end Greg Gathers).

No. 6 is Duke's Carl Franks, whose team only won two games but could have won five more. Duke is still Duke, which means winning two games and almost winning five more is absolutely as much as anyone could have expected. Next season is a different story. Next season, the heat goes up: Duke ought to win at least three, maybe four.

No. 7 will be vacant. So will No. 8.

Trying to pick the best coaching job among North Carolina, Clemson and Florida State is like trying to pick the best one of my commentaries. They're all unintelligible.

Tied for ninth, then, are John Bunting (North Carolina), Tommy Bowden (Clemson) and Bobby Bowden (Florida State), all of whom did the absolute least with what they had to work with.

Clemson has several NFL-type receivers, two good running backs, two serviceable quarterbacks, the ACC's two leading interceptors at cornerback, and huge athletes on the defensive front. And this team goes 7-5? Shameful.

North Carolina isn't what it was last season, but the Tar Heels simply should not go 3-9. And if it weren't for special teams, they could have been 0-12. Think about it. Dan Orner hit three field goals of longer than 50 yards to beat Syracuse 30-22. Orner hit a field goal on the last play to beat Duke 23-21. And Arizona State missed four field goals in a 38-35 loss to the Tar Heels.

And Florida State? Even longtime aide Amato delivers a brutal blow to Saint Bobby's 2002 performance by repeatedly insisting very few teams in college football have the Seminoles' talent. And with all that talent, with two games left, Bowden might go 8-6.

NEWS AND NOTES

The inspirational news came at halftime. Maryland was playing Virginia last week when it learned how N.C. State had beaten Florida State -- meaning the Terps would win a share of the ACC title and almost assuredly the ACC's Bowl Championship Series invitation if they could finish off Virginia.

With everything to play for, Maryland stormed out of the locker room ... and tripped. Virginia won 48-13, perplexing Maryland's Friedgen.

"I don't know what to say," he said this week. "It's very, very difficult. There was so much riding on it -- that's what makes it so disappointing. These opportunities don't come along every day."


 

 

Seniors go out in style

Published December 1 2002

BLACKSBURG -- Its football season unraveling like a Ponzi scheme, Virginia Tech turned to its best Saturday.

The preacher's son and the born preacher.

The unassuming tailback and the boisterous free safety.

Lee Suggs and Willie Pile.

As high school seniors they shared a playoff game and a recruiting visit. As college freshmen they shared a dorm suite and a community car. Saturday, in their final game at Lane Stadium, they shared a landmark victory and countless memories.

With Suggs rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns, and Pile leading an air-tight pass defense, Virginia Tech defeated Virginia 21-9, the Hokies' fourth consecutive victory in the series. Most important for Tech, The Streak is over.

The Streak began after the Hokies won their first eight games. Ranked third nationally, they lost at home to Pittsburgh. Then at Syracuse and at home against West Virginia.

Lose Saturday and Tech, which concludes the regular season at No. 1 Miami, is staring at a five-game skid and one of the most confounding collapses ever.

Suggs and Pile made sure it didn't happen.

"This is like a big Band-Aid over everything," Pile said. "Everything starts fresh. Forget about that three-game losing streak."

"Some people were talking about a changing of the guard in Virginia," Suggs said. "We wanted to prove those people wrong."

Pile proved first, forcing a fumble that derailed Virginia's opening possession.

It was third-and-goal from the 2-yard line, and Matt Schaub dumped a pass over the middle to fullback Jason Snelling. Pile drilled him, sending Snelling and the ball flying backward.

Snelling recovered, but the Cavaliers had to settle for Connor Hughes' 20-yard field goal.

"That set the tone for the whole game," Pile said.

Indeed, in blustery conditions that only a British golf fan could love, Pile and Tech's secondary limited Virginia to a season-low 43 yards passing, eight of which came on a botched punt. The wind, cold and occasional snow flurries left the outcome hinging on the ground game.

Enter Suggs, whose father ministers at Schaeffer Memorial Baptist Church in Christiansburg.

"When it started snowing and getting dark, and the wind (picked up), I smiled," Suggs said.

