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Despite miscues and loss, Tech's performance showed Hokies belonged

January 14, 2000

By Jimmy Robertson

In 1981, the Rolling Stones held a concert in the Louisiana Superdome and more than 87,000 fans showed up to scream to the tunes of perhaps the most popular rock group ever.

In 1999, almost 80,000 fans showed up for another show, only this time to watch two groups. And both of those groups kept the place rockin'.

Tech and Florida State put on a Sugar Bowl show that left fans hooping and hollering, screaming, gripping the edge of their seats, sweating and gasping for air. The two teams played at full decibel, with a breathtaking performance that left the largest crowd ever to witness a football game at the Superdome and the millions watching on ABC gasping in amazement.

Some folks paid $500 or more for a single ticket to the national championship game. Afterwards, they probably felt they got their money's worth. Maybe they felt they got a bargain - though not as much of one as Peter Warrick did a few months ago.

Unfortunately for Tech, the results of the Sugar Bowl performance left the Hokies feeling a little sour. Despite an electrifying display by quarterback Michael Vick, Tech's lead singer, and a gritty comeback, Tech lost 46-29 in a game it easily could have won. Perhaps should have won.

All season, one had the feeling the only way the Hokies could lose would be to beat themselves. On a Tuesday night at the Superdome, Tech did exactly that.

The Hokies gave up a blocked punt for a touchdown. They gave up a punt return for a touchdown. They gave up three long pass plays. They committed a personal foul penalty on a fourth-and-one play, which ended up being a 31-yard gain for the Seminoles.

On one occasion, Vick turned wrong on a simple handoff to the fullback and it resulted in a turnover. On another occasion, he found Jarrett Ferguson wide open in the flat, with more green in front of him than the par-5, No. 13 at Tech's golf course. But he tripped over offensive lineman Josh Redding's leg and gained just six yards.

And on one other, Vick hit a wide-open Browning Wynn with a pass a little behind him and Wynn stumbled on the turf for just a seven-yard gain.

For some strange reason, it just wasn't Tech's night.

"You know, the game just never got going right for us," Beamer said. "Even in the third quarter when we were making our comeback, we had to settle for a field goal. We thought Michael had a first down and the officials marked him two yards short. But we were just a little off all night."

And despite all the mistakes and tough breaks, the Hokies somehow, some way led going into the fourth quarter before succumbing to the Tomahawk Chop put forth by the Seminoles in the fourth quarter.

The Hokies left the stage at the Superdome with a feeling of remorse after losing for the first time in more than a year. In contrast, Florida State left with a feeling of satisfaction.

And both the Seminoles, the fans in attendance and the millions watching on television were left with a feeling of respect for a Virginia Tech program now considered among the nation's elite.

"We earned their respect," tailback AndrÚ Kendrick said of the Seminoles. "They let us know we played a great game. We're not a fluke. We're for real. They know we're for real. Everyone knows we're for real."

"Without a doubt, we belong in that class," center Keith Short agreed. "We have the same caliber of athletes they do. There's no question we should be considered a top-5 team. We belong there."

It may take the Hokies some time to get over the sting of this loss and the deafening roar of the Seminole chant. As the old Stones song says, "You don't always get what you want."

But once the Hokies get over that, they'll realize the significance of an 11-0 regular season and the significance of playing for a national championship - and the importance of the accomplishments of a terrific year.

"We showed everyone we are champions," Vick said. "There is no way that we don't have respect in this nation right now. I think everyone knows that we our one of the top teams in the nation. And we're going to be tough again next season."

"I fully understand what a great season this has been," Beamer added. "The great effort given by our players, the great togetherness of this group, how many great plays we've made.

"Now it's 'can you get back next year?', which I think we can. I think in the last month that the name of Virginia Tech has taken on a new meaning."

And that has everyone excited for upcoming attractions.

Stith reverses field

Shortly after the printing of the Hokie Huddler - in which it says tailback Shyrone Stith is returning to Tech for his senior season - Stith changed his mind and declared for the NFL Draft. Stith and cornerback Ike Charlton become the first Tech players to declare for the NFL, both forgoing their final season.

