Birth of the Hokie Nation 11_26_2015_6p

Virginia cut the lead to seven at the half, and drove
to the Tech three in the third quarter with a chance to tie the
game. The Hokie defense came up big once again, stopping
a fourth and one running play to thwart the attack.

Kicker Ryan Williams made it a two-score game
with 8:19 left, but UVA closed the gap to three points again
with 5:41 on a three-yard run by Jerrod Washington.
UVA’s final drive with 2:04 left, starting at its own 10, was
unable to pry the Commonwealth Cup away from the
Hokies. Final: Virginia Tech 20 – Virginia 17.

31

1993 Season Results

1993– Virginia Tech 9-3

Final AP Poll: No. 22

Bowling Green W 33-16

@ Pitt W 63-21

@ #3 Miami L 2-21

Maryland W 55-28

@ #25 West Va. L 13-14

Temple W 55- 7

Rutgers W 49-42

East Carolina W 31-12

@Boston Coll (T#25) L 34-48

Syracuse W 45-24

@ #23 UVA (T#25) W 20-17

n1#21 Indiana (T#22) W 45-20

1Independence Bowl, Shreveport, LA

32

National Championship Game: FSU
Strikes Twice

On FSU’s seventh play from scrimmage, they tom-
ahawked the Hokies. On a play-action pass, Chris Weinke,
the 27-year old former minor league baseball player, caught
his All-American Warrick, streaking down the right side-
line. Warrick was untouched on the 64-yard touchdown
that put the speedster up against former Tech quarterback
Nick Sorensen. Sorensen moved to safety mid-way through
his career after falling down the depth charts at quarter-
back. Warrick outraced the Hokie defenders to the end
zone.

Another Hokie miscue left them with the ball inside
their 10 yard line. A snap went wide to Vick and he tried to
get the ball away, but was flagged for intentional ground-
ing. Crafty Bowden then snubbed his nose at BeamerBall.
Tech punter Jimmy Kibble had no chance to get the ball
away as the middle of the Tech offensive line opened like a
sieve. The ball bounded in the end zone, out to the six and
Jeff Chaney returned it for the touchdown.

In the time someone might have taken to get up and
fix a snack, the feeling in Hokie Nation had gone from de-
light to distress. 2:14 remaining first quarter, Florida
State 14 – Virginia Tech 0.

33

1994: Big East Runner-Up

West Virginia University

Blacksburg, VA, September 22, 1994 - Thursday
night under the lights in Lane Stadium on ESPN has be-
come a hallmark of Virginia Tech football. Thousands of
fans, students and business leaders, ardent supporters and
casual followers, take the day off and begin a weekend cel-
ebration of Hokie football early in the afternoon. The
team’s success has mirrored the rise of the cable network’s
mid-week showdowns. Each season, the legend of Blacks-
burg on Thursday night has grown, as has the show put on
by the Tech athletic department and Hokie Nation. Fire-
works now adorn the skies of Blacksburg as well as the
field

Tech’s first ESPN Thursday night game was as the
14th ranked team in the country. It was also sporting a six-
game winning streak including the Independence Bowl win
of 1993. The Hokies had dispatched Arkansas State 34-7,
Southern Miss 24-14, and Boston College 12-7 to begin the
season 3-0. The last time the Hokies had won more consec-
utive games was in 1931-1932. The final game of 1931 was
a 13-6 win over military rival VMI, and then the 1932 team
ran up six victories over Roanoke College, Georgia, Mary-
land, William & Mary, Kentucky and Washington & Lee

34

before succumbing to fellow Southern Conference foe Ala-
bama 9-6.15 Tech finished the year 8-1.

The team’s No. 14 rank in the AP poll matched the
highest Tech had ever achieved. The 1954 team that went
on to record an 8-0-1 record was ranked 14th when it ran its
record to 5-0 with a 6-0 win over Virginia, but dropped to
18th when it tied William and Mary 7-7 the next week. The
team’s final ranking was 16th.

When ESPN scheduled the game, it was more likely
due to the prestige of the Hokies’ opponent, the West Vir-
ginia Mountaineers. They had rung up an 11-0 regular sea-
son record the previous year before being whipped by Flor-
ida 41-7 in the Sugar Bowl, costing it a share of the Na-
tional Championship. Virginia Tech had a chance at the
‘Eers in the ’93 season, falling 14-13 on a WVU touch-
down with just over four minutes left in the game.

However, graduation took its toll on the team from
Morgantown, and WVU came into the game with a 1-3
record. The Mountaineers had lost to No. 4 Nebraska in the
Kickoff Classic 31-0, and then suffered embarrassing losses
to unranked Rutgers and Maryland.

People in Blacksburg were not taking things for
granted. Students camped out waiting for a chance to get
their allotment of tickets. Coach Beamer delivered pizza to
the students for the cameras. The pep rally on Wednesday
night before the game was packed with students thrilled to
a frenzy.

The tone of the game was set in just two minutes in
the first quarter. Trailing 3-0, Tech’s freshman Cornell
Brown led two other defenders who rocked the crowd with
a picturesque sack of West Virginia’s quarterback Eric
Boykin. The Hokies took over the ball on their own 40.
Maurice DeShazo threw 15 yards to Still. Dwayne Thomas

15 1932 was the last year of the mega-Southern Conference. The fol-
lowing year, many of the teams that we know as SEC members today moved to
that newly formed conference.

35

ran up the middle into the WVU secondary for a gain of 13.
Then Brian Edmunds kicked his way out of the grasp of a
Mountaineer defender at the 25 and sprinted to the left py-
lon for a 33-yard touchdown.

On the next play from scrimmage, Boykin’s pass
was tipped, and the ball flew into the air like a lame duck.
Brandon Semones fielded the ball near the West Virginia
sideline and the crowd was now raucous as the Hokies had
the ball again, this time on the WVU 29.

DeShazo threw a screen to Antonio Freeman who
high-stepped over one Mountaineer defender and zigzagged
behind his blockers all the way into the end zone, giving
Tech a 14-3 advantage with 7:32 left in the first quarter.

Two field goals gave the Hokies a two-score, 20-6
advantage at halftime, but they couldn’t shake the Moun-
taineers until the fourth quarter when freshman Ken Ox-
endine, subbing for the injured Thomas, dashed 53 yards
into the end zone on his second collegiate carry. Final:
Virginia Tech 34 – West Virginia 6.

The Tech faithful were giddy with the team sporting
a 4-0 record. Never had this many fans been so excited in
Blacksburg, and to win in front of a national television au-
dience was unprecedented. Writers began to hype the late
October match-up with the mighty Miami Hurricanes as the
Big East championship game.16 Not since 1967 had Tech
had won more than two straight games at the beginning of
the season. A generation of Hokie fans grew up not know-
ing what it was like to experience being undefeated at the
end of the season’s first month.

16 The last time Tech had won a conference championship was 1963
when it had a 5-0 record in winning the Southern Conference. It had wins over
George Washington, William & Mary, Richmond, West Virginia and VMI.

36

Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY, October 1, 1994 - Then came the
trip up interstate 81 to the intimidating Carrier Dome in Sy-
racuse, New York. Still playing as the nation’s 14th ranked
team, Tech quieted the Orange17 crowd with an Oxendine
62-yard rumble in the third quarter to put the Hokies ahead
for the first time in the game 18-14. The home crowd was
deathly silent after DeShazo dragged two Syracuse defend-
ers into the end zone for the two-point conversion to make
it a six-point, 20-14 lead. This was perhaps the high point
of the Hokie season.

Tech’s defense held SU without another score until
5:32 left in the game when it took a 21-20 lead on 34-yard
run by Kirby Dar Dar and an extra point kick.

Tech quickly moved near midfield on a 20-yard
strike from DeShazo to Jermaine Holmes, but the drive
stalled there, giving Syracuse the ball back with 3:17. The
Orange were moved back to the 12 after a clipping penalty
on first down, and things looked promising for Tech. It had
an opportunity to get the ball back with time left in the
game to kick a field goal and take the win. The opportunity
quickly evaporated as the Hokie defense was shelled on the
next four plays. Malcolm Thomas carted the ball 31 yards
to the Syracuse 42, and on the next play, another 16 to the
Tech 41. Quarterback Kevin Mason caught the Hokies des-
perately trying to stop the run and threw 32 yards to the six.
Thomas scored with 2:33 left and the extra point left the
Hokies down by eight and the offence could not produce in
its final possession. Final score: Syracuse 28, Virginia
Tech 20.

The dreams of an undefeated season were shattered.
The Hokies were no longer in control of their own destiny

17 Syracuse didn’t change the nickname of its football team from the
Orangemen to the Orange until 2004. However, in this book, the new nick-
name is used throughout.

37

in the attempt to win their first Big East championship. The
world had turned upside down since the rousing Thursday
night win over West Virginia.

