Virginia Tech senior quarterback Grant Noel could have been the feel-good story of this college football season. After tearing his left ACL in the final week of spring practice, he could’ve undergone career-ending knee surgery.

Instead, Noel decided that the glory of leading the Hokies one final season was worth the pain, so he decided to play with his torn ACL.

On second thought, maybe he should have had the surgery. Noel started Tech’s first two games but got pulled in the first half of both because of his immobility.

Enter Bryan Randall.

The sophomore took the ball after two games and hasn’t looked back. After last Thursday’s 28-23 victory over Boston College, Randall is 4-0 as a starter and a big reason why Virginia Tech is 6-0 and No. 3 in the country.

‘You’ve got your quarterback who played last year without an anterior cruciate, and there was some concern there,’ Tech coach Frank Beamer said. ‘Bryan got his chance to play, and he just played very well. It’s worked out great.’

‘I know my abilities, and I know what I’m capable of doing,’ Randall said. ‘I was unproven to a lot of people, but to myself I was very confident I could be the starter. The whole (offseason) I expected to be the starter, and I prepared myself to be the starter.’

Randall asserted himself as the Hokies’ quarterback in Virginia Tech’s second game of the year, against Louisiana State. He relieved an ineffective Noel at the end of the first quarter and engineered a 26-8 victory over then-No. 14 LSU.

Though Randall only completed 5 of 9 passes for 47 yards, the way he efficiently managed the game and his mobility was enough for Beamer to name him the starter. And since Tech runs the option, a hobbling Noel was a liability.

‘I like (Randall’s) toughness and calmness,’ Beamer said. ‘He’s very athletic. He’s making good decisions for us. He’s taking care of the ball for us and being a good leader.’

Randall’s strength has been staying within himself and focusing on winning, not putting up gaudy stats. He has been intercepted only twice in six games and currently leads the Big East in passing efficiency with a quarterback rating of 152.1.

‘I’ve done a good job of keeping my composure,’ Randall said. ‘Just picking up first downs and taking care of the ball. I don’t do anything to hurt our team.’

Randall’s quintessential, mistake-free performance came Sept. 21 against Texas A&M: 10-of-11 passing for 119 yards, 17 option runs, 31 handoffs, no turnovers and one big play (a 52-yard strike to Ernest Wilford that set up the game’s only touchdown).

He let the defense take care of the rest and got out of College Station with a 13-3 win.

Randall can afford to take few risks because his backfield is one of the nation’s best. Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones have combined for 180.6 yards per game. Still, Beamer would like to use Randall’s passing abilities more often.

‘We’re working more and more toward being a balanced team,’ Beamer said. ‘I don’t have any problem with Bryan throwing the football. When he’s thrown it, he’s thrown it very well.’

Passing is the one area where Noel may have the advantage over Randall. Randall’s characterized himself as more of a scrambling quarterback. Even before Noel’s injury, he couldn’t dream of making the runs Randall can.

But if Noel didn’t tear his ACL, chances are he’d be starting.

‘Grant Noel’s been great as our backup,’ said Beamer. ‘He’s a tremendously knowledgeable guy. He’s a team player and tries to help on the sidelines to get things right.’

“He’s been in the program longer than I have,” Randall said, “so there are some things I don’t know that Grant is able to help me out with. We’re competing against one another, but at the same time, we respect one another.’

***

Good intentions

Pittsburgh quarterback Rod Rutherford tried to do the right thing.

Down 14-6 last Saturday at Notre Dame and driving inside the Irish 30-yard line with 1:10 left, Rutherford scrambled to his left and couldn’t find an open receiver. So he did what any smart quarterback would: throw the ball away.

But Notre Dame cornerback Preston Jackson intercepted the pass and barely landed inbounds to seal an Irish victory.

‘I was trying to get it out of bounds,’ Rutherford said. “I guess I didn’t put enough on it to get it out of bounds.’

‘He tried to throw the ball out of bounds, but he was under pressure and did not get enough on it,’ Pitt coach Walt Harris said. ‘He said he thought he had enough on it, but in the end, he was just a little short.’

That throw epitomized Pitt’s day. The Panthers outgained Notre Dame 402 yards to 185 and earned 21 first downs to Notre Dame’s 10. But three turnovers — two fumbles and one interception — limited the Panthers to only two field goals.

‘Notre Dame has been living on turnovers,’ Harris said. ‘And that was devastating to us.’

The turnover differential negated Pitt’s strong defensive effort. The Panthers forced nine Irish punts and gave up one true scoring drive — Notre Dame’s second touchdown came off a Pitt turnover and came on a five-play, 12-yard drive.

‘Their defense is solid,’ Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday said. ‘That’s probably one of the best defenses we’ll play all season.’

That high praise is nice, but it doesn’t mean much to the Panthers.

‘We expected to fight ’em toe-to-toe,” Harris said. ‘We’re not into moral victories at all.”

***

Smooth sailing

When a team starts conference play 0-2, its coach might need to start chomping Rolaids by the handful.

And while Boston College may have dropped its first two Big East games, having simply endured the rough start spells relief for BC coach Tom O’Brien.

The Eagles have their toughest Big East games behind them after a 28-23 loss to No. 3 Virginia Tech last Thursday night. Boston College dropped its Big East opener, 38-6, at No. 1 Miami.

‘(Relief) is a positive way to think of it,’ O’Brien said. ‘We can go on from there, because they’re very good football teams and deserving of their rankings.’

While any chance of a Big East title may be gone for BC, its position is still enviable. The Eagles’ remaining conference schedule is softer than a bag of marshmallows. Syracuse, Temple, and Rutgers — with a combined 4-14 record — await BC. Plus, the Eagles have won all their non-conference games this year.

Besides an Oct. 26 matchup with 5-2 Pittsburgh — which will probably decide third place in the conference — the Eagles will likely be favored to win the rest of their Big East games.

‘I’ll approach (the rest of our season) the way we approached the first part of season,’ O’Brien said. “We’re going to play every game as if it’s the last game on the schedule. That’s the way we’ve done the first five games, and were not going to change now.’

***

This and that

Don’t expect Boston College to run the score up on woeful Navy this Saturday. O’Brien was a defensive back for the Midshipmen from 1969-71 and said two weeks ago that his biggest rival is still Army. … BC’s defensive line had a nightmarish game last Thursday against Virginia Tech. The Eagles lost their two best D-lineman for the season. End Antonio Garay broke his leg and tackle Douglas Goodwin injured his hip. … For the first time all year, Miami seems to have a chink in its armor. Florida State’s bruising, 250-pound tailback Greg Jones ran for 189 yards last Saturday against the Hurricanes defense. Still, Miami survived the scare, 28-27. ‘Without a doubt,” Miami coach Larry Coker said, “we’ve got to do a better job of stopping the run.” … Rutgers’ defense should take lessons from West Virginia’s charter flight on how to ground the Mountaineer offense. After defeating RU, 40-0, on Saturday, WVU was stuck on a plane for six hours because of technical difficulties. … Notre Dame QB Carlyle Holiday came away from last Saturday’s 14-6 win over Pitt very impressed. ‘They’re a really good team,” Holiday said. “I think they’ll win the Big East title.” Hey, Carlyle, there’s a pretty good team down in Florida that might disagree. … Weekly shot at Ken Dorsey: Sure, he led Miami on two fourth-quarter drives to beat Florida State, but he still has the dumbest looking uniform in the country — the number 11 on his jersey looks like a pause button.

Published on October 15, 2002 at 12:00 pm