He also gained more than 100 yards for the 11th time in his career and scored a touchdown in his 25th consecutive game.

Tech's reliance on Suggs was clear midway through the second quarter when Bryan Randall's 20-yard pass to Ernest Wilford gave the Hokies a first down at the Cavaliers' 11. Suggs right on first down, Suggs inside on second down, Suggs left, and into the end zone, on third down.

Same drill midway through the fourth quarter, this time from 15 yards out. Suggs left, Suggs inside, Suggs left again. Touchdown. Ballgame.

"That dude is amazing," Pile said. "I'd hate for us not to put the ball in his hands at crunch time."

Pile first discovered Suggs' talent the hard way. It was a 1997 state semifinal playoff game, Suggs and Roanoke's William Fleming High against Pile and Alexandria's West Potomac High. Fleming won in a rout.

Soon thereafter, Suggs and Pile visited Blacksburg together on a recruiting trip. Both signed with Tech and redshirted in 1998. They lived in the same suite and shared Pile's car. They share to this day. They share friendship, faith in God and a perfect record against their state rival.

Those bonds were unmistakable Saturday night. Pile couldn't stop talking, his cadence and enthusiasm perfect for pulpit. And he'd yet to remove the tape from his right wrist, tape on which he printed a Biblical reference:

2 Peter 1:3

He gave us everything.

Suggs, meanwhile, remained ever humble, crediting teammates for his success, reflecting quietly on his final home game.

"It's just a weird feeling," he said. "We have a lot of memories on this campus, on this field, at this school."

 

 

Wind chills Cavs' offense
Gusts nearing 40 mph wreak havoc for U.Va.
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press

Published December 1, 2002

BLACKSBURG -- Matt Schaub played high school ball outside Philadelphia, where the weather can be brutal this time of year. Tom Hagan prepped at Cave Spring High in nearby Roanoke, where it's often hard to keep your hat on your head.

Yet neither had seen conditions like this. It wasn't the temperature, which dipped into the mid-30s, or the occasional snow flurries. Winds gusting to nearly 40 mph are a nightmare for any passer or kicker.

"I've played in games where it was a torrential downpour, but not as windy as this when it had such an effect on our game plan," said Schaub, Virginia's normally accurate quarterback, who endured the worst day of his record-setting season. "It affected what we wanted to do, but it was a tough wind for both teams. You can't use it as an excuse."

True enough. With strong running and a swarming defense, Virginia Tech was tougher and better equipped in a 21-9 victory at Lane Stadium. Virginia coach Al Groh monitored the forecast all week and had an idea what to expect. But knowing and executing were two different matters.

Schaub, the ACC Player of the Year, hit 12-of-23 passes for 43 yards. That's 3.6 yards per completion. Virginia's longest pass of the day came on a 15-yard touchdown to Heath Miller in the third quarter. Next was Hagan's 8-yarder to Shernard Newby on a botched punt attempt. Billy McMullen, the leading receiver in school history, had four catches for 14 yards.

The Cavaliers entered averaging 248 passing yards a game, and Schaub was completing 69.7 percent of his throws.

"That's a big part of our game, and (the wind) made it difficult to do that," Groh said. "But that's not an excuse. If we had played better, we would have probably been a little closer at the end."

Freshman tailback Wali Lundy nearly saved Virginia's offense with 127 yards on 29 carries, both career highs. Only two of those yards, and one of those carries, came in the final period. The Cavs had 4 yards - that's total yards - in the fourth quarter.

The kicking game wasn't any better, though it's hard to completely blame the wind.

Hagan's first punt, with a gust at his back, went 27 yards. His second effort was blocked and returned for Tech's first touchdown. On his third, he dropped the snap.

"You didn't know how it would end up," he said, "but obviously, it hurt us in the end."

The conditions caused Virginia to take extraordinary measures. When Virginia Tech won the toss and elected to defer, Groh chose to take the wind. That led to the Cavaliers kicking off to start both halves.

Groh also went against conventional wisdom by taking the wind in the third quarter instead of the fourth.