No. 6 University of Miami

Miami, FL, October 29, 1994 - Tech bounced
back, beating Temple, East Carolina, and Pittsburgh. It took
its highest ranking in history (No. 13) and a 7-1 record into
the Orange bowl against the third-ranked Hurricanes, who
were 5-1 - Miami had suffered an early season upset loss to
Washington. With an ABC audience looking on, the “U”
spanked the Hokies. Beamer said that the Hurricanes were
the best team in the country, and were a model for what
Tech wanted to become.18 Final: Miami 24 – Virginia
Tech 2.

Even with Tech’s loss to the mighty Hurricanes,
and its elimination from Big East Championship conten-
tion, the team still had a chance for its first 10-win season if
it could run the table against Rutgers and Virginia, and win
a bowl game.

Tech survived a scare in the annual shoot-out
against the Scarlett Knights, giving up 21-straight points in
the fourth quarter after running up a 41-13 lead. However,
in a matchup of the 14th ranked Hokies and 16th ranked
‘Hoos in Blacksburg, UVA pummeled Tech, running up a
42-16 lead before the Hokies tacked on a meaningless final
touchdown. Final: Virginia 43 – Virginia Tech 23.

Tech lost three fumbles and DeShazo threw five
interceptions. (It was the most turnovers for Tech in a game
since the 1950s). Virginia doubled the Hokies’ time of pos-
session and held Tech to 44 yards on the ground.

18 Miami beat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome the following week and
ran the table in its Big East schedule. In a home game in the Orange Bowl in
which it could have won the National Championship, it lost 24-17 to Nebraska
and finished the season ranked sixth.

38

The 10-win season was no longer a possibility, but
Tech still would get to play in arguably its most prestigious
bowl game in its history, representing the Big East as its
runner-up. The bowl matchup would be against Tennessee,
and gave the Hokies a chance to play a team whose fan
base stretched well into the southwest Virginia mountains.
Virginia Tech was much closer geographically to much of
the Volunteer fan base, but there was no comparison in in
terms of football success.

Tennessee’s Football Prominence

Tennessee was on a roll as one of the most success-
ful programs in all of college football. Between 1981 and
1994, the school went to bowl games in all except one year.
Its record in those games was 8-3, including two Sugar
Bowl, and one Cotton Bowl win. Its overall record during
that period was 116-45-8, while playing in the tough
Southeastern Conference. The Vols finished in the AP Top
10 final season rankings three times.

Tennessee fans expected this level of success. Its
prominence on the national stage went back to the early
20th century:

 In the 1910s, it registered two undefeated seasons.
 It lost two games (and had five ties) between 1926 and

1932, including a period of 33 games without a loss
during this span while under the leadership of Robert
Neyland, the man after whom the mammoth stadium in
Knoxville is named.
 1938-1940 were especially kind to the Volunteers. In
‘38 Tennessee had a perfect 11-0 record including an
Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma. It won the na-
tional championship in nine of 14 polls, but finished

39

second to TCU in the third year the writers voted in the
now famous AP poll.
 In 1939, UT was undefeated in the regular season
again. The team traveled to Pasadena for a New Year’s
Day showdown with Southern Cal. The Trojans tripped
up their opponents from the east 14-0. (This ended a
string of 17 straight games and 71 straight quarters
where Tennessee had held its opponents scoreless, both
NCAA records that stand in 2014).

Gator Bowl - University of Tennessee

Gainesville, FL, December 30, 1994 - Despite the
past success, Tennessee was only 7-4 going into the 50th
edition of the Gator Bowl. Traditionally played in Jackson-
ville, the teams and fans had to take a two-hour bus trip to
the “Swamp” in Gainesville because of construction ongo-
ing for the stadium to be occupied the next year by new
NFL team, the Jaguars.

In retrospect, perhaps most notable in the 1994 Ga-
tor Bowl was a young freshman who split starting time for
the Vols during the year. Then, Peyton Manning’s major
claim to fame was that his father was a well-known quar-
terback, even though he played for the perennial doormat
New Orleans Saints. The younger Manning started the Ga-
tor Bowl, and had his first chance to shine within minutes
of the kickoff when DeShazo’s threw a pick on the second
play from scrimmage at the Hokie 27.

Manning threw two completions before his team-
mate took the ball in from the three to give the Volunteers a
7-0 lead with 11:41 left in the first. Rocky Top became the
top tune on the charts for the next three hours. It was 21-0
early in the second quarter, and Tennessee led 35-10 at
halftime. Final: Tennessee 45 – Virginia Tech 23

Manning was 12-19 in his first college bowl, throw-
ing for 181 yards and a touchdown. DeShazo’s 102 rushing

40

yards and 140 yards passing in his final contest in Orange
and Maroon was not enough to make a difference in the
Tennessee romp.

The AP had ranked Tech in the top 25 every week
in the season, but dropped it out of the final AP poll when it
gave up 40+ points to two straight opponents.

41

1994 Season Results

1994– Virginia Tech 8-4

Final AP Poll: Not Rated

Ark. State (T#21) W 34- 7

@ So. Miss (T#21) W 24-14

@ BC (T#18) W 12- 7

West Va. (T#14) W 34 - 6

@ Syracuse (T#14) L 20-28

Temple (T#20) W 41-13

@ E. Carolina (T#19) W 27-20

Pittsburgh (T#17) W 45- 7

@ #6 Miami (T#13) L 3- 24

Rutgers (T#16) W 41-34

#16 UVA (T#14) L 23-42

n1 Tennessee (T#17) L 23-45

1Gator Bowl, Gainesville, Fla

42

National Championship Game:
Hokies Finally Get on the Board

If it wasn’t bad enough to be down by two touch-
downs to the mighty Seminoles in the first quarter, some-
thing else was amiss. Just prior to the blocked punt that
made it 14-0, Tech had the ball on the 28 when the center
fired the ball to Vick who obviously was not ready for the
play to start. The ball hit him in the chest and bounced to-
ward the Hokie end zone. The Tech QB retrieved the
bouncing pigskin 10 yards in the backfield and then tried to
use his speed to circle around the Florida State defense. He
was caught by three defensive linemen, after losing another
10 yards, but threw a rifle toward the line of scrimmage
before he was pummeled into the turf. He was flagged for
an intentional grounding penalty. After the play, the Hokies
star freshman bent over and grabbed his left wrist, grimac-
ing in pain. When he went to the sideline, he was greeted
by backup quarterback David Meyer, who appeared to ask
him if he was okay. Vick evaded Meyer, then the Tech
training staff.

With little time to recuperate due to the FSU special
teams’ touchdown, Vick went back to the field and offen-
sive coordinator Ricky Bustle and Beamer decided it was
time to get one of the TDs back right away. On the first
play from scrimmage, he overthrew Johnson, who broke
from his route and collided with an FSU defender. Johnson
was flagged for interference.

43

On the next pass play, Davis flew past the Florida
State defense and was at least five yards in the open on the
left side. He stopped, waiting for the ball to get to him, and
yet it fell harmlessly to the ground about 15 yards short of
the sophomore receiver. It appeared that Vick’s thumb was
having an effect on his accuracy; underthrows were not part
of the Vick portfolio. He routinely flicked his left wrist,
floated the ball 70 yards, and let the track star Davis run
under the ball. Another opportunity was gone.

Florida State penalties helped Tech move the ball
inside FSU territory to the 49. Vick dropped to pass again.
He had looked okay on a short drop-off to Jarett Ferguson.
Davis again had man-to-man coverage on the outside. The
DB tried to jam him at the line, but Davis eluded the hit and
raced into the secondary. Vick effortlessly lofted the ball
over his favorite target’s shoulder and the deep safety had
to look on as Davis raced untouched into the end zone for
the 49-yard score. Vick and Davis had given Tech life back
when it looked as if the rout was on. Nothing was ever said
again about Vick’s injured left thumb. 0:30 left in first
quarter, Florida State 14 – Virginia Tech 7.

44

1995: Big East Champions

Boston College

Blacksburg, VA, September 7, 1995 - ESPN
picked the 20th ranked Hokies to lead off with a home
game to begin its 1995 Thursday night schedule. Tech was
hosting pre-season No. 22 Boston College. The frenzy of
the previous year’s ESPN Thursday night win over West
Virginia was amped one level higher. Strong-armed quar-
terback Jim Druckenmiller was making his first start
against the Eagles, who had already tuned up in the Kickoff
Classic against Ohio State, suffering a 38-8 loss, and falling
from the AP poll.

Tech spotted the visitors a 14-0 lead, and then
closed the gap to a touchdown on what would become a
hallmark of the 1995 season. “Druck,” as his teammates
called him, hit Bryan Still three yards beyond the line of
scrimmage, and the speedy flanker faked one defender and
took the ball down the right sidelines, untouched, for an 80-
yard touchdown. It was the longest passing touchdown for
the Hokies since Bruce Arians19 was the Hokies quarter-
back in 1973.

