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Thursday, October 12, 2000

There had never been two Big East teams among the top five in the Associated Press football poll before this week, and the league's coaches have been performing rousing renditions of "I Told You So."

"It shows how good the Big East is," said Frank Beamer, whose Virginia Tech Hokies (5-0, 3-0) are No. 3.

"We've been preaching this message for probably the last half-dozen years or so," said Miami Coach Butch Davis, whose Hurricanes (4-1, 2-0) are No. 4 after knocking off top-ranked Florida State, 27-24, Saturday. "The Big East Conference is getting much, much better top to bottom."

Big East teams have a combined 19-4 non-league record, an .826 winning percentage. It's the most non-conference wins since 1994.

"Everybody says the Big East isn't one of the best football leagues," West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen said. "I guess they aren't too smart. This league is good. I don't care what anybody says."

One knock against the 10-year-old league is that it seems to have no more than two or three ranked teams -- and usually just one elite team -- at a time while other conferences, such as the Big Ten and SEC, have several ranked teams at any time.

Davis said one other Big East team probably deserved to crack the Top 25 earlier this year.

"Pitt probably didn't get the deserved credit for beating Penn State [12-0, Sept. 16] because Penn State has had some struggles, but they've got to have 75 or 80 of the best football players in the country," he said.

The Panthers received only a smattering of votes in the two major polls after that win.

Other league teams have gotten votes, and Davis predicted the number of ranked Big East teams will grow through the course of this season as they pile up more victories against better teams.

No complaints

Beamer isn't crying foul that Virginia Tech is not sitting at No. 1 with its unbeaten record.

The Hokies, who play host to West Virginia (4-1, 2-1) in the ESPN game tonight, went undefeated during the regular season last year and played for the national championship.

Beamer figures his team is paying its dues as a newcomer to the elite field of teams.

"I think we have a long ways to go before you even think about the polls like that," he said. "I'm just proud of the fact we're up there. I'm just proud to see a couple of our teams up there.

"But we've got a long way to go before we deserve [No. 1]."

Feeling the heat

Northern teams aren't the only ones that can have problems with subtropical weather. About a half-dozen Miami players needed intravenous fluids during the game between the Hurricanes and Florida State in the Orange Bowl on Saturday.

"We think we're a well-conditioned team, but we played in an enormous amount of heat and humidity," Davis said. "It's the quickest way to replenish fluids back into your bloodstream."

Davis added that numerous injuries in recent weeks forced some Hurricanes to play more downs than the coaching staff would have liked, leaving them vulnerable to the effects of the weather.

One player who seemed to stand the heat was Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey, who threw for 328 yards and was one of the game's heroes.

"He's the one guy that we had no replacement for," Davis said.

Dorsey, though, began cramping later that night and went to the campus infirmary, where he received IV fluids.

Game of the week

It might seem like a dud, but Temple's game at Rutgers could mean a lot.

It could help decide the fate of Scarlet Knights Coach Terry Shea -- if his ouster isn't already in the works. His job security has been in question for months.

Rutgers (2-3, 0-3) opened with victories over soft opponents Villanova and Buffalo and has since lost its first three league games by a combined score of 142-23.

One thing in the Scarlet Knights' favor is the expected return of senior quarterback Mike McMahon, who has been bothered by a shoulder problem.

For Temple (3-3, 0-2), the game is a chance to double its victory total from last season and avoid a winless league record.

"This is a real critical game for us," Owls Coach Bobby Wallace said. "We want to try to stay above .500."

Quote of the week

Miami Coach Butch Davis: "This is the first off week that, in my six years here, I've been grateful for it. It really comes at a good time."