"If you didn't do that, before you knew it you'd find yourself too far behind to take any advantage of it," he said. "(It) played to our advantage. We're glad we did it and we'd do it again."
 

 

 

Cavaliers hurt by poor kicking game
 By Kelly Villiers / The News & Advance
Dec 1, 2002
 
BLACKSBURG - The swirling winds at Lane Stadium didn't exactly do wonders for the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday. But special teams play didn't help, either, in the 21-9 loss.

The Cavaliers had one punt blocked that resulted in a Virginia Tech touchdown, another bobbled snap on a punt that resulted in Tech getting the ball in good field position, and an average of 29.3 yards over seven punts total.

"The only thing I can do when the wind is as bad as it was is get it off as quick as I can," said freshman punter Tom Hagan.

The blocked punt came with 13:30 left in the first half. Justin Hamilton sailed through Virginia's line untouched and Hagan never had a chance. The blocked punt ended up in the hands of Darryl Tapp, who ran it in 11 yards for a touchdown and a 7-3 Tech lead.

"It's a team thing," Hagan said. "I've got to get it off fast and they've got to block it up front. When I looked up they were right there."

A second punt attempt three minutes later was nearly blocked, but Hagan managed to complete an 8-yard pass to Shernard Newby. Tech took over on downs, though, and scored again with 6:56 left in the first half for a 14-3 lead.

"Special teams didn't play to our advantage," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "If we had to do it over again I'm sure we'd like to have a few of those plays back."

s s s

The wind affected Virginia's game plan on a number of fronts Saturday. The Cavaliers, who had attempted almost as many passes (401) as rushes (410) coming in, ran the ball 37 times against 24 pass attempts.

"I started checking the weather forecast (last) Sunday morning," Groh said. "When I heard the 6 p.m. weather last night, I was less than thrilled about it."

With Virginia Tech winning the opening coin toss and deferring until the second half, Groh chose to take the wind in the first and third quarters, rather than play with it in the second and fourth quarters, because he wanted to strike early in each and build a lead. He had been a coach in the NFL and seen a number of games where the wind had affected games dramatically in the Meadowlands - on one occasion Randall Cunningham launched a 91-yard punt against his team.

"We're glad we did it and we'd do it again," Groh said of his decision to go with the wind early.

He made no excuses for the wind, though.

"Both teams played in the same wind," he said. "(Passing) is a big part of our game; it made it a little more difficult to execute that, but that's not an excuse. If we had played any better, we probably would have been a little closer at the end."

s s s

The wind was no factor for freshman running back Wali Lundy, who had a career day for the Cavaliers Saturday with 127 yards on 29 carries. Lundy's previous high was 108 yards on Oct. 19 against North Carolina.

"Most of the run plays were there for me," Lundy said. "The offensive line was doing a great job. The holes were so big, I just ran right through them."

Lundy has now rushed for 699 yards this season.

"Wali did some things well and helped us in the game," Groh said.

s s s

With the regular season completed, now comes the final part for Virginia, and that is a bowl game. Where is anybody's guess. With the Peach Bowl having selected Maryland Saturday, and the Gator Bowl having selected North Carolina State last week, that leaves the Cavaliers - who beat both N.C. State and Maryland to finish second in the ACC - down to lesser bowls. That could be the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 23, the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte Dec. 28, or the Seattle Bowl Dec. 30.

Speculation at this point is largely on the Tangerine Bowl or the Seattle Bowl, a factor that left Groh none too pleased afterward.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of active conversation (today)," Groh said.

s s s

Safety Jerton Evans of Jefferson Forest had six tackles against the Hokies Saturday. Evans, a senior, ended the regular season with 104 tackles, good for third on the team. … Senior wide receiver Billy McMullen caught four passes for 14 yards Saturday. McMullen, with 209 career receptions, is one of only three players in ACC history to have more than 200 receptions.

