ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 26, 1996 TAG: 9611260128
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: UVA NOTES
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Georgia Tech's loss appears to be Virginia's gain.
The Cavaliers are expected to officially receive an invitation to play in the Carquest Bowl today and will play Miami on Dec. 27 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., unless the Hurricanes upset Syracuse on Saturday.
Virginia became a near-lock for the Carquest last Saturday after Navy upset Georgia Tech 36-26. The Yellow Jackets (5-5) were in the running for a Carquest bid but now must beat Georgia on Saturday to gain the six I-A victories needed to qualify for a bowl.
UVa will go to the Carquest as the ACC's fourth choice. Conference champion Florida State is in the Bowl Alliance, North Carolina will play in the Gator Bowl and Clemson in the Peach.
The Cavaliers played in the Carquest Bowl on New Year's Day 1994 and lost to Boston College 31-13.
RUSHING RECORD: Although he has been out of the prediction business for several weeks, Tiki Barber allowed himself one small indulgence Monday.
Would he settle for merely tying Virginia's career rushing record, which would require him to rush for 124 yards Friday at Virginia Tech?
``If I get 124, I'm going to get 125,'' said Barber, who has never hidden the fact that he covets the record held by Terry Kirby, who rushed for 3,348 yards between 1989-92.
Barber realizes it won't be easy to get 124 yards against the Hokies, who held him to 58 yards last year, his season low. Only Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb has rushed for 100 yards against Tech this year.
``It's unlikely I'll get 125 yards, but I'll strive for it,'' Barber said. ``It's sort of the same as running against North Carolina. They're going to keep eight people around the ball.''
After rushing for 100 yards or more in Virginia's first eight games, Barber has had 82 and 79 yards against Clemson and North Carolina, respectively. Nevertheless, he is on the verge of the ACC rushing championship that eluded him in 1995.
Barber enters the final game with 1,195 yards for the season. Clemson's Raymond Priester, who edged Barber by seven yards last season, finished his season with 1,194. Third-place Warrick Dunn of Florida State is at 995, with only No.1-ranked Florida remaining.
If Barber doesn't break Kirby's record, there are other milestones in sight:
* If he rushes for five yards, Barber will become only the third ACC player to rush for 1,200 yards in back-to-back seasons and the first since N.C. State's Ted Brown in 1977-78.
* With 15 yards, Barber would pass Johnny Papit as UVa's No.2 all-time rusher. Papit held the record until Kirby, needing 76 yards, went for 185 at Tech in the final game of the 1992 season.
Then-Virginia assistant Ken Mack said before the 1992 game that he wanted to know if Kirby was close to the record. Head coach George Welsh, usually not a party to such things, said he could be approached with extreme caution.
``Tell me what the score is,'' said Welsh, when presented with a hypothetical situation Monday. ``If it's tied or if it's close, I don't want to know. We're just going to call the game to win the game.
``I'd probably put him back in [if the outcome were decided], but that's ridiculous. I can't stand to think like that. It hurts my mental preparation for the game.
``I don't think it's any big deal for the team. If he gets 125 yards, there's absolutely no doubt that will help us win the game. It's hard to do that, though. We're not going to call his number 30 times just to get him the record.''
ON THE HEISMAN: If he had a Heisman Trophy ballot and voted himself first, Barber said he would cast his second- and third-place votes for Iowa State running back Troy Davis and Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel ``because of the numbers.''
Of course, if numbers were a consideration, Barber would have trouble contending with the likes of Texas Tech's Byron Hanspard and Davis, who last week went over the 2,000-yard rushing mark for the second year in a row.
``Remember, you said it was my vote,'' Barber said. ``I know the Heisman is a complete longshot. It's more of a longshot than the [rushing] record. It will be hard to get votes from the other side of the country.''
GOOD RIDDANCE: Virginia played Navy for five straight years before the series was interrupted in 1995, the season the Middies began what has become a four-game winning streak against ACC opposition.
``Good thing!'' said Welsh, who coached at Navy from 1973-81. ``Smart, wasn't I? I wouldn't have wanted to play them this year with all that option.''
INJURY REPORT: Welsh said three UVa starters - middle linebacker Wali Rainer, cornerback Joe Rowe and fullback Darrell Medley - would have been unable to play last Saturday.
Rainer returned to practice last week, although Welsh would not say if he will start. Rowe and Medley are more questionable.
ON THE TUBE: Virginia is 0-5 on CBS, the network that will be televising Friday's game, since beating Purdue in the Peach Bowl in 1984. The Cavaliers are 3-10-1 on ABC since 1984 - 3-0 against North Carolina and 0-10-1 against everybody else.
ODDS 'N' ENDS: Virginia, with 20 interceptions, is second in Division I-A behind Auburn, which finished its season with 22 interceptions. The Cavaliers are the only I-A team to intercept 20 passes or more in each of the last four seasons. Welsh said Virginia brought 14 prospects to campus for official recruiting visits during the open weekend. Oddsmakers have made Virginia Tech an early 2 1/2-point favorite.
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