The vaunted special teams set up what could have
been one of the most memorable comebacks in Lane histo-
ry. When the Eagles took a 20-7 lead in the third quarter on
the third touchdown pass given up by the “D,” Waverly
Jackson reached high to tip the ensuing extra point to keep

19Arians was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2015

45

the deficit at 13. After cutting the lead to six after a one-
yard run from Brian Edmonds early in the fourth quarter,
Druckenmiller had an opportunity to give Tech the victory
with a drive starting on the Hokie 31. There was 2:27 to
play.

Druck dropped back to pass on the next 12 snaps.
His 20-yarder to Cornelius White put the ball solidly into
Eagle territory before he was sacked near midfield. He
completed a 17-yarder to Michael Stuewe and faced a
fourth-and-four with under a minute to play. The quarter-
back found Jermaine Holmes for the first down with 45
seconds left.

Destiny seemed to be on Tech’s side as the officials
mistakenly awarded a first down to the Hokies on an eight-
yard pass to Stuewe on first and ten. However, after going
six for seven in reaching the red zone, Druckenmiller threw
four straight incompletions, the final one tipped in the de-
fensive backfield, falling harmlessly in the end zone. Final:
Boston College 20 – Virginia Tech 14.

It was a frustrating loss, evidenced by Beamer’s
tantrum on the sidelines, caught by ESPN cameras as time
slipped away. Tech had lost four of its last five games go-
ing back to the 1994 season. Things would get much worse
before they got better.

University of Cincinnati

Blacksburg, VA, September 16, 1995 - The lights
were on in Lane Stadium again when Cincinnati came to
town. This time though, it was for noon start. Dark clouds
produced steady rain that fell on the turf of Worsham Field
the entire day. In stark contrast to the electricity that filled
the air in the season opener, the fans stayed home in droves
for the game 10 days later. Many more left at halftime with
Tech trailing by what would be the final score of 16-0.

Cincinnati had been 2-8-1 the previous season.
Beamer could not have missed the irony of that identical

46

record that VT had in the miserable 1992 season that al-
most cost him his job. Tech had obviously hoped to turn
things around against the Bearcats in anticipation of the
game the following week with the mighty Miami Hurri-
canes.

However, the Hokies had five turnovers including
three interceptions by Druckenmiller. The junior also fum-
bled twice, but VT recovered those miscues. The Hokie
starter was pulled midway through the fourth quarter, creat-
ing a “quarterback controversy” in the press between
Druckenmiller and redshirt-freshman Al Clark. Clark fared
no better against the Cincinnati defense, the weather, and
the lethargy.

Tech had one trip inside the Bearcat 20-yard line all
day. After John Thomas’ punt trapped the Bearcats at its
one, the Hokies took over at the Cincinnati 26 with 1:01 to
play in the first half. After moving to the nine, Tech went
for the field goal as time ran out in the half. It was an op-
portunity for Tech to seize some momentum going into the
locker room. Atle Larsen missed the 26-yard try, adding
insult to injury. Final: Cincinnati 16 – Virginia Tech 0.

The shutout was the first time Tech had failed to
score at home since an embarrassing 6-0 lost to VMI to end
the 1981 season. (It would be the last time the Hokies
would fail to put points on the board for at least 20 seasons,
the streak of 245 games stands at the beginning of the 2015
campaign, the fifth longest active streak in the country).

The two straight losses at home to open a season
was the first time that had happened to the Hokies in school
history.

Independents Miami and VT Take Divergent Paths

Miami was an almost perfect team to act as a meas-
uring stick for the Hokies’ progress as a program. The Hur-
ricanes had four bowl appearances in the 1960s, including
one against Virginia Tech in the 1966 Liberty Bowl. They

47

were the nation’s ninth ranked team in that season’s final
AP poll that year, having posted an 8-2-1 record following
that 14-7 win over the team then referred to mainly as the
VPI Gobblers.

The two teams played again, in the 1980 Peach
Bowl. In the 13 seasons between those two games, the
Canes were 58-82. Virginia Tech was 65-75-3. Looking
just at the 10 seasons of the 1970’s decade, Miami was 42-
67, and Tech 47-61-2. Tech had been slightly better than
Miami by either measure.

While the Hokies and ‘Canes were on roughly the
same level when they had played those two bowl games,
the “U’s” rise to football royalty was now the envy of every
member of the Hokie Nation. The paths diverged after the
frigid bowl game played in Atlanta on December 31, 1980
when future NFL Hall of Famer Jim Kelly led the Canes to
a 20-10 victory, a 9-3 record, and the 18th spot in the final
AP poll.

Schnellenberger’s team went 9-2 in 1981, including
a win against the Hokies in Blacksburg, and finished No. 8
in the AP poll. There was no bowl game for Miami because
of a penalty issued by the NCAA for recruiting violations.
UM’s quota of new scholarships for one season was also
cut from 30 to 20.

The Canes bounced back quickly. Following a 7-4
season in the reduced scholarship year, the team won the
school’s first National Championship in 1983 with a classic
31-30 win over Nebraska. Its 11-1 record was only blem-
ished by its opening day defeat to cross-state rival Florida,
28-3.

Schnellenberger left immediately following the
championship to move into the pro ranks, opting for a job
in the fledgling United States Football League. (The deal
with a team slated to be based in Miami fell through and
Schnellenberger was unemployed for the 1984 season). Mi-
ami had an 8-5 record in ’84 before running off nine 10-

48

win seasons in ten years coming into 1995 (during an era of
11-game regular season games). It had won a National
Championships under Jimmy Johnson in 1987, and two un-
der Dennis Erickson, in 1989 and 1991. That made four
rings in nine years counting the earlier championship under
Schnellenberger.

No. 17 University of Miami

Blacksburg, VA, September 23, 1995 - The 1994
Hurricanes had been the Big East Champions, running up a
10-1 regular season record, losing only in a September
game to No. 17 Washington, 38-20. At home in Orange
Bowl for New Year’s Day, the No. 3 Hurricanes lost its
chance to claim its fifth National Championship with a 24-
17 loss to top-ranked Nebraska. (Penn State, the nation’s
number two team, beat #12 Oregon in the Rose Bowl. This
was before the Pac 10 and Big Ten had joined in the Bowl
Alliance for the 1995 season).

Miami came to Blacksburg in 1995 with a brand
new coach, Butch Davis. The “U” had suffered an opening
game defeat at UCLA 31-8, and was ranked No. 17 in the
country. However, not even the most ardent Tech fan had
more than a glimmer of hope that the Hokies could win its
first game against the ‘Canes in 14 attempts. Since the two
teams had entered the Big East, VT had lost to Miami 43-
23, 21-2, and 24-3. Not since 1984 had Miami lost to an
unranked opponent – 71 straight games.

Tech dominated every element of the game, except
on the scoreboard. The Hokies missed four of six field
goals, had one of its star receivers drop a wide-open pass
that would have been an easy score, and only put up three
points after it blocked a punt in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, Tech was superior. The oft-blitzing
Hokies sacked Miami quarterbacks six times for cumula-
tive losses of 51 yards. Senior J.C. Price single-handedly
had four sacks. If the score held, it would mark the lowest

49

point total the Hurricanes had amassed in a regular season
game since 1984. The “U” had made it inside the Tech red-
zone only twice. On the first trip there, Brandon Semones
scooped a pass off the turf for an interception that would
have almost certainly been overturned using today’s replay
standards. The other time, Miami scored its only points on
a five-yard touchdown by Daynell Ferguson very late in the
first half.

After they took the ball with 2:08 remaining in the
game, the Hurricanes began to move down field with one
weapon – backup quarterback Ryan Clement to Yatil Green
– 15 yards to the Miami 49; 16 yards to the Tech 35; and
eight yards to the Hokie 27.

Clement had come into the game when starter Ryan
Collins suffered a separated shoulder on a fourth-and-one
carry midway through the second quarter. Green, a future
first-round NFL draft pick had now caught eight passes for
171 yards.

This seemed like one of those familiar situations
where the huge underdog doesn’t close the door on its
slumping opponent when it has the chance, and falters in
the last minutes, or even on the last play of the game…

It is fourth and 20, Miami with the ball, and down
six points at the Tech 34. There are 23 seconds left on the
clock for the Hurricanes to go for a first down, and still
maybe get off one, or if lucky, two shots at the end zone.
Clement takes the snap and retreats toward his 40, and
sees the torrid Hokie blitz. He desperately heaves the ball
down the left sideline toward Green just before he is
smashed to the ground by a maroon-clad lineman who
stunted from the left side. At the ten, a Hokie defender and
the ‘Cane receiver eye the floating spiral and jockey to
make the catch. At the five, the two players collide as the
ball reaches its destination….

The Tech defender going up against Green was
backup true freshman Loren Johnson, a Miami native who

50

had been snubbed by his hometown team when it came
time to offer up scholarships.