 

 

Cavaliers left to pick up the pieces after loss to Tech
 By Kelly Villiers / The News & Advance
Dec 1, 2002
 
BLACKSBURG - The swirling snow that came down hard off and on at Lane Stadium during Saturday's annual battle between Virginia and Virginia Tech proved to be a perfect backdrop for everyone who was trying to figure out who was going to what bowl game.

A few weeks ago the Hokies seemed destined for a major bowl game, while only as recently as last week it seemed that Virginia was not only coming out of nowhere to head to a bowl game, it was going to a good bowl game to boot.

But the Hokies booted themselves out of any decent bowl game with a three-game losing streak. And politics and bowl committees being as they are, Virginia found itself on the outside looking in even before Saturday's game began. North Carolina State had accepted an invitation last week to the New Year's Day Gator Bowl. Two minutes before the kickoff Saturday it was learned that Maryland had accepted a bid to the Peach Bowl, played on New Year's Eve.

So that left both Virginia Tech, as well as Virginia, which had beaten both N.C. State and Maryland in the past two weeks to finish second in the ACC, left searching for the crumbs of any bowl game.

It certainly didn't help their cause that the Cavaliers lost 21-9 to the Hokies, marking the first time since 1980-83 that Virginia Tech had beaten their in-state rivals four years in a row.

But while the win was nice for Virginia Tech, it did nothing for their prestige, either. The Hokies are pretty much doomed to fourth place in the Big East, which means a much lesser bowl game than once anticipated.

Like the snow, the rumors swirled before and during the game. Insight Bowl. Continental Tire Bowl. San Francisco Bowl. Tangerine Bowl. Seattle Bowl.

Evan Paoletti, an official for the Insight Bowl in Phoenix, was spotted in the press box before the game. It used to be the Insight.com Bowl; but then again, nobody wants to be associated with dot.coms these days.

"The only thing that I can tell you is that we're very interested in Virginia Tech," said Paoletti, who said on Nov. 20 that the winner of the West Virginia-Virginia Tech game would go to his bowl. So when asked about that statement, Paoletti said, "that changed a little bit."

Backroom politics always changes things a little bit.

Paoletti did say that school officials "have a say in where they want to go. Ultimately, it's the bowl's decision who we take."

So a Tech losing skid and backroom politics reduced what could have been a much bigger game down to in-state pride. But when it's this game, that means a whole lot. Look at Frank Beamer entering the press conference with tears running down his face.

"It's Virginia," he said. "It's our in-state rival."

Look at incredible backs like Virginia Tech's Lee Suggs hugging Virginia's Wali Lundy afterward. Lundy, a freshman, had the career day with 127 yards rushing and will have a lot to say about the rivalry in future years.

Suggs, the veteran senior, had the win, though. Both had each other's respect.

"I got a sense of the rivalry when I came in on the bus, seeing all the fans and the way they were," said Lundy, managing a small smile.

With a wind gusting to near 38 miles per hour, conditions that Virginia coach Al Groh had seen with the New York Jets in the Meadowlands, but for most of the players, these were conditions they had never played in themselves. ACC player of the year Matt Schaub was reduced to a mere mortal, completing 12 of 23 passes for 43 yards with one interception. "Never played in anything as windy as this," he said.

Tech won the opening coin toss and deferred.

Groh took the wind in the first and third quarters, but it didn't pay off enough. And Tech made the Cavaliers pay when Tom Hagan, punting into the wind, had it blocked by Justin Hamilton with 13:30 left in the first half. The ball was eventually picked up by Darryl Tapp, and he ran it in for the touchdown and a 7-3 lead that the Hokies would never relinquish. By halftime the Hokies had pushed that lead to 14-3.

But the Cavaliers, as they've done all season, hung in. Schaub's 15-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller with 10:09 left in the third quarter made it a game. "We were trying to pick up the pace when we had the wind again," Schaub said, and the pulses quickened amongst the largely Hokie crowd.

Pick up the pace Virginia did, but not enough.

Suggs' 6-yard scoring run with 5:08 left sealed the deal, and Hokies fans happily began to stream out at that point, heading for any place that would be warmer than those grandstands.

