BLACKSBURG, Va. – A punter desires to be unknown. Do your job, and you’re a blank face trotting on and off the field every fourth down.

Ever since he arrived as Virginia Tech’s head football coach in 1987, Frank Beamer has turned fourth down into an opposing punter’s personal hell. The Hokies special teams-driven style quickly earned the moniker Beamer Ball, largely because they ripped punters out of anonymity.

On Saturday, Beamer, also Tech’s special teams coach, had his way. His swashbuckling special teams rattled SU punter Brendan Carney, turning him from a blank face to a red-faced goat.

DeAngelo Hall returned two Carney punts for touchdowns in the first quarter as No. 4 Virginia Tech buried Syracuse with an early avalanche of Beamer Ball in a 51-7 rout at Lane Stadium in front of 65,115 and a national-television audience.

‘It’s a kick in the gut,’ SU guard Matt Tarullo said. ‘A lot of things happened. A lot of bad things happened. We didn’t play as well as we needed to play.’

‘We got beat,’ SU quarterback R.J. Anderson said, ‘in all phases of the game.’

Especially special teams, where Tech (6-0, 2-0 Big East) and Hall shined a spotlight on Carney. After the anemic Orangemen offense went three-and-out on its third possession, Carney booted a line drive to Hall that hung in the air for about three seconds, a full second shorter than what Carney expects.

That one second made a huge difference, leaving not nearly enough time for Syracuse’s punt coverage to bottle up Hall, the self-appointed fastest player in college football. He sprinted by the Orangemen (3-2, 0-1) for a 58-yard touchdown return.

‘I didn’t bring my stuff today,’ Carney said. ‘I didn’t get the ball up today. That’s the reason that those two came back. We couldn’t cover it because I wasn’t getting the ball up.’

‘The hang-time was real bad,’ Hall said. ‘It was just all low, line-drives.’

Hall’s punt return was the first for a touchdown against SU since 1994. The next span between touchdown returns would be much shorter.

After SU’s next possession – another three-and-out – Beamer called for a full rush. Still, he told Hall that if he could get past SU’s first gunner, ‘it might go.’

Hall proved his coach prophetic. Because of another laser-like punt by Carney, Hall easily evaded Joe Donnelly. He caught the ball at his own 40 with Donnelly about 15 yards away, more than enough room for Hall to juke Donnelly.

The end result? A 60-yard touchdown return that made the score 21-0, effectively ending the game with 4:30 left in the first quarter.

‘If we had a perfect day on special teams, it would have been a totally different story out there,’ Carney said. ‘That first return set the tone, and they just took it and ran with it.’

Carney, who’s been solid all season as a freshman, picked the wrong day to have his first bad game. Hall, who also plays defensive back and receiver, scored a third time Saturday on a 24-yard reverse. He’s perhaps the nation’s most dangerous player.

When any punt returner has the space Carney’s low-trajectory boots provided, they’ll be a threat. Hall showed that with his 4.15 second time in the 40-yard dash, he can be deadly.

‘Their punter got them in a jam,’ Beamer said. ‘You hit those low liners and we’ve got a great skill guy back who can do it.’

‘The only thing that beat me today was myself,’ Carney said. ‘It leaves a sick feeling in your stomach. You only have one job to do out there, and when you can’t get it done, it’s just a horrible feeling.’

From the outset, Tech soundly announced the Orangemen an inferior opponent. On the Hokies’ third offensive play, quarterback Bryan Randall ran an option down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown, cutting back at the 30-yard line to make Steve Gregory look like a high school cornerback.

Tech’s defensive line consistently throttled SU’s offensive line, using its speed to swallow Walter Reyes, who was the nation’s leading rusher coming into the game. He was held to just 40 yards on 16 carries. Meanwhile, Tech running back Kevin Jones averaged 6.9 yards a carry and rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

Seems in its final game against the Hokies before they head to the Atlantic Coast Conference, Syracuse couldn’t help but leave Tech a going away present – an easy victory.

‘We just did not play the way we needed to play,’ Tarullo said. ‘That’s what’s disheartening about it. (51-7) is a pretty bad number.’

Published on October 13, 2003 at 12:00 pm