Johnson had broken up a deep pass to Green earlier
in the half, but Miami opted to try again against the fresh-
man lined up in man-to-man coverage on the outside, going
for either the first down or the win. After the two dueling
players ran into each other at the five, Green dropped to the
turf and the ball bounced off Johnson’s hands, harmlessly
into the end zone. All eyes were on the officials. The
linesman within feet of the play never hesitated and sig-
naled incomplete. The other official in the middle of the
field also gave the signal that the home fans wanted. Final:
Virginia Tech 13 – Miami 7.

Tech had its first win ever over Miami. It avoided a
0-3 start. It had tamed the “U” for at least one day.

“I really think we found our Virginia Tech football
program today,” said Beamer after the game. In his autobi-
ograhies, Beamer calls the win the turning point in the pro-
gram, the biggest win in Virginia Tech history.

No. 20 Syracuse University

Blacksburg, VA, November 4, 1995 - Tech won
its next five games, on the road against Navy, Pittsburgh,
and West Virginia, and at home against Akron and Rutgers.
It took an improbable 6-2 record into a game against the
20th ranked Syracuse Orange in Lane Stadium. An ABC
regional audience looked on. It was billed as a semifinal
game for the Big East title. Syracuse’s only loss was to East
Carolina in a 27-24 squeaker. A win would give the ‘Cuse
an easy road to at least the co-title in the Big East, even if it
fell to Miami later in the season.

The Hokies would be even closer to wrapping up
the co-title with a win. It had only the loss against Boston
College in the league. Their only other upcoming Big East
game was against lowly Temple, at that time suffering
through a 1-7 season.

51

The previous year Syracuse had squelched the
Hokies longest modern-day winning streak at seven. A win
in this game would match that mark.

Syracuse took the early momentum, moving into
Tech territory to the 39. Donovan McNabb tucked the ball
and ran 20 yards, and then Rob Conrad put the Orange on
the board first on the next play carrying the ball in from the
19.

VT’s defense would only allow Syracuse one more
trip inside its 20 during the game. By that time, the Hokies
were up 24-7 in the third quarter.

They scored 14 points in the last four minutes of
the first half on two touchdown passes by Druckenmiller.
The first was a shovel pass to Brian Edmonds, who ran un-
touched up the middle for 25 yards with 3:32 left. Then
Druckenmiller tossed a perfect 29-yard strike to Holmes
with 34 seconds left.

Syracuse fumbled the second half kickoff, giving
Tech an easy chance from the 25. Druckenmiller found
Dwayne Thomas on a screen over the middle, and the tail-
back picked up all the yards after the catch for the score.
Tech had piled up 21 points in just a span of over six
minutes on the game clock. Final: Virginia Tech 31 – Sy-
racuse 7.

For the game, Tech outgained SU 448 – 167.
Druckenmiller was 16-27 for 224 yards and three touch-
downs. Ken Oxendine rushed for 117 yards on the ground.
Cornell Brown sacked McNabb three times in helping to
hold the Orange to 54 rushing yards (sacks count as nega-
tive rushing yards in college football, but as negative pass-
ing yards in the professional ranks).

The Hokies were potentially headed to a traditional
New Year’s Day bowl game.

52

Background on the Bowl Alliance

As the Hokies were preparing to play Virginia go-
ing into the final regular season game in Charlottesville, the
Bowl Alliance was front and center, for both teams.

When the Hokies joined the Big East Conference,
one of the largest advantages was the bowl tie-in of the
league, guaranteeing its champion a chance to play in one
of the five major bowl games. In 1992, the Bowl Coalition
became the first cooperative arrangement between the
bowls.

The bowl system had degenerated in the previous
years, with officials looking to lock in top teams as early as
October to avoid being left out of the mad rush that came at
the end of the year. At that time, some conferences cham-
pions were automatically guaranteed an appearance in these
prestigious bowls, but finding the second opponent was a
laborious task involving negotiations and lobbying not un-
like what would have been seen on Capitol Hill. (Of course,
the Rose Bowl was always set, with the Big Ten and Pac 10
having a guaranteed meeting each year).

There is no better illustration of the problem than
what happened in the 1990 season. The University of Vir-
ginia jumped off to a 7-0 start and a No. 1 ranking in the
Associated Press poll. On November 3, Virginia lost its
next game against Georgia Tech, which dashed its chances
for both a national championship, and an ACC champion-
ship at the same time. Following the loss, the Cavaliers
came to a tentative agreement with the Fiesta Bowl to play
in that game, conditional only upon winning its eighth
game the following week against North Carolina.

That week in history happened to correspond with
an election when the people of Arizona refused to recog-
nize a holiday for Martin Luther King. It also was a time
when Virginia had an African-American governor. The re-
sulting firestorm, which included the NFL’s threat to move

53

the Super Bowl planned for 1993 out of Arizona, and the
Virginia Governor’s harsh criticism of UVA’s post-season
plans, resulted in the UVA administration taking a hard
look at its options. By the following Saturday, after beating
UNC, the Cavaliers had agreed to accept an invitation to
the Sugar Bowl, instead of the Fiesta.

UVA proceeded to lose to Maryland and Virginia
Tech in the following two weeks, but the Sugar Bowl kept
its word and the 8-3 (and unranked) Cavaliers played SEC
champion Tennessee on New Year’s evening. Notably, a 7-
4 Alabama team that had gone 0-3 to start the season, and
was No. 25 in the AP poll, played 18th ranked Louisville in
the Fiesta Bowl. Georgia Tech, representing the ACC as its
champion, finished its undefeated 11-0-1 season with a win
over AP No. 11 Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl. Big Eight
Champion Colorado, with one loss, beat Notre Dame in the
much more prestigious Orange Bowl and finished with an
11-1-1 record.

The college football coaches, who then voted in the
now-defunct UPI poll, picked Georgia Tech as champion,
likely given its undefeated record. The writers in the AP
poll picked Colorado as the champion, likely due to
strength of schedule.

Similarly, in 1991, Washington finished the year
12-0 and beat No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl. It won the
UPI National Championship. Miami was 12-0 and but its
opponent, Nebraska, was only ranked No. 11. However, it
still won the AP National Championship.

By the time this second straight split National
Championship occurred, organizers of three of the four ma-
jor bowl games (the Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar) had agreed
to increase the likelihood of a matchup between the No. 1
and No. 2 teams starting with the 1992 season. Ironically,
since the Rose Bowl would not join the “coalition,” Wash-
ington would not have had the opportunity to face-off
against Miami at the end of the 1991 season and the new

54

deal would not have led to a singular National Champion-
ship under the Bowl Coalition format had it been imple-
mented one year earlier.

1995 Bowl Alliance Breakdown

Tech had wrapped up a share of the Big East title
with the previous week’s win against Temple. After a sig-
nature win over No. 2 Florida State (which had won its first
29 ACC head-to-head games) Virginia earned a share of
the ACC when it beat Maryland. (The Cavaliers’ early sea-
son loss to North Carolina cost them a guaranteed outright
championship). The Bowl Alliance was contractually
committed to picking the outright conference champion
from both leagues – or in case of a tie, any co-champion
that the bowls pleased. In a fact that would become critical
for Tech more than UVA, there was no tie-breaking proce-
dure in place. Head-to-head games did not matter as they
do today. An attempt to require the bowls to take the high-
est rated co-champion was rejected.

Because of Tech’s early season loss to Boston Col-
lege, either Miami or Syracuse could get the nod over Tech
for the Bowl Alliance spot, even though the Hokies had
beaten those two teams head-to-head. Miami offered the
prestige, national appeal, and possible home game in the
Orange Bowl. Syracuse offered the lucrative New York
TV market.

It was simple, if not more controversial, in the
ACC. A win by Florida State over Maryland on November
18, the day of the VT-UVA game, would give the Semi-
noles a co-championship. Florida State still had one game
the following week against bitter rival Florida, the coun-
try’s third-ranked team. Despite its loss to UVA, the ‘Noles
were almost guaranteed to play close to home in the Orange
Bowl - if it could beat Maryland. UVA had to hope for a
Maryland upset win over the Seminoles to win the confer-
ence outright. Alternatively, UVA could muster a huge vic-

55

tory over Tech that could leave the Orange Bowl’s selec-
tion committee just a bit guiltier about picking the team the
team from Florida, even though it had lost head-to-head
against UVA.

The Bowl Alliance was a move in the right direc-
tion, but it had still left a monumental mess that could cost
both teams from Virginia a spot in the limelight.

No. 13 University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA, November 18, 1995 - Neither
the 20th ranked Hokies, nor the 13th ranked Wahoos could
do anything other than try to beat their archrival in convinc-
ing fashion on that cool November day in Scott Stadium in
front of a regional ABC audience. A win would give either
team a nine-win season. Scouts from the Orange, Sugar,
Gator, Peach and Carquest bowls would be on-hand. Both
the winning and losing teams would play in one of those
five bowls.

