Canes Picked to Win BIG EAST Football Championship
July 29, 1999
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Miami, seeking a return to glory, and Virginia Tech, which finds glory tough to gain despite six straight bowl appearances, are the favorites in the Big East this year.
In a media poll released Thursday at Giants Stadium, Miami was picked to win the conference title with 185 points and 17 first-place votes. Virginia Tech followed with 172 points and seven first-place votes.
Defending champion Syracuse (137) and West Virginia (122) round out the top four.
“It’s exciting and we feel good about our program,” said Hurricanes coach Butch Davis, who spent his first four seasons digging out the former national champion from the ruins of probation.
“It’s been a painful process the last four years, especially for the seniors who we signed leading into probation. It’s kind of satisfying to see that maybe they’ll get some rewards for that perseverance,” Davis said.
Defensive tackle Matt Sweeney is one of those seniors.
“This summer I think we set a precedent of what this team expects and how hard you’re supposed to work to play here,” he said. “I think that kind of died off when I got here. People thought just because there was MU on our helmet, things were going to happen. So we’re back to the basics.”
Miami returns 19 starters, including 10 on defense, from a team that went 9-3 and won the Micron PC Bowl.
Davis said the defense is at its best since he’s been at Miami. The coach has faith that sophomore quarterback Kenny Kelly can lead the offense in his first year as a starter.
Despite that optimism, Davis added he was surprised to be chosen No. 1 because he feels Virginia Tech is the team to beat.
“They’ve got an awful lot of players coming back and we’ve never beaten them in my four years here,” Davis said.
The Hokies are accustomed to being overlooked, but have learned to live with it.
“We’re elated, we’ve never been picked better than third,” said coach Frank Beamer, who returns 15 starters from a 9-3 team that won the Music City Bowl.
“People feel different about us now than they did five years ago, and hopefully in five years to come they’ll feel even better about us. We’re proud of what’s going on and I don’t get real tied up in who’s picked where. It comes down to who’s ready to play every ballgame,” he said.
Beamer is putting his offense in the hands of highly-touted redshirt freshman Mike Vick. Defensively, the Hokies have the returning Big East Defensive Player of the Year with end Corey Moore, who led the league with 13.5 sacks last year.
“I’m surprised we’re picked as high as second,” Moore said. “We’ve just got to continue to work hard and we’ll earn respect. It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”
West Virginia returns the league’s top quarterback in Marc Bulger, but the Mountaineers must develop an offensive line and a running game to maximize Bulger’s talents. Running back Amos Zereoue left early for the NFL.
“We have to develop the offensive line because that will dictate how the running game goes,” Bulger said. “We’ll have to be balanced, but I’ll have to throw the ball to open up the running game, rather than last year having our running game open the passing game.”
Rounding out the preseason poll are Boston College (96 points), Rutgers (58), Pittsburgh (57) and Temple (36).
1999 PRESEASON BIG EAST FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL
(first place votes in parentheses)
Rank Team Pts 1. Miami (17) 185 2. Virginia Tech (7) 172 3. Syracuse 137 4. West Virginia 122 5. Boston College 96 6. Rutgers 58 7. Pittsburgh 57 8. Temple 36
