ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9601020037
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
Virginia Tech doesn't have to dig deep for the confidence that it can win the Sugar Bowl.
In preparations this week for Sunday night's game against Texas, the Hokies constantly rekindled thoughts of a familiar name and game.
Tech beat Virginia 36-29 six weeks ago. The Longhorns nudged the Cavaliers 17-16 a month earlier. And of any team the Hokies have played, they say UVa reminds them of Texas.
``It's amazing how much you can compare the teams,'' said Tech rover Torrian Gray. ``There are places where Texas is better than Virginia and where Virginia is better than Texas, but they really are a lot alike.''
Tech's coaches agree. As a slight underdog against the ninth-ranked Longhorns, the Hokies expect a physical night on the Superdome carpet in the school's first traditional New Year's bowl date.
The Hokies have the nation's top-ranked defense against the rush, and Texas running back tandem of Shon Mitchell and Ricky Williams combined for 2,089 ground yards in a 10-1-1 season.
``It's a multiple offense, and James Brown at quarterback reminds you a lot of the Syracuse kid [Donovan] McNabb,'' said Bud Foster, who shares Tech's defensive coordinating duties with Rod Sharpless. ``He can move.''
Texas has the best offensive line Tech has faced this season. The Longhorns aren't more multiple in their offensive schemes than UVa, but they are more versatile.
Virginia, playing Georgia in tonight's Peach Bowl, does more with its passing game to wideouts, and Mike Groh is a superior passer to Brown. However, one of the Hokies' worries with Texas is the Longhorns' double tight-end package.
The Hokies have played less man coverage in the secondary than in recent seasons, primarily because they've blitzed less. Their concern against the Longhorns will be mixing a stay-home contain against Brown with the attacking, backfield-infiltrating, lane-filling aggressiveness needed to slow Mitchell and Williams.
``Their tight ends do a good job of not selling out what they're doing,'' Sharpless said. ``They run a lot of misdirection that starts with the tight end blocking.
``Another difference is the pass routes they run. Most college teams run 12-yard routes. Texas' routes are deeper for the most part, about 15-17 yards. That stretches a defense.''
Those deep routes aren't simply a reflection of Texas coach John Mackovic's NFL experience with the passing game. It tells Tech that the Longhorns believe their blockers can protect the passer for a second or two longer, permitting those dig routes to open.
Although Texas runs both split backs and the I-formation in its ``BMW offense'' - Brown, Mitchell, Williams - the Hokies expect to see more of the latter.
``With the I, you can attack a team both ways and you can use more play-action,'' Sharpless said. ``When you split the backs, you lose your power game, and that's what Texas' offense is about, power.
``If they run splits, we can put nine guys in the box [within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage]. When you're an eight-man front team like we are, that helps us.''
Sharpless and Foster agreed that if all things are equal and Tech's defensive front stars Cornell Brown and J.C. Price get their usual penetration, the Hokies' defenders on whom the outcome could swing are free safety Gray and outside linebacker Brandon Semones.
``Texas loves to attack the perimeter,'' Foster said. ``Torrian and Brandon have to be big for us, because they're in spots where they have to be in position to fold and turn it back inside.''
Defensively, the 'Horns remind Tech of the Cavaliers even more than on the other side of the ball.
The consensus on the Hokies' staff is that Texas is superior up front, led by Tony Brackens, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound bull rusher. Virginia has the better linebackers, due to the Cavaliers' speed.
Texas' linebackers are plugging playmakers for the most part. The Longhorns secondary and Virginia's defensive backs are comparable in talent and speed, but there is a difference.
Where the Cavaliers have gambled more this season and played the ball, Texas' deep backs will play the man. The Hokies expect a lot of bumps before they run.
``I really think Texas will try to challenge our receivers and pressure the quarterback [Jim Druckenmiller],'' said Tech's offensive coordinator, Rickey Bustle. ``We haven't seen that a lot, so I think they'll try to do something different, trying to find out if it works.''
The Hokies know they are going to have to be successful running the ball to win their 27th game in three seasons. Tech is hoping it can get its solid offensive on Texas linebackers to create holes. That's a battle the Hokies should be able to win.
If the Hokies are to win in prime time of the Bowl Alliance, it will be the way they've won most of the time in a 9-2 season.
The Big East champions must win with defense first. If the Longhorns get their backs and tight ends into Tech's secondary, it will take a different kind of shotgun than the one handled by Druckenmiller to hook the 'Horns.
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Bud Foster, Tech's co-defensiveby CNBcoordinator, and the rest of the Hokies say Texas reminds them of
UVa.