THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 8, 1996 TAG: 9610080445
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 67 lines
Temple football coach Ron Dickerson, normally even-keeled and exceedingly optimistic, was neither after his Owls lost 53-52 to Pittsburgh. Saturday he resigned, Sunday he retracted it and Monday he re-examined a tumultuous two days.
``I did something I probably shouldn't have done,'' Dickerson said of the resignation.
Dickerson said he took full blame for the loss because he elected to go on fourth down rather than punt late in the game. Temple didn't convert, and Pitt went on to score the winning touchdown in the final minute. The Owls had gone ahead 52-33 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
A teary-eyed, frustrated Dickerson announced after the game he was resigning. He reversed his field Sunday after talking it over with his family and with his athletic director.
``The one thing that my son echoed - and I can even hear it now - is `Dad, you're not a quitter, you've never been a quitter in your life,' '' Dickerson said. ``That hit home.
``The more I thought about it, the more I said, `What in the world are you doing, you knucklehead? You've put too much into this program, you've spent too much time and hours.' ''
Temple athletic director Dave O'Brien said Monday that Dickerson was upbeat and positive Sunday after the morass of Saturday's postgame.
``Ron was very remorseful he had made a mistake,'' O'Brien said. ``We all make mistakes and say things we don't mean every once in a while. We feel a lot better with our leader back in the chair today.''
Dickerson said he's shouldered too much of the burden for the losses, which number 33 in 3 1/2 seasons against just five wins. He said he's going to start sharing the blame with members of his staff and players.
Asked if his personality will allow him to do that, Dickerson replied: ``I either am going to have to do it or it's going to kill me. I have taken on too much, I have to start divvying the blame.''
The Owls play at Virginia Tech on Saturday.
JUST LIKE OLD TIMES: Miami-Florida State traditionally has been a game with national title implications for both teams. But last year, Miami was 1-2 when it went to Florida State.
``We are a dramatically different football team this year four games into the season than we were four games into last season,'' said Miami coach Butch Davis, whose team hosts the Seminoles Saturday in the Orange Bowl.
How different?
For starters, quarterback Ryan Clement got his first career start last year in the 41-17 loss at Florida State. Now he's got some seasoning and is rated fourth nationally in passing efficiency. Also, Davis said the Hurricanes, with 21 seniors, have good experience and are more confident than they were a year ago when they went to Florida State following a loss at Virginia Tech. Miami has won 11 in a row since losing to the Seminoles.
SCARY MOMENT: Syracuse beat Rutgers 42-0 Saturday, but the Orangemen were not the most frightening thing Rutgers encountered over the weekend.
The Scarlet Knights were about 10 minutes into their flight to Syracuse Friday when their charter had to return to Newark, N.J., to make an emergency landing. Rutgers coach Terry Shea said inoperable flaps on the airplane were the culprit.
``As (the pilot) turned around he says, `Don't allow the 12 or 14 emergency fire engine trucks to alarm you as we land back in Newark; we'll be at a much higher speed because we can't slow the aircraft down,' '' Shea said. ``It became a very tense experience for everyone in that aircraft.''
After about a three-hour delay, the Knights got back on a plane and headed to Syracuse. by CNB