The Roanoke Times from Roanoke, Virginia • 29

THE ROANOKE TIMES SUNDAY DECEMBER 5 2004 iJ A um 4 TAT 17 fEVT IrlTY 9 1 ATT vj( 1 Jilm JM) I BALL tM WSMEArUa li'iMr TIMiM 'iMIB yteSM £SSSK A W4 wraf i It yr) Virginia Tech lf Miami If) MAI GENTRY I The Roanoke Times Virginia Eddie Royal (4) catches the 39 yard touchdown pass that puts the Hokies up for good in Saturday's game against Miami Defending for the Hurricanes is cornerback Antrel Rolle ACC CHAMPIONS TofrZ JHIMIW7 A ij jj k' OMPw a jaJCfMEaa JasgEfe fl xJBJRU 7 dW VV sf' I J' Al 77(ZM 7sM 4 1A 'x Jr xW AjKams L7 shHhB 7th 7 i 7 xVz iQ 4' vMEMiiIHPSb vOMtaflHH: zVX 1 sHMH 3Hr JREHgyKlL 'Xr Lz'Zw rL dHHMHEMHHMMHR 1 cizl ittingly secures title MIAMI There was no other way for this one to end This season this championship this win ning streak this game this drive this moment all of it hinging on the Virginia Tech defense all of it tethered to desire where it was hinged all along it? It was a different guy each week on offense A Bryan Randall a Mike Imoh a Cedric Humes a Josh Hyman a Jeff King But the one thing that budged all year was this Tech defense Wrecking Wake Contain ing Carolina Maiming Maryland Vexing Virginia So there they were Saturday 11 Aaron strong marching back out there inMcarling a lO game with 1:14 left BCS bowl bid in the balance music 9813222 blaring Orange Bowl crowd stand ing players on the sidelines leaning forward with their hands on their knees believe in Tech defensive lineman Jim Davis said ask for a better On the other side of the ball was Miami quar terback Brock Berlin Stud Candidate for ACC player of the year Owner of 19 touchdowns and See MCARLING 2 WW1 iiA i "rz 4 i IX La" 1 a T1 V3 LSA 'jgZ A rl A 1 6S3A11'' i acWR (1 wOL SI 1 5'" rgfc rT15ig7j i MATT GENTRY I The Roanoke Times Tech head coach rank Beamer is doused wjth water during the closing moments of the 16 10 victory Hokies claim crown on road By Randy King randykingroanokecom 981 3126 MIAMI the char tered plane it had booked for the flight back to Virginia When Virginia football team finished its business in sunny south lorida on Satur day the Hokies were feeling high enough to fly home on their own what? I think smiling Tech cornerback Eric Green said Writing the latest chapter of truly become a story book season the underdog Hokies rode their bulletproof defense and a pair of touch down passes by Bryan Randall to stun Miami 16 10 and earn the ACC title outright in their first season in the league No 10 Tech (10 2 7 1) which has won eight straight games after starting the season 2 2 will be the A C'C representative in the an 3 Sugar Bowl In New Orleans the Hokies will be underdogs again when they will likely face SEC champion Auburn (12 0) is a sweet as it gets and we arc going to the Sugar Bow so going to get even sweep Green said love thqtbeing underdogs We love when people count us out We watched ESPN and been playing good football lately and people have jusl been talking and we got tired of hearing it The Hokies stopped Miami talk with a defense that suffocated a Miami offense that had been held to less than 31 points only twice all season No 9 Miami (8 3 5 3) which is now relegated to a New Eve date with lorida (7 4) in the Peach Bowl managed a paltry seven first downs and 190 total yards See TECH 2 AA PLAYOS William and Mary defeats Delaware and James Madison edges urman to set up a rematch in the semifinals on riday night in Williamsburg 4 lllll Inside this section TOP 25 No 1 USC hangs on to beat rival UCLA 29 24 and No 2 Oklahoma downs Colorado 42 3 setting up a probable showdown in the Orange Bowl site of this year's BCS title game No 3 Auburn wins a 38 28 shootout with Tennessee to capture the SEC title but will likely be left out of the BCS title game 5 DIVISION III PLAYOS Mount Union is one step away from another trip to the Stagg Bowl in 'J Salem after reaching the semifinals for the 10th straight year" 5.