It appeared that Virginia would get its slim shot at
convincing one of the Alliance Bowls to choose it to repre-
sent the ACC when Tiki Barber’s touchdown put the Cavs
up by 15 with a little more than 10 minutes to go in the
third quarter. The Wahoos were dominating Tech. By the
end of the third quarter, UVA had outgained VT 354 to 210
and had 16 first downs to Tech’s six. While there were 25
minutes of football left, Beamer’s clubs were notorious for
being unable to come back from double-digit deficits.

A simple miscue by the Cavaliers seemed to give
the Hokies life. On third and 13 in their own territory, the
ball sailed over quarterback Mike Groh’s head for a 19-
yard loss. Catching the ball around midfield, Loren Green
ran it back 16 yards to the UVA 39. Field position turned
the Hokies’ way.

Beamer turned to a trick play after the Hokies
picked up one first down, with Druckenmiller throwing a
lateral to White, who threw all the way back across the

56

field to the quarterback. Three blockers were set up to take
on one UVA defender in sight, but that one man slipped
through the dragnet to pull Druck down after only 10 yards.
On third and two, Druckenmiller threw 10 yards to Holmes
on a play action screen pass to close the gap to nine, 29-20.
Beamer decided to go for two instead of settling to make it
a one-possession, eight-point game, but Druckenmiller’s
throw was broken up to thwart the Hokies’ momentum.
Tech had to score twice with almost 13 minutes remaining.

A penalty on the kickoff return put UVA deep in its
own territory, starting the possession at its own six. After
escaping from inside the 10, in typical BeamerBall fashion,
a Cornell Brown sack was followed by an errant snap to the
UVA punter who finally got the ball away for a 10-yard
kick. Keion Carpenter picked the ball out of the air and re-
turned it 12 yards, with Tech taking over on the Cavaliers’
21.

Tech got one of the two scores it needed when
Larsen kicked a 35-yard field goal after the team couldn’t
move the ball. The score stood 29-23 with less than seven
minutes to play.

Foster’s defense put up the stand it needed, as J.C.
Price stopped Barber for a one-yard loss, then sacked Groh
for a five-yard loss. Cornell Brown ended the drive with a
seven-yard sack. A short UVA punt put Tech just inside
UVA territory with 4:26 to play. Everything looked like it
was going the Hokies’ way.

As Lee Corso says on ESPN’s GameDay, “not so
fast.” The offensive struggles continued as Druckenmiller
threw two straight incompletions, and then the Cavaliers
flipped the field with a devastating interception by Todd
White that bounced off the foot of fellow UVA defender
Jamie Sharper, giving the Cavaliers another chance to run
out the clock.

UVA moved into field goal range when Tech was
whistled for pass interference. The Cavalier kicker had

57

made 13 of his last 14 attempts, having missed only 33-
yard kick against Texas that was so high that the officials
under the goal post had to make a judgment call that proved
to be wrong based on video replays. With 2:10 left, Garcia
had a chance to give the ‘Hoos a seemingly insurmountable
lead, but the 46-yard field goal was short and to the left.
Tech took over at its 29, with no timeouts remaining.

Next came a drive for the ages. It started inauspi-
ciously with three-straight Druckenmiller incompletions.
On fourth and ten from the 29, the signal-caller calmly ri-
fled the ball over the middle to well-covered White who
somehow brought the ball down for a 14-yard first down.

Druck threw to Oxendine who had a defender all
over him to reach midfield. Then he passed six yards to
Holmes for another first down. An illegal procedure penal-
ty offset a six-yard throw to Still, leaving Tech with a third
and nine on the UVA 43, with 1:03 remaining on the clock.

The strong-armed right-hander threw the ball across
the field to Michael Stuewe who went to the ground to
make the catch, two yards in front of the first down marker.
On fourth down, instead of trying for the drive-extending
first down, Beamer took a huge chance. With the clock
ticking under 50 seconds, Druckenmiller calmly pump-
faked, freezing UVA defender Percy Ellsworth, and found
Holmes’ outstretched arms in the end zone several yards
ahead of frustrated Ellsworth and Tiki’s twin brother,
Ronde Barber. After the incredible 43-yard TD, Holmes
was mobbed by his teammates when he emerged from the
row of photographers recording the catch. “It was either
going to be a great catch or overthrown,” said Holmes,
whose lightning speed made it the former. With 47 seconds
left, Tech had tied the game on a 10-play, 71-yard drive,
and only needed the extra point to take the lead. It wasn’t
as simple as it seemed as a high snap almost sailed over the
holder’s head, but was in place by the time Larsen kicked
the game winner.

58

UVA had already been stung twice in the season
with last-play losses. The Hokies were now poised to make
it three. However, the Cavs were not going down without a
fight. On third down from its own 18, thing begin to click:
11 yards from Groh to Barber; another 11 yards from Groh
to Bryan Owen; then back to Barber for 20 at the Tech 40.
After an incompletion by Groh, stopping the clock with six
ticks left, UVA inexplicably called its final timeout. It
would be a 57-yarder for Garcia who had just come up
short from 46. The only two options now were to throw to
the end zone for one roll of the dice, or to connect on a
quick out pattern to the sideline to give the kicker the pre-
cious extra yardage needed for a chance to win the game.

Antonio Banks guessed that the sideline was the
likely option, and jumped the route on the right side, easily
picking off the pass. Banks shrugged off an attempted tack-
le by Tiki Barber and took the ball into the end zone at the
exact spot that Holmes had just scored minutes earlier. The
thousands of Tech fans ringing the stadium ran onto the
field. Foster bear-hugged Beamer. The improbable ending
to the game was symbolic of the improbable march to nine
straight victories. Final: Virginia Tech 36 – Virginia 29.

“This is the biggest win I've ever been involved in,''
said Druckenmiller, who completed 6-of-10 passes on the
final drive for 76 yards. ``This will be one I'll definitely
look back on the rest of my life. It was a great one.''

All the Bowl Alliance math worked as expected.
Miami fought off Syracuse 35-24 and the Orange Bowl was
salivating at a chance to match the Hurricanes, winners of
four national championships in the last 12 years, for a home
game against fabled Notre Dame. Florida State was to play
Texas or Texas A&M in the Sugar, with Tech settling for a
matchup against Clemson in the Gator.

59

Sugar Bowl – No. 9 University of Texas

New Orleans, LA, December 31, 1995 - A funny
thing happened on the way back to Jacksonville for what
would have been the Hokies’ second straight trip to the Ga-
tor Bowl. A mostly-ignored story about recruiting viola-
tions by the Miami football staff emerged in early Novem-
ber, believed to be far too late for the NCAA to impose
sanctions before the December 4 deadline to issue bowl
bids. However, Miami asked the NCAA to expedite the rul-
ings, hoping to serve any penalties as soon as possible. On
November 30, the NCAA announced that it would honor
the request, and issue its ruling on December 1. The NCAA
announced a one-year bowl ban for the Hurricanes, who
elected to take the penalty in the 1995 post-season. Virginia
Tech was the Big East’s representative in the Bowl Alli-
ance.

The nine straight wins that Virginia Tech mustered
after the horrid 0-2 start led to the biggest reward in the his-
tory of the Tech football team. For the first time, the team
was set to play in one of the elite bowl games – the Sugar
Bowl. This game had always been for the powerhouse
teams in college football, and for years had been hosted by
the SEC champions. The No. 1 team in the country had
played in this game nine times: Alabama, Georgia (twice),
Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas A&M,
and TCU.

Texas was another team that represented one of
these truly perennial football powerhouses. While things
had been down for Texas in the decade prior to the 1995
Sugar Bowl game, the dominance of the teams throughout
college football history was unquestioned. Texas was tied
with Tennessee for the most bowl appearances with 36. The
‘Horns would be playing in their 24th traditional New
Year’s game.

60

Texas won national championships in undefeated
and untied seasons of 1963 and 1969 under legendary
coach Darrel Royal. Between 1959 and 1983, the Long-
horns finished in the top five in the final AP rankings 12.
For 29 years between 1957 and 1985, Texas did not have a
losing season.

The Horns fell to earth in 1986 with a 5-6 record,
and had three losing seasons during the period 1986-1989.
A 10-2 mark in 1990 earned the team its only AP top 20
ranking during the 10-year span of 1984-1993.

The Longhorns and Hokies had similar seasons in
1994. Texas had a 7-4 regular season record, and won 35-
31 over North Carolina in the Sun Bowl to finish the year
8-4, ranked 25th in the final AP poll. Tech had also been 8-
4, but suffered a loss to Tennessee in its first Gator Bowl
appearance and fell out of the polls.

In 1996, Texas returned to national prominence.
The team was 10-1-1 coming into game. Tech was a two-
point underdog with its 10-2 record.

Tech fans were out in masse to experience the
dream of seeing the Hokies play in a major bowl. Tech sold
its allotment of 15,000 tickets in three days and procured
another 2,500 that also went quickly.