Said Tech quarterback Bryan Randall, a Williamsburg native: "It feels great to get that monkey off our back, especially going into the Miami game. It adds more that it's UVa."

And Virginia was left to pick up the pieces from a screwy day, and week, which brings us back to the bowl debate.

"The bowl people have made a statement," Groh said. "Whereas, players and coaches decide games on the field and make their statements that way, perhaps the issue was decided through some backroom politics.

"And I guess that's their statement."

When Groh was asked about playing a tough non-conference schedule and how, perhaps, that season-opening loss to Colorado State came back to bite 8-5 Virginia 100 days later, he paused for a moment before answering.

"With all due respect to Wofford," he said, "Maybe we should get them on our schedule."

And that, unfortunately, is why the bowl system puts a damper on what could be some of the finest moments of the season.

 

 

U-Va. Seeks Ten-Able Schedules
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, December 1, 2002; Page D17


BLACKSBURG, Va., Nov. 30 -- Shut out of the ACC's top three bowls despite tying for second in the conference standings, Virginia is considering playing easier schedules in future seasons in an effort to boost its overall record and, by extension, its bowl chances.

North Carolina State (10-3, 5-3) and Maryland (10-3, 6-2) are headed to the Gator Bowl and the Peach Bowl, respectively, thanks mostly to their 10-win records. The Cavaliers (8-5, 6-2), despite beating both N.C. State and Maryland, are among three teams under consideration for a bid to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 23.

"We've already started to reevaluate how we are scheduling," Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said before U-Va.'s 21-9 loss at Virginia Tech. ". . . If we get a call to play in a made-for-TV game [against a high-profile team], we'll have to think twice about it, given our experience this year."

Virginia beat its two nonconference foes which finished with losing records, South Carolina (5-7) and Akron (4-8). The Cavaliers lost their other three nonconference games to Colorado State, Penn State and Virginia Tech -- each of which is ranked in the top 25. N.C. State's nonconference schedule, which included no ranked teams, featured Navy (1-10) and two Division I-AA teams, East Tennessee State and Massachusetts; Maryland played Akron, Eastern Michigan (3-9) and I-AA Wofford. Still, Maryland and N.C. State have wins over winning nonconference opponents, the Terrapins over West Virginia (9-3) and the Wolfpack over Texas Tech (8-5).

Virginia beat N.C. State, 14-9, on Nov. 16 and dominated Maryland, 48-13, on Nov. 23.

"The bowl people have made a statement," Cavaliers Coach Al Groh said after the game. "While coaches and players understand that the issue is decided on the field, in this particular case perhaps the issue is decided with back-room politics. That's their statement. It's pretty apparent.

"They've confirmed that it doesn't pay to [schedule tough opponents]. With all due respect to Wofford, maybe you should get them on the schedule."

Bill Spicer, one of two Tangerine Bowl representatives at today's game, said the 100 members of his selection committee will choose Virginia, Georgia Tech (7-5, 4-4) or Clemson (7-5, 4-4) when they vote Sunday afternoon. Groh said he will actively lobby for the Cavaliers before the vote.

The ACC also has contracts with the Continental Tire Bowl, held in Charlotte on Dec. 28, and the Seattle Bowl, held on Dec. 30.

Littlepage called it "bizarre" and "ridiculous" that a team that tied for second place in the ACC could slip to the conference's fourth-place bowl -- or potentially lower. He said he has told ACC Commissioner John Swofford "how disappointing it is that we're in this situation," especially because in recent years, he said, the conference has encouraged its teams to schedule challenging opponents.

"I think they have every right to feel like they should be playing in the Peach Bowl," said Peach Bowl President Gary Stokan, who pointed out that Maryland's three losses were all to bowl teams, including Florida State and Notre Dame. "As I said last week, we couldn't make a bad selection.

"Obviously, Craig would have liked us to go in a different direction, but he understands the business."

Virginia players such as senior outside linebacker Merrill Robertson said they don't care what bowl the Cavaliers end up in, but others said they felt slighted.

"I'd be lying if I said we hadn't thought about it," freshman outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock said. "But it goes back to respect. People have got to respect us."