THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9601010164
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
They threw a New Year's Eve party at the Louisiana Superdome, but it wasn't until late in the evening that Virginia Tech remembered to serve the punch.
Perhaps this Sugar Bowl was following the rhythm of the Big Easy, where the excitement is best saved for the wee hours.
For the longest time Sunday night, the game between Virginia Tech and Texas looked as if it would be remembered, if at all, for punts, penalties and puny offenses.
With the Sunday night tedium broken up only by ABC's commercial breaks, the Virginia Tech and Texas offenses weaved and lurched like drunks prior to closing time on Bourbon Street.
You could almost hear TV sets turning off all over the country.
``Fairly awful.''
That was Tech coach Frank Beamer's assessment of his team's first-half play.
Virginia Tech struggled well into the third quarter. Then, with one pass, it was as if the levee burst with a flood of points.
Actually, the points numbered only seven, but Tech's touchdown with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter, set up by a 27-yard pass from Jim Druckenmiller to Bryan Still, seemed like a deluge.
Suddenly, Tech had a 14-10 lead. It appeared almost insurmountable.
The weight of the Virginia Tech defense had been too much for Texas since the first quarter. There was no reason to think the pattern wouldn't continue.
Still was the game's offensive star, both by default and merit.
His 60-yard punt return for a touchdown just before the half cut the Texas lead to three and gave Tech a taste for what was possible. His 54-yard catch and run for a touchdown in the fourth quarter left Texas in the dust.
Then, fittingly, the defense scored, tackle Jim Baron picking up a fumble and rumbling into the end zone.
The play of Tech's defense was fairly awesome. The Hokie hitters had almost everything figured out, most of all Texas quarterback James Brown.
For all his Southwestern Conference credentials, Brown could not throw the ball hard or well enough to expose cracks in Tech's defense.
But, then, Brown wouldn't be the first quarterback this season to say he's not faced a defense as relentless and stubborn as Tech's.
Although he's as quick afoot as he is weak of arm, Brown was not elusive enough against the Hokies. When he tried to scramble away from the pass rush, he looked like a reveler wearing a lampshade for a helmet.
Virginia Tech's 28-10 victory over Texas characterized its season. The Hokies offense was unspectacular and inconsistent, but it was also opportunistic and capable of the big play.
The defense, never less than excellent, stiffened as the game went along, giving Druckenmiller, Still and Co. all the time they needed to get out of their own way.
``To be honest with you, there were a few too many penalties and a few too many turnovers to be happy with the way the game was played,'' said Beamer.
Ultimately, though, he recognized the pattern of Tech's play.
``This game was like the rest of our season,'' he said.
``We get better as the game goes along. We finish stronger than we get started.''
Same for the season.
After its puzzling 0-2 start, Beamer's team now has reeled off 10 victories in a row.
Fairly amazing. by CNB