ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040108
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: TECH NOTES
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
As the college football score ticker rolls on Saturday - on CNN, ESPN, CBS, you name it - there will be one pairing involving a Top 25 school that's guaranteed to draw its share of double-takes.
No. 15 Virginia Tech at Akron most definitely will prompt a question: Why in the world is Tech, winner of last year's Sugar Bowl, playing a team called the Zips in a place called the Rubber Bowl?
``Oh, I'm sure people will question it,'' said Danny Monk, the Hokies' associate athletic director. ``But when the schedule was done in 1988 or 1989, that wasn't the case. Virginia Tech hadn't gone to three straight bowl games or been nationally ranked all the time then.''
Tech's trip to Akron, however puzzling it may be to current national observers, simply is a product of advance scheduling. Back in 1988, when an independent and struggling Tech program was looking for money games, it simply couldn't turn down a 4-for-1 deal with Akron, or anybody else, for that matter.
Saturday's game is Tech's end of that bargain. The Zips have played three times in Blacksburg (1989, '91 and '95) and are scheduled to make the trip again in 2000.
Now that the Hokies have gone big-time, however, Saturday's matchup looks a bit absurd. While most of college football's heavyweights have at least one Akron on their schedules, it's extremely rare to have that game on the road.
Do you think Nebraska would play at Akron?
Tech will because it said it would eight years ago.
``We made a deal with Akron. We said we're going to go there once, and if we said we're going to do it, we need to do it,'' said Frank Beamer, Tech's coach.
Akron, which lost 77-27 in Blacksburg last season, is expecting a big crowd for the 7p.m. game at the 35,202-seat Rubber Bowl. The game marks the first time a club ranked in the Top 25 has visited the Zips, who opened the season Thursday with a 44-14 loss at Ohio University.
TALKING FRESHMEN: Beamer said he and his staff will decide this week which freshmen will be redshirted for 1996.
``We know pretty well, but we're going to sit down Thursday and make a final determination,'' Beamer said. ``There's one or two who may still be up in the air after Thursday.''
Beamer noted the reduced 85-player scholarship limit is forcing more schools to play freshmen early.
``I like it that way, to be honest,'' Beamer said. ``When you bring that scholarship limit down, you're going to see more and more younger guys playing.
``But, personally, I like playing freshmen. I like the chemistry of the older guys and their leadership and you've got this enthusiastic group of freshmen and they're bouncing around and would love to play on some special teams.
``I just think you get that blend and it's a good blend. I don't look at it as we've got a problem that we've got so many playing.''
INJURY REPORT: Redshirt freshman end Chris Cyrus, who in spring practice was pushing junior Danny Wheel for a starting job at defensive end, underwent an operation Tuesday on his right knee.
``He came in and hurt his knee about the second or third practice and the tests that we ran were good and didn't show anything,'' Beamer said. ``But something's happening, there's some swelling and so forth. We should know after today when he will be back with us.''
Also at defensive end, redshirt sophomore Jason Berish returned to practice Monday after missing considerable time because of injuries. Berish is expected to be ready for Saturday's game.
WINNING STREAKS: Barring the improbable, Tech will run its win streak to 11 games Saturday. That would match the school record. Tech won 11 games in a row from 1917 to 1919, beginning with a 70-0 victory over Roanoke College on Nov.24, 1917.
Tech's current 10-game streak is the nation's second longest among Division I-A schools. Only two-time defending national champion Nebraska, which has won 25 straight, has a longer run of success.
The Hokies also are riding a school-record seven-game road winning streak.
TECH TIDBITS: Saturday's game will be Beamer's 103rd at Tech - the most ever for a Hokies football coach. Jerry Claiborne (1961-70) and Bill Dooley (1978-86) each coached 102 games at Tech. ``I never figured I'd be around that long,'' said Beamer, whose first six teams were a combined 24-40-2. The Hokies are 27-9 during the past three years. Akron was the only team that scored more than seven points in the second half against Tech in 1995. The Zips, mostly going against reserves, scored all 27 of their points in the final 30 minutes after falling behind 47-0 at halftime. Don't be shocked if Tech blocks a kick Saturday. The Hokies blocked two kicks in last year's game, and a pair of Zips punts were blocked in their loss at Ohio U.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 linesby CNB