“We’ve got a lot riding on this thing,” said Beamer.
“It gives us an opportunity to take another step. Texas is at
the point where we’re trying to get to. They have the na-
tional reputation, been to many bowls, won their confer-
ence many times. We’re trying to get there and I think we
have the potential to. If we can find a way to beat Texas, it
makes us more legit.”

There was obviously an abundance of nerves in play
for the newcomers to the national stage as the weeks of
preparation finally led to the New Year’s Eve clash. A kick
catching interference call on the Hokies gave Texas the ball
on its 28 instead of inside its own 15, and then the defense
jumped offside when the Longhorns faced a third and five

61

after it had driven to the Tech 11. Texas took the lead 7-0
two plays later when James Brown threw four yards to Pat
Fitzgerald in the end zone.

Then Oxendine fumbled at the Hokie 28, but Texas
was unable to capitalize due to a holding penalty that
moved the ball out of field goal range. The Longhorns did
convert on the Hokies’ second turnover after Jim
Druckenmiller’s pass was intercepted and returned to the
Tech 33. While the Tech defense held UT at bay, Phil
Dawson hit a 52-yard field goal on fourth and 12 that gave
Texas a 10-0 lead with less than two minutes elapsed in the
second quarter.

ABC executives had to be nervous that the nation’s
football fans would be leaving sooner than they expected
for their New Year’s Eve parties.

Tech narrowly averted a third turnover, and perhaps
the knockout punch, as Druckenmiller’s hurried throw to
Bryan Jennings went through the arms of a Longhorn de-
fender who was already running toward the Tech end zone.
Jennings caught the deflection, and instead of a 17-point
UT lead, the Hokies had the ball in Texas territory for the
first time during the evening. The Hokies’ drive stalled.

Then, the magic that had marked the Tech season
re-emerged. Still caught a Longhorn punt on the Tech 40,
got two key blocks, and sauntered untouched 60 yards
down the right sideline for the TD. Texas avoided another
near disaster on a fumbled punt that was finally recovered
by the Hokies at their own 19. Then Tech’s offense finally
showed some signs of life. Druckenmiller hit Still for 19
yards and Holmes for 16 to get the Hokies back into Texas
territory, but failed on three straight passes with under a
minute left in the stanza.

Tech trailed at halftime just 10-7. The problem was
John Mackovic’s Texas teams had a 21-0-1 record when
leading at the half.

62

As the Tech defense continued to take its toll on the
Texas running game, the team from Blacksburg took its
first lead in a major bowl with 2:32 left in the third quarter
on Marcus Parker’s two-yard run. The Hokies arrived at the
two on a dazzling catch by Still on a 27-yard pickup. Druck
also threw 27 yards to Bryan Jennings on the drive.

While Mackovic’s team had been nearly perfect
holding second half leads, Tech’s defense in the fourth
quarter had been equivalent to the Yankees’ Mariano Rive-
ra in the ninth inning. The 14-10 lead going into the fourth
quarter had to raise the team’s confidence. During the year,
it had given up only 21 fourth quarter points, all of them in
blowout victories. Akron scored when it 63-20; Rutgers
when it was 31-10; and Temple when it was 38-9.

Under intense pressure from the Tech pass rush,
William Yarbrough picked off quarterback James Brown
on the first series of the fourth quarter to stall the Long-
horns. It was to be the first of three Hokie picks in the quar-
ter. Still struck it big for the second time of the night, put-
ting a move on the single defender against him and racing
open in the middle of the field where he caught a perfect
Druckenmiller pass and went untouched into the end zone
for a two-possession, 21-10 lead.

Torrian Gray20 robbed Brown on Texas’ next two
series, both times in Tech territory, at the 28 and the 12.
The Hokie defense then put a punctuation mark on the up-
set. Cornell Brown registered his third sack of the game,
knocking the ball loose at the Longhorn 20. Jim Baron
picked up the ball and lumbered into the end zone. It was
the seventh defensive score in Tech’s last six games. Final:
Virginia Tech 28 – Texas 10.

The stout Tech defense had held the Longhorns’ of-
fense to nearly half their season output, giving up only 226
yards, exactly 100 in the second half. The potent Longhorn

20 In 2015, Torian Gray was Virginia Tech’s defensive backs coach.

63

rushing game, that ended the year with two 1000-yard
rushers, including future Heisman Trophy winner, and then
freshman Ricky Williams, picked up a total of 78 yards.

While Beamer views the first win of the season over
Miami as the biggest during his tenure, others would argue
that the Texas victory was the biggest statement win in the
history of Tech football, then, and perhaps through the end
of his tenure.

At a post-game press conference, Beamer was asked
if there would be a ticker-tape parade in Blacksburg when
Tech arrived home. He said, "If there is one, it wouldn't last
long. Blacksburg is about as big as from here to the back of
the room."

64

1995 Season Results

1995– Virginia Tech 10-2

Final AP Poll: No. 10

Boston Coll. (T#20) L 14-20

Cincinnati L 0-16

#17 Miami W 13- 7

@Pittsburgh W 26-16

@ Navy W 14- 0

Akron W 77-27

@Rutgers W 45-17

@West Virginia W 27- 0

#20 Syracuse W 31- 7

n1 Temple (T#21) W 38-16

@ #13 UVA (T#20) W 36-29

n2 #9 Texas (T#13) W 28-10

1 Washington, D. C.
2 Sugar Bowl, New Orleans

65

66

National Championship Game: FSU
Speed leads to 14 Quick Points

As quickly as the door opened for Tech, the Semi-
noles slammed it shut with a force that reverberated
through the Super Dome and throughout the Hokie Nation.
Just 1:45 after the Vick to Davis highlight-reel play, Wein-
ke threaded the proverbial needle to Ron Dugans on a third
and three from the FSU 37. Three Hokies were at the point
of attack near the 40. On the quick post, the ball first zipped
past linebacker Ben Taylor. Then Dugans slipped just in
front of Ike Charlton who grabbed at his jersey from behind
and dove for the ball. Charles Hawkins also went for the
ball. He and Charlton passed each other in mid-air as
Dugans raced away, picking up 60 yards after the catch,
going unscathed into the Tech end zone.

Another botched special team play gave the Semi-
noles a three-touchdown lead. All-American Peter War-
wick fielded a punt almost exactly where Dugan had just
outrun the Tech defense, darted to his left past the lead
gunner, and right past diving Tech punt return defenders.
Warwick also was untouched as he traced Dugan’s path to
the end zone.

It had taken just over three minutes of clock time to
squash the momentum Tech had regained, and take the
Hokies out of their game plan. There were still over 40
minutes left in the game, but Beamer’s teams were not
comeback specialists. The 1995 Virginia game, when Tech
came back from 15 in the fourth quarter, was the biggest

67

comeback in during the head coach’s 13-year tenure. 11:40
remaining in second quarter: Florida State 28 – Virginia
Tech 7.

68

1996: Two Top Tier Bowls in a Row

Three Wins to Open Season

The 1996 season started in a strange fashion, as
Tech opened away against Akron of the Mid-American
Conference. This was a return game of a home-and-home
series. During the stretch of 10 straight wins in ’95, Akron
had taken a thumping of monumental proportions against
Tech. The Hokies beat the Zips 77-27, Tech’s largest mar-
gin of victory since the 1969 season when it beat VMI 52-
0. The Tech total was a Lane Stadium record for points that
still stands in 2015. It was the most points Tech has scored
since a 99-0 rout of Emory & Henry in 1919.

The local newspaper in Akron called the upcoming
game “the mismatch of the century.” There were 12,993
fans there to see the defending Sugar Bowl champions - in
a stadium that would hold three times that number. The
score at halftime was 8-8, as Tech’s punt returner fumbled
deep in Zips territory, allowing an early touchdown, and
then carried the ball into the end zone from within the field
of play resulting in a safety on another kicking situation.
Tech pulled ahead in the second half, allowing only a late
score to narrow the final margin to three 21-18. The Hokies
had definitely dodged a bullet.

Boston College was the unfortunate team to serve
as the next opponent in the home opener, as the ego-bruised
Hokies racked up the last 31 points in the first half of a 45-
7 blowout. Then Tech pulled away from Rutgers after a 14-

69

14 tie early in the third quarter, winning 30-14 and running
its winning streak to 13 games.

Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY, September 28, 1996 - Thirteen
games was not only the longest winning streak in Tech his-
tory, it was the longest active winning streaks of all major
colleges football teams in the country on that Saturday. So
all eyes were on the Orange and Hokies in Tech’s first trip
to the Carrier Dome since the devastating loss in 1994
when Syracuse snapped the team’s seven-game winning
streak.

In ’95, after losing to the Hokies, Syracuse also
dropped a game to Miami, costing it a share of the Big East
Championship. However, in the Gator Bowl, Syracuse
whipped Clemson 41-0 for a 9-3 record. The ‘Cuse started
the year at the ninth ranked team in the country, hoping to
ride super-sophomore Donovan McNabb’s quickness and
finesse to a National Championship. 24th-ranked North
Carolina spoiled the party in the first game of the season
with a 27-10 win at the Carrier Dome, and then a loss at
Minnesota dropped SU from the national rankings. All Sy-
racuse had left was a shot a Big East title and automatic
berth in a Bowl Alliance game.

