Virginia Technical Institute And State University

It took 34 years and a heart-in-his-throat scare from the opposing quarterback, but, for once, Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden is perfect. Not picture perfect. But 12-0 perfect. After blowing a three-touchdown first-half lead, Florida State scored 18 unanswered fourth-quarter points Tuesday night to defeat Virginia Tech, 46-29, to win the national championship before a Sugar Bowl crowd of 79,280 at the Superdome. Finally, Bowden bagged his bagel.

Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg didn't have McDonald's All-Americans when he took Long Beach State to the NCAA tournament in 1993 and 1995, and he doesn't have them now. As Greenberg likes to say, "No McDonald's All-Americans, and not even any Arby's All-Americans." Greenberg's players at Long Beach weren't heralded, but they were good. Lucious Harris and Bryon Russell went on to the NBA. At Virginia Tech, he has what some people consider NCAA tournament gold: senior guards.

We heard all week about the lack of respect accorded No. 2 Virginia Tech in its quest to upend No. 1 Florida State for the national title in tonight's Sugar Bowl at the Superdome. It prompted a flashback: Call it deja voodoo. On Jan. 1, 1994, a Big East team from the "Virginias" marched into the Big Easy to take on a floor wiper from the "Floridas."

There was talk that Virginia Tech, in terms of emerging dynasties east of Los Angeles, might be the new Miami and would start proving it Saturday night with a dazzling display of Blue Ridge brawn. It was all gobbler-gook. Miami knocked the Hokie out of Virginia Tech, 27-7, at Lane Stadium, re-established its status among the nation's elite franchises and even rearranged a few deck chairs on the BCS Titanic. "It's a statement to all of college football," Miami tackle Eric Winston proclaimed.

Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg didn't have McDonald's All-Americans when he took Long Beach State to the NCAA tournament in 1993 and 1995, and he doesn't have them now. As Greenberg likes to say, "No McDonald's All-Americans, and not even any Arby's All-Americans." Greenberg's players at Long Beach weren't heralded, but they were good. Lucious Harris and Bryon Russell went on to the NBA. At Virginia Tech, he has what some people consider NCAA tournament gold: senior guards.

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, who had a disappointing sophomore season after injuring his right ankle in an Oct. 28 game against Pittsburgh, says he will return for his junior season. "I just want to get better as a person and as a player," Vick said Friday. "And when it's time for me to go to the next level, I'll definitely be ready." Vick said his injury played a role in his decision to return. "The injury was definitely something I had no control over," he said.

Shane Beamer, Virginia Tech's long snapper on punts, can't take much of the on-field credit for the Hokies' 11-0 season, but he has played an important role as liaison between the players and coach. Beamer, a senior, is the son of Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer. "Obviously, I know what's going on with the team and sometimes I have said things," Shane said Sunday.

Virginia Tech has suspended Marcus Vick for the 2004 season, ending any speculation about the troubled quarterback playing against USC in the season opener this month. Vick, the younger brother of Atlanta Falcon quarterback Michael Vick, was recently convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and on Tuesday pleaded no contest to a separate charge of marijuana possession.

Miami and Virginia Tech received formal invitations Wednesday to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, concluding six weeks of conjecture about which schools the ACC would officially solicit in its quest to expand. "These two institutions represent and share the values for which the ACC has long been known," James Barker, Clemson president and the ACC's Council of Presidents chair, said through a release. "We feel they will be a great addition to our family."

In the first Orange Bowl that's not being played in the Orange Bowl, nothing is what it seems. The game has been moved from the Orange Bowl stadium, its home since 1938, to luxurious Pro Player Stadium. That will seem odd, but think how strange it is for the two-time defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers to have little at stake tonight, while the 10th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies can make a splash playing with the big boys in an alliance bowl game.

It looked as if Tommy Tuberville's take-this-job-and-shove-it moment had arrived at last. A little more than a year after Auburn's president, athletic director and a couple of trustees met for a clandestine interview with Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino, Tuberville has undefeated Auburn in the Sugar Bowl, and Louisiana State is looking for a coach. One early report implied he was ready to listen, but Tuberville quickly quashed it, saying he wasn't interested in any other job and would sign a new seven-year contract worth $16 million at Auburn.

No reason for Bryan Randall to look over his shoulder. No one doubts that he should be the starting quarterback at Virginia Tech this season. No one is second-guessing him, wondering whether a certain underclassman -- the one with the famous last name -- should come off the bench. For the first time, Randall has the spotlight to himself, and he doesn't care that the Hokies are a young team. He doesn't care that they are underdogs to USC in the Black Coaches Assn.

Virginia Tech has suspended Marcus Vick for the 2004 season, ending any speculation about the troubled quarterback playing against USC in the season opener this month. Vick, the younger brother of Atlanta Falcon quarterback Michael Vick, was recently convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and on Tuesday pleaded no contest to a separate charge of marijuana possession.

Miami and Virginia Tech received formal invitations Wednesday to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, concluding six weeks of conjecture about which schools the ACC would officially solicit in its quest to expand. "These two institutions represent and share the values for which the ACC has long been known," James Barker, Clemson president and the ACC's Council of Presidents chair, said through a release. "We feel they will be a great addition to our family."

Ending weeks of speculation and acrimony, Miami and Virginia Tech are apparently and almost officially last-ditch ditching the Big East Conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference in an extraction campaign so brazenly botched by the school presidents the postmortem analysis should be added to ACC schools' summer-school curriculums. "An unmitigated disaster," one high-ranking college official said Wednesday of the expansion process.

Virginia Tech has reinstated its affirmative action policy, despite assertions from the attorney general's office that some of its diversity programs are unconstitutional. The school's Board of Visitors voted 8-5 to rescind a March 10 ban on preferences for racial minorities and other underrepresented groups in hiring, admissions and scholarships. It also created a panel to review the university's diversity programs and make sure they're in compliance. Atty. Gen.

Penn State's football team canceled a six-game series with Virginia Tech because the Nittany Lions' move to the Big Ten and the creation of the Big East football conference prevented the teams from finding compatible playing dates. The cancellation leaves Penn State with only 10 games scheduled for 1992.

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, who had a disappointing sophomore season after injuring his right ankle in an Oct. 28 game against Pittsburgh, says he will return for his junior season. "I just want to get better as a person and as a player," Vick said Friday. "And when it's time for me to go to the next level, I'll definitely be ready." Vick said his injury played a role in his decision to return. "The injury was definitely something I had no control over," he said.

They try to act as if nothing has changed. In Blacksburg, Michael Vick traipses around campus with his baseball cap turned backward--a kid with a backpack and classes to attend. Back home, Vick's mother, Brenda, stands in line on a Tuesday at Gildersleeve Middle School, completing paperwork as she awaits her annual bus driver's physical examination.