By Jimmy Robertson
Editor

The fireworks set off after every Tech touchdown displayed a myriad of colors.

Red, white, green, purple and gold, they all lightened up the sky, adding to the fun and festivities of an event billed as the biggest sporting event in the history of this fine commonwealth.

But the more apropos colors for this night were black and blue. Because Tech's defense, led by a rejuvenated secondary, administered a second-half whipping that left the Miami Hurricanes exactly that - black and blue.

In the previous two games, the Hokies' defense looked a tad vulnerable, much to the dismay of the maroon and orange faithful. Pittsburgh aired it out for more than 400 yards. West Virginia's Avon Cobourne ran roughshod through the Hokies and then the Mountaineers took to the airwaves late to take the lead against Tech.

Was Tech's less-than-sterling defensive play in those two games a 'passing' fancy? Seems to be.

Against Miami, Tech - particularly its secondary - returned to form. That secondary, shall we say, headed the 'Canes off at the pass.

The 'Canes went into the game averaging 227 yards passing per game. They finished with 183 - 51 of that coming on Miami's first play from scrimmage.

And Miami finished with 309 yards of total offense. But only 98 in the final 30 minutes as the Hokies took the 'Canes behind the proverbial woodshed. Miami turned the ball over six times, gave up five sacks, and other than the 51-yard bomb to Reggie Wayne, got no big plays.

Instead, the big plays came from Tech cornerbacks Anthony Midget and Ike Charlton. In essence, they cornered the market on Miami's passing game, with Midget, despite a sore groin, intercepting a school-record tying three passes and Charlton, despite a sore shoulder, recovering three fumbles, including one which he returned for a touchdown.

"I'm pretty happy," Charlton said. "Midget played big-time football tonight. He made plays and I made plays.

"We knew coming in that we were going to get after these guys. I don't think anybody expected that. But we knew all along that we could play with them."

In addition, Midget and Charlton clamped down on Miami's receivers, considered among the best as a group in college football. Santana Moss, the 'Canes' top threat, caught nine passes for 180 yards against Florida State, the nation's top-ranked team.

Against Tech, he caught four passes for 25 yards. His longest catch went for nine yards - this after coming into the game averaging nearly 19 yards per catch. Moss' cohorts, tight end Bubba Franks and Wayne, did little as well. Franks, whom many consider an NFL first-rounder, caught three passes for 55 yards and Wayne just caught the one pass for 51.

"I think it goes back to our plan and knowing what you're opponents like to do," Midget said. "Coach [Lorenzo]Ward did a great job of preparing us for this game and having confidence and faith in us. He told us before the game that we were going to make a difference in the secondary and that's what we did."

Give credit too to Tech's defensive line and linebackers. Even without end John Engelberger, the Hokies managed to get pressure on Miami quarterbacks. In all, Tech recorded five sacks and numerous hurries as the 'Canes tandem of Kenny Kelly and Ken Dorsey completed just 14 of 34 pass attempts for 183 yards, with three interceptions.

And Miami converted on just two of 14 third-down conversions. In fact, on 14 third-down plays, they amassed negative 16 yards.

"Everyone said the secondary was the weak link of this defense," Charlton said. "We proved that's not the case."

Yes, Charlton, Midget and the rest of Tech's defense left the 'Canes embarrassed, and as was stated earlier, black and blue. They also left head coach Butch Davis seeing red.

So on a night with tons of color and pageantry, with pennants, signs, towels and flags of all different colors, perhaps Miami should have raised a flag to join the festivities.

A white one, of course.

Not making the cut

Tech head coach Frank Beamer questioned it. And the Big East office looked into it.

Beamer and everyone else in the Tech athletics department expressed surprise to find that kicker Shayne Graham's name was not among the 20 listed as finalists for the Lou Groza Award given to the nation's top kicker. Beamer brought it up in the postgame interview session after Graham kicked a game-winning 44-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Hokies past the Mountaineers.

The Big East office called the Palm Beach Sports Commission, which gives out the award, and the folks there explained the process for getting a kicker on the ballot. However, they did not give a reason for Graham's absence on the list.

The Big East office then sent updated information on Graham, Syracuse kicker Nate Trout and West Virginia kicker Jay Taylor to every voter for the award. The league asked all the voters to consider all three kickers as write-in candidates.

Unfortunately, the committee has pared the list down to three and none of these three made the cut.

On deck

Tech plays Temple this Saturday in a game, which Beamer said may be the most important of the season.

Why, you ask?

Because, quite simply, if the Hokies win, they will be the Big East champions and will receive an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series.

"That's what we're playing for," he said. "A lot of times, you're playing just to jockey to get in this position. But this game, it's for real. We're playing for that BCS bid and the Big East championship."

Temple enters the game with a 2-7 record. The Owls rank dead last in the Big East in total offense and rushing offense. Tech enters the game leading the league in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense.

But don't discount the Owls. After scoring just 15 points in their first four games - having been shut out in three of those games - the Owls have averaged 26.2 points per game in their past five games. They also own a win over Boston College, who is in third in the Big East standings.

And then there's that little matter of last season's games. Temple stunned the Hokies at Lane Stadium, recording one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

"You have to play," Beamer said. "How many people would have predicted that Rutgers would beat Syracuse [this past weekend]? Temple has some things going for them. They're getting better all the time."

Yet don't count on a letdown from the Hokies.

"I promise you," defensive end Corey Moore said. "There will be no letdown."

Quote to note

How tough is Temple? Well, just ask West Virginia coach Don Nehlen. The Mountaineers escaped the Owls 20-17 in Morgantown.

"I wish you guys had to coach against Temple," Nehlen said to the media during the Big East's teleconference last week. "You all think they're not worth a nickel. Actually, they're worth a lot more than that."

Tech tidbits

* Tech receiver AndrÚ Davis, though he didn't catch a pass against Miami, recovered a fumble by AndrÚ Kendrick in the end zone for a touchdown. Davis is probably one of the few players in the nation with more rushing touchdowns (3) than carries (2). On that play, Kendrick received the carry and the yardage (58), while Davis got the score.

* Tight ends Browning Wynn and Derek Carter kept alive the tradition of tight ends catching passes for first downs this season. Wynn's 15-yard reception against Miami and Carter's 20-yarder both resulted in first downs for Tech. On the season, the tight ends have caught 12 passes, with 11 of those resulting in first downs.

* Tech tailback Shyrone Stith scored his 11th and 12th touchdowns of the season when he reached the end zone twice in the first half of Tech's 43-10 win over Miami. One score came on a 1-yard run, while the other one came on a 41-yard run.

Stith needs just two touchdowns to break Tech's single-season record for touchdowns. Former backs Tommy Francisco (1966), James Barber (1972) and Ken Oxendine (1996) all rushed for 13. Stith leads the Big East in scoring with 72 points on 12 touchdowns.

Huddler Notes
The Hokie Hudler newspaper consists of the ever-popular "Insider" section with interesting bits of inside information. The Huddler also consists of columns by Robertson and Bill Roth, the Voice of the Hokies, and assistant editor Neal Richards, which focus on everything dealing with the 21 varsity sports at Tech.

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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.