On its first possession of the game, Syracuse ground
out a 15-play, 72-yard drive taking 6:33 off the clock.
McNabb threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Deon Mad-
dox, the fifth third-down conversion of the drive.

About three minutes later, Beamer’s special teams
unit turned spectacular, instantly changing the momentum
of the game as Cornelius White came off the left corner of
the line untouched, literally taking the ball off the foot of
the Syracuse punter at midfield. The ball never touched the
ground and Cornelius never broke stride as he ran un-
touched into the end zone knotting the score.

70

Foster’s defense then took its turn at spoiling the
home crowd’s afternoon on the very next play from scrim-
mage, forcing the Syracuse QB into an error on a pitch
play. The ball slipped from McNabb’s hands and several
white shirted Hokies took their turn trying to recover the
bounding ball. Pierson Prioleau finally came up with it and
was dropped by McNabb’s shoestring tackle at the SU 19.
“Druck” threw to Shawn Scales for 18 yards to put the ball
inside the three, and then Ken Oxendine went over the top
of the pile to give the Hokies a one-touchdown lead.

Momentum has a cruel way of flip-flopping in the
most ironic ways. With Tech up 14-10, it sent John Thomas
back to punt with a fourth and one at its 25. This time, the
Orange came up with the block, with the defender picking
up the ball at the four and running it in for the go-ahead
score.

To complete the mirror image of Tech’s 14-point
outburst, Jim Druckenmiller put the ball on the ground at
the Hokie 25 on the second play of the next series. Within
seconds, the Orange had matched the 14-point punt-
block/quarterback fumble daily double.

Druckenmiller threw an interception with 3:45 left
in the second quarter, giving the ‘Cuse the ball at the plus-
39. McNabb snuck up the middle for another crucial third-
down conversion, and then went to the air for 22 to the
Tech two. With 52 seconds left, Tech’s defender Larry
Newsome hit the home team’s running back as he plowed
toward the end zone and Cornell Brown dropped to the
ground on the loose football to end the threat and keep the
deficit at 10.

The team from south on Interstate 81 was very
lucky to be down by only 24-14 at the half. Not only did
Syracuse match the Hokies on the punt block and deep
fumble return, however the team had 11 first downs to
Techs two, and outgained the Hokies 205 yards to 60. The
Orange held the ball for almost two thirds of the first half.

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Syracuse continued to have trouble capitalizing on
its offensive dominance early in the second half, as Konrad
coughed up the ball again on the first series, giving Tech
the ball at its own 33.

Tech more than matched its first-half offensive out-
put with a 10-play, 67-yard drive taking up almost six
minutes. Oxendine, returning from a shoulder separation in
the first game of the season, ran the ball over the goal line
from the three for his second touchdown of the afternoon.
Oxendine accounted for 49 yards of offense on the drive,
carrying seven times and catching a shovel pass from
Druckenmiller. The drive once again turned the momentum
the way of the undefeated Hokies.

With 7:55 left in the third quarter, Syracuse started
its second drive of the half at its 22. After quickly moving
into Tech territory, McNabb was sacked for a loss of seven
and then threw an incompletion to give the ‘Cuse a third
and 17. Foster called up a blitz, but the Syracuse line held
just long enough to give McNabb a chance to toss it long to
Jim Turner for 48 yards to the SU 10. The crafty quarter-
back scrambled from another blitz and hit Spotswood run-
ning along the back of the end zone. The lead was back to
10, and the wind seemed to drop from the sails of the
Hokies.

McNabb nailed the coffin shut with 10:44 left in the
fourth. He ran 72 yards to the Tech one and Syracuse
scored on the next play to make it a 17-point lead. Despite
a 52-yard pass from Druckenmiller to Oxendine on the next
play from scrimmage, Tech never scored again. Tech threw
two interceptions, Druckenmiller the first, and Al Clark the
second. Syracuse converted from the Tech 18 on the initial
miscue, and Clark’s errant throw resulted directly to a 20-
yard pick-six. It went from a 24-21 game mid-way in the
third to a 52-21 rout. Final: Syracuse 52 – Virginia Tech
21.

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The 52 points given up and 31-point margin were
the worst results for Tech in Big East games. McNabb had
personally accounted for 250 yards, 127 on the ground and
123 through the air. Thirteen wins in a row proved an un-
lucky number for the Hokies.

No. 18 University of Miami

Miami, FL, November 16, 1996 - Tech ran off four
straight wins after the devastating loss to Syracuse, and re-
gained a spot in the top 25, at number 21. Its last three
games against Miami, West Virginia, and Virginia would
all be against ranked teams, with each of them having a bye
week before they played Tech.

Miami was No. 18 in the country, and playing in the
Orange Bowl where it held a 7-0 record against the Hokies.
Tech had never scored more than 14 points in the hallowed
stadium. In the previous two away Big East games against
the Hurricanes, Tech had mustered five points. The last
time Tech had scored a touchdown in the Orange Bowl was
in 1987.

Miami was 70-4 at home since beginning what
would become a 58-game home winning streak 12 years
earlier. The Hokies could take solace that two of those four
losses had occurred on consecutive weeks the previous
month – the streak had been broken.

As time ticked away in the final minutes of the
game, it looked like the national television audience would
be treated to an overtime thriller. Miami trailed the Hokies
14-7, and took the ball at its own 27 with just a little under
four minutes left. Twice, the Hurricanes faced third and
long situations, and twice, backup quarterback Scott Cov-
ington found Yatil Green for long first down plays, one on
a 19-yard completion, and the second for a gain of 31 down
to the Hokies’ 14.

Covington threw two incompletions, and then ran
six yards to the Tech eight. There, on fourth down, the Mi-

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ami quarterback threw a bullet to the end zone intended for
Tony Gaiter. Keion Carpenter picked the ball out of the air
at the goal line and raced behind Byron Newsome toward
Miami’s end zone. Newsome gently fended off one poten-
tial tackler at the Tech 35, and then waited for the perfect
time to hit Covington square in the chest at the Miami 25,
enabling one of the most famous 100-yard dashes in Tech
history. Only 1:54 remained on the clock, but Tech gave
Miami hope with an excessive celebration penalty and then
a kick out of bounds. The Hokies’ DB Gray finished off the
last Miami hope with an interception in the back of the end
zone with 35 seconds remaining. Final: Virginia Tech 21 –
Miami 7.

Tech had conquered Miami in its own back yard,
and it was alive for its second consecutive Big East Cham-
pionship. However, it would need its own victory over a
nationally ranked West Virginia team, and a Miami upset
over the Orange, who held a perfect conference record, to
take the title.

No. 23 West Virginia University

Blacksburg, VA, November 23, 1996 - Facing the
nation’s top ranked defense, and the 23rd ranked team in
the country, the Hokies needed a win at home to guarantee
itself a second place spot in the Big East, and a Gator Bowl
bid. It had to rely on Miami to make the stakes higher in its
game with Syracuse a week later.

It was a drive that took just over one minute at the
end of the first half that gave the Hokies the boost it needed
to throttle the Mountaineers. Chad Johnston had just driven
West Virginia on a 52-yard drive that culminated in a one-
yard touchdown pass on fourth down. That cut the Tech
lead to 10-7.

Druckenmiller found Shawn Scales on the right
sideline for 18 to move into WVU territory, and then hit
him again across the middle for a 16-yard gain. The senior

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signal-caller found White for nine yards to get inside the
10, and on a crossing pattern in the middle of the end zone
between two defenders for the touchdown. Druck was 5-6
for 53 yards on the drive that left the Mountaineers 10
points down at the break. It was White’s second TD catch
of the game.

In the second half, Oxendine ran up the middle
through two would-be tacklers, and then broke two other
tackles on his way for a 39-yard touchdown and a 24-7
Tech lead. Oxendine, who ran for 104 yards on the day,
scored one more time on a two-yard rush mid-way through
the final quarter to restore Tech’s three-score lead. Final:
Virginia Tech 31 – West Virginia 14.

Tech shredded the mighty Mountaineer defense for
365 yards total offense, including 127 yards on the ground
versus WVU averages going into the game of 205 and 55.
Tech also guaranteed itself a major bowl for the third year
in a row.

Distractions and Bowl Politics

There were plenty of distractions for the Hokie
football team that Thanksgiving week in 1996. With the
rest of the student body home for the weeklong holiday, the
football team had plenty of time to read the newspapers and
watch Sports Center. There was the messy matter of eight
players from the team, including defensive stalwart Cornell
Brown, being assigned court dates for assault and battery
charges related to a pre-season incident where a Tech track
team member was abducted and beaten.