For Charlton, the move made some sense. The second-team All-Big East selection graduated on Dec. 18 with a degree in residential property management. Now that he has his degree, he wants to help his family financially. His mother, Angela Charlton, has been moving from home to home in Orlando for the past five or six years because of the family's economic situation.

"Every four or five months, we've been on the move," Charlton said. "We haven't been in a stable home for a long time. It's been tough for her and I want to be able to help her and my brother out financially."

Charlton also believed he did enough against Florida State's talented group of receivers in the Sugar Bowl to warrant his decision. For the most part, FSU avoided Charlton, with the exception of a 63-yard touchdown pass to Ron Dugans in which Charlton nearly knocked the ball away. Charlton also subbed for the injured Ricky Hall and returned four punts back for 88 yards.

But for Stith, the move is questionable. He had told the Tech coaching staff he was returning, but changed his mind after getting hurt in Tech's 46-29 loss to FSU in the Sugar Bowl. He apparently didn't want to run the risk of getting hurt his senior season and seeing his NFL stock drop.

Still, Stith figures to be a late third-round pick or a fourth-round pick at best. He doesn't rate among the top five backs in this year's NFL Draft behind guys like Wisconsin's Ron Dayne, Alabama's Shaun Alexander, Tennessee's Jamal Lewis, etc. In fact, Stith doesn't rate as the best back in Virginia. That honor goes to UVa's Thomas Jones, who will be among the first 10 players taken.

"I told Shyrone that if he was a first- or second-rounder, I'd boot him out of here," running backs coach Billy Hite said. "But I didn't think it was best for him to leave now, particularly when he could have been a first- or second-rounder next year."

Taking his hat off. . .and throwing it away

Lee Corso, an analyst for ESPN Gameday, received a lot of media attention at the Sugar Bowl's media day. Many people wanted to know his prediction beforehand, but he refused to budge until ESPN's show before the national title game.

One reporter asked Corso if he had found a new Tech hat to wear. Corso dons the hat of the school's mascot when he makes his prediction.

But Corso made it clear he would not be wearing the head of the old Hokie mascot that he put on before the Miami game. He didn't want to wear the hat he wore before the Syracuse game, so Peg Morse, Tech's director of information systems and former promotions director, dug out the old gobbler hat for the game with the Hurricanes.

"My granddaughter is 10 years old and she came up to me and said, 'Grandpa, would you mind doing me a favor and don't put that hat on anymore,'" Corso said with a laugh. "She said I was embarrassing her at school.

"That ugly thing had been in a storage shed since 1981. They had it fumigated before the game because they thought this guy was going to get all kinds of crud in his head."

Changing his tune

Tech defensive end John Engelberger held court at the Sugar Bowl's media day after Tech AD Jim Weaver told Engelberger to do an interview with ESPN's Steve Cyphers. Cyphers and Weaver are good friends and Engelberger did the interview.

Normally, Engelberger refuses all interview requests. But when the big man wants you to do something, you do it.

"What am I going to say?" Engelberger said. "He's the AD."

The piece on Engelberger ran that night. And it was classic Engelberger, particularly when Cyphers asked him about being an NFL prospect.

"I told him I'm not a prospect," he said. "I'm just a slow, white guy who works hard. I'll probably be coaching high school football next year."

The price of the Huddler is $37.95 for one year or $69.95 for two (first-class postage is an extra $35 per year).

To order the Hokie Huddler, call (540) 231-3908 and have your Visa or Mastercard ready.

Or mail a check, made out to the Treasurer of Virginia Tech, to:

Hokie Huddler
367 Jamerson Athletics Center
Blacksburg, VA, 24061

So hurry and get your Hokie Huddler today!

Jimmy Robertson is the editor of the Hokie Huddler at Virginia Tech. The Hokie Huddler is the athletics department newspaper that is printed 33 times a year - weekly during football and basketball seasons and bi-monthly during the spring.

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