Virginia Tech can win it all but likely needs some help

Sporting News, The, Oct 25, 1999 by Mark Blaudschun

Big East football a factor in the national championship? And Miami isn't part of the equation? Surely you jest. But make no mistake. Virginia Tech is one of the big boys now, capable of playing with anyone at any time.

The Hokies' latest conquest was a 62-0 spanking of Syracuse last Saturday in Blacksburg. It was the largest shutout loss endured by a ranked team in the history of The Associated Press poll, which began in 1936.

Still ahead for the Hokies is a November 13 game against Miami. Tech will be favored to win that game-and all of the games it plays the rest of the regular season.

What coach Frank Beamer's team must do is avoid a letdown, a stumble that can happen to any team on any week. And he must hope some of the marquee teams have bad afternoons.

A loss by Florida State, Penn State or Nebraska definitely would help Virginia Tech. And in that area, the Hokies are in good shape.

* Florida State must get past Florida--at Gainesville.

* Penn State still has Michigan and Michigan State on its plate, as well as a suddenly dangerous Purdue team, which surprised a lot of people by crushing Michigan State.

* Nebraska has a series of challenges, including Texas next week and Texas A&M and Kansas State next month.

Virginia Tech still is in a good position. A top 5 ranking in the two major polls means it doesn't have to make any quantum leaps. The offense is getting better and better under redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Vick, who is receiving some Heisman attention. And the defense is as good as any on any college campus.

"I've been trying to tell you for two years that no one can play defense the way we do," says defensive end Corey Moore, part of a unit that scored two touchdowns against the Orangemen while limiting them to three first downs until the fourth quarter.

How good is Tech's defense? It is allowing just eight points a game--best in the land.

Syracuse came into the game in typical fashion--a good team that had lost only once, narrowly to Michigan. The Orangemen left wondering how good they really are.

But there should be no doubt about the Hokies' qualifications. They have the ingredients necessary for winning, and Beamer has done a remarkable job in turning Tech into more than a regional program. It will take some doing to get the Hokies on everyone's national radar screen. But anyone who ignores them is making a mistake.

"It was a special night in Blacksburg," Beamer says of the dominating win over Syracuse.

Yes, it was. And there are more to come.

RELATED ARTICLE: Games beyond the game

Penn State took care of business as usual Saturday with an impressive 23-10 victory over Ohio State.

But Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno made a mistake last week when he shut down the access of his players to the media, barring all but three from speaking. Paterno's argument was that players are overwhelmed, not just by the media, but by fans and autograph hounds.

"I think they need a little time to themselves," Paterno said. "1 think this thing has gotten a little bit ridiculous, the amount of time they have to give up to it. Someone complained to me that they can't get things done, that there are a lot of things going on.

"You keep forgetting that they are college students. ... You're the first people that would crucify them if they don't go to class or they flunk out of school or something happens to them. I've got to protect them."

Really.

Paterno, as much as anyone, should know life is not just games on Saturdays. It's dealing with adversity, juggling everything on your plate, not all of it tasty. It's part of the college experience.

By cutting off access, Paterno made the game more important than it should have been, telling his players in essence: "This is a different week than any other." Ohio State coach John Cooper has made that mistake numerous times before the Buckeyes play Michigan each season, turning that traditional game into winner-take-all, where a loss ruins an entire season.

Ironically, it was Cooper who used the media in a different way last week, trying to fire up his team by saying that if Penn State brought its "A" game and Ohio State brought its "A" game, the Buckeyes couldn't win.

As it turned out, he was right.

Penn State's defense, which had shown some holes earlier in the season, totally dominated the Buckeyes.

Ohio State-Penn State was a big game, but there will be bigger. Penn State-Michigan. Penn State-Michigan State. And this weekend the Nittany Lions travel to Purdue for what looks like anything but a gimme game.

Paterno softened his stance a bit after the Ohio State game, saying he would "re-address the situation to see what works."

Good idea. Penn State has proved all season it can handle its opponents. Handling the media shouldn't be a problem. Paterno, who controls many things that flow out of State College, chose to shut things clown this week. He got away with it against Ohio State. But it wasn't one of his finest moments.--M.B.

RELATED ARTICLE: Purple reign

In this age when negative stories are sexier than positive ones, in an era when players getting arrested, scalping tickets or committing other misdeeds generate headlines, a breath of fresh air came out of Alliance, Ohio, last Saturday when Division III Mount Union won for the 48th consecutive time, posting a 44-20 victory over Otterbein College.