Then, arguably the premier coaching job in all of
college football opened up, and Frank Beamer was at the
top of the list of names Alabama was considering for the
post. Gene Stallings, who had coached the Tide to the 1992
National Championship in his third year at the helm, had
unexpectedly announced that he would retire at the end of
the 1996 season. Just as the University of Georgia had

75

come calling the previous year, Alabama requested official
permission to talk to the 50-year old Beamer, who denied
any contact with the administration of the nation’s most
storied football program.

Finally, there was the matter of what would happen
if the Hokies did beat their bitter rivals from Charlottesville
and Miami did pull the “upset” over the Syracuse Orange.
Following the controversy of the previous season over se-
lection of the Bowl Alliance representative from the Big
East in case of a championship tie (which would have led
to Miami playing in the Sugar Bowl instead of Tech had
the Hurricanes not decided to voluntarily take its one year
post-season expulsion), the Big East put in a complex tie-
breaking procedure. In case of a co-championship between
two teams, the winner of the head-to-head matchup would
represent the conference in the Bowl Alliance game. If Mi-
ami beat Syracuse, there would be a three-way tie. In this
case, the Alliance bowl berth would go to the team with the
best average ranking between the two polls – the AP (writ-
er’s poll) and the CNN/USA Today (coach’s Poll).

Syracuse could make everything moot with a win to
give it an undefeated 7-0 conference record. Even though it
was playing at home, and ranked seven spots ahead of Mi-
ami in the AP poll, the Orange had never beaten Miami. It
would only be a mild upset if the “U” ruined the party for
SU.

If there was a three-way championship on Saturday,
and the Hokies stumbled at home against the Wahoos, it
was anyone’s guess where the pollsters would rank the
three teams. Going into the weekend’s games, Tech was
ranked No. 9 by the coach’s poll, and 17th by the writers, an
average ranking of 13th. (This huge discrepancy had been
the topic of thousands of words in newspapers across the
commonwealth). Miami was on average 10 spots behind
the Hokies going into the final week, but it was not out of

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the question that the ‘Canes could leapfrog Tech with a
high-profile road win against the McNabb-led Orange.

No. 20 University of Virginia

Blacksburg, VA, November 29, 1996 – Tech did
its part to claim the crown in a somewhat anti-climactic
win. Tech easily took control in the second half behind Jim
Druckenmiller, playing in his last Lane Stadium game, and
a stout Hokie defense that held the Cavaliers to three first-
half field goals. The senior quarterback was 15-22 for 197
yards and two touchdowns. His 33-yard scamper in the
second quarter set up a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brian
Edmonds, giving the Hokies a 7-6 lead.

Trailing 9-7 at halftime, Tech scored touchdowns
on its first two possessions of the second half, taking a 20-9
lead on another TD pass by Druckenmiller and a nine-yard
run by Marcus Parker. Shawn Scales took the ball to the
house from the 17 to end the Tech scoring. Final: Virginia
Tech 26 – Virginia 9

The Hurricanes upheld their end of the bargain with
a 38-31 sacking of Syracuse. The AP poll rewarded the
Hokies for picking up its 10th win, moving the team from
17th to 11th, moving it past idle Washington, North Caroli-
na, Kansas State, and Alabama, and guaranteeing Tech a
traditional New Year’s Day bowl bid for the second
straight year.

The Hokies had won 20 of its last 21 games, with
the only blemish the loss to Syracuse. It had won 10 games
during the regular season for the first time in school histo-
ry. Perhaps the biggest indicator of success was that the
Alabama athletic director received permission from Dave
Braine to talk to Frank Beamer about the vacancy that
would be occurring when Gene Stallings retired at the end
of the year. Four years from staring unemployment in the
eye, Beamer was now a prominent candidate for one of the
most prestigious jobs in all of college coaching.

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Nebraska’s National Powerhouse

The Cornhuskers had been to Bowl games every
year since 1969 and had winning seasons since 1962.
However, Nebraska was relatively late to the party when it
came to joining college football’s upper echelon. While it
had been anointed national championships in 1915 (8-0)
and 1921 (7-1) by some football polling groups, the team
was ranked in the final AP top 20 only five times in the pe-
riod 1936-1962. It did go to two major bowl games during
this period. It represented the Big 6 as champions in the
1940 Rose Bowl in 1940, losing 21-13 to Stanford and fin-
ishing 8-2. It lost 34-7 in the 1954 Orange Bowl to Duke,
dropping its season record to 6-5.

1962 was the year when the tide turned. The Corn-
huskers finished 9-2 with a win over Miami (Fla.) in the
Gotham Bowl. The two losses were both to Big 8 foes,
Missouri and Oklahoma. In 1963, the team began a four-
year span when it won the Big 8 championship and finished
either fifth or sixth in the final AP poll. It was able to win
in only one major bowl during the stretch, taking the 1963
Orange Bowl 13-7 over Auburn. A loss in the 1965 Orange
Bowl to Alabama cost it an undefeated season and a Na-
tional Championship. While the game pitted the No. 3 Ne-
braska versus No. 4 Alabama, the top two teams (Michigan
No. 1 and Arkansas No. 2) both lost on New Year’s Day.

Nebraska was 6-4 in 1967 and 1968 and stayed
home for the holidays during a time when bowl games were
scarce. The Cornhuskers then went to bowl games from
1969 through 2003, a string of 35-straight years. The string
of winnings seasons for NU was from 1962-2004, 43 years.
The peak of the streak was between 1969 and 1989 when
the team finished no worse than 12th in the final AP poll.

78

In 1970 and 1971, Nebraska registered undefeated National
Championship seasons.

After an undefeated regular season, Nebraska lost in
the classic 1983 game to the Miami Hurricanes 31-30.

The Big 8 Conference Champions were traditionally
the home team for the Orange Bowl. Nebraska saw the sta-
dium as its second home, with 1996 marking its 16th ap-
pearance since 1963.

In 1993, it had again lost at chance at its third Na-
tional Championship to Florida State, losing to the true
home team 18-16. The ‘Huskers had then lost five-straight
Orange Bowl games after taking the Big 8 Championship.
The following year, Nebraska finally conquered the Orange
Bowl jinx, and topped Miami in its own building 21-17 to
ride a 13-0 record to its first National Championship in 24
years. The Cornhuskers repeated as champions in 1995
when Tech was handling Texas in the Sugar Bowl, when it
traveled west in the Bowl Alliance format to ravage Florida
62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Orange Bowl – No. 6 University of Nebraska

Miami Gardens, FL, December 31, 1996 -. The
Cornhuskers were the undisputed kings of college football
going in the 1996 season. On top of being two-time defend-
ing national champions, they were riding a 37-game regular
season winning streak, and had won 25 straight games.

The Cornhuskers visited No. 17 Arizona State in its
second game of the ’96 season. It was a heart-wrenching
19-0 defeat, dropping the Cornhuskers from the top spot in
the AP poll. The ‘Huskers also fell in the Big 12 Champi-
onship game (the Big 8 had added four teams in 1996)
against Texas, an unranked 8-4 team.

So unlike the previous year’s Alliance game when
Tech played a Texas team riding a lull in its prestigious his-
tory, Nebraska was reeling from a two-loss season and out

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to avenge the fact that it was not able to three-peat as Na-
tional Champions.

Two unusual elements set this Orange Bowl apart
from the previous New Year’s celebrations. The game had
been played for its first 62 years on either New Year’s Day
or January 2 (when New Year’s Day fell on a Sunday). The
new Alliance Bowl schedule moved the game following the
1996 season to New Year’s Eve.

For 59 straight years, the game had been played in
the stadium located close to downtown Miami in Little Ha-
vana. In 1959, that stadium took on the name of the famous
New Year’s Day game played there. For the Hokies’ first
game in the east coast’s premier bowl game, the venue was
the new Pro Player’s Stadium located far in the suburbs to
the north of the city, where the Miami Dolphins had moved
its home games starting in 1987.

Tech was a 16-point underdog going into the game,
a point that no doubt gave Frank Beamer and his coaching
staff plenty of bulletin board material to motivate the Hokie
players. The team rode this momentum into the first quar-
ter, taking a 7-0 led over Nebraska with a 19-yard touch-
down pass when Druckenmiller faked a screen to the right
before swiveling to the left to find Parker behind a crew of
Tech blockers. The partisan Tech crowd went wild.

Holding a 7-3 lead, the Hokies gave up two big
touchdowns in the second quarter. In three successive
plays, a 26-yard punt return, a 17-yard rush, and a 23-yard
circus catch on the sideline, the Cornhuskers moved to the
Tech five. On the fourth play, Nebraska took the lead when
quarterback Scott Frost ran untouched into the end zone on
an option keeper.

A turnover tripped the Hokies up on their next pos-
session. After moving into Nebraska territory, Druckenmil-
ler took an 11-yard sack and a holding call on the following
play moved the ball back to the Tech 33. Facing a rare third
and 37, a Cornhusker defender knocked the ball out of

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