Virginia Tech Remains Focused

Sixth-ranked Virginia Tech’s 42-21 victory over Virginia Saturday night at Blacksburg, Va., was played against a backdrop of rumors that North Carolina is poised to offer Hokie Coach Frank Beamer a contract worth more than $1 million a year.

Virginia Tech officials said Friday that the school is offering Beamer a contract worth more than $1 million in the wake of reports that Alabama and North Carolina were seeking to hire him.

The News & Record of Greensboro, N.C., has reported that North Carolina officials are prepared to offer Beamer a total package of about $1.2 million annually in the next few days.

Beamer, a 1969 Virginia Tech graduate, makes about $800,000 annually under his 10-year contract, which he signed in 1996.

“We’re not going to talk about that tonight,” Beamer said after the Hokies’ victory. “We’re going to talk about Virginia Tech football and what a great job the team has done this season.”

Players said the rumors of Beamer being heavily sought have not been a distraction, but have been a topic of discussion this week.

“We’ve joked about it, talking about how much money he’s being offered and how much money Tech better shell out,” said tailback Lee Suggs, who rushed for 116 yards, scored on runs of 30, three and six yards and caught a 23-yard touchdown pass against Virginia.

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick completed 16 of 23 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown.

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In other games in the South: Travis Henry scored two touchdowns and rushed for 184 yards as No. 25 Tennessee (8-3, 5-3 in the Southeastern Conference) held off Vanderbilt, 28-26, at Nashville for the Volunteers’ 18th consecutive victory in the series. Greg Zolman completed 21 of 46 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns for Vanderbilt (3-8, 1-7). . . . North Carolina State (7-4, 4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) scored 22 points in a span of 6:17 to defeat Wake Forest, 32-14, at Raleigh, N.C. Wake Forest finished 2-9, 1-7. . . . With seconds left in the game, Edreece Brown intercepted a two-point conversion pass and ran 99 yards to help Southern hold on to a 33-29 Southwestern Athletic Conference victory over Grambling (9-2, 6-1) in the 27th Bayou Classic at the Superdome in New Orleans. Grambling pulled to within 31-29 on a four-yard pass from Randy Hymes to Scotty Anderson with seven seconds left. On the two-point-conversion try, Hymes’ pass was deflected and intercepted by Brown, who ran the length of the field to give Southern (6-5, 4-3) the victory.

EAST

Dee Brown rushed for a career-high 239 yards and scored three touchdowns as Syracuse rallied past Rutgers, 49-21, for a Big East Conference victory at home. The victory allowed the Orangemen (6-5, 4-3 Big East) to avert their first losing season in 14 years and made them bowl eligible. Rutgers finished 3-8 and 0-7 in the Big East.

SOUTHWEST

Freshman Eric Richardson rushed for 206 yards as Tulsa defeated Nevada, 38-3, in a Western Athletic Conference game at Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa (5-7, 4-4) stifled Nevada (2-10, 1-7) with a balanced attack.

WEST

Fresno State scored 27 unanswered points in the second half and likely earned a berth in the Silicon Valley Classic with a 37-6 Western Athletic Conference victory over San Jose State at San Jose. Fresno State (7-4, 6-2) defeated San Jose State (7-5, 5-3) for the seventh consecutive time. The Bulldogs’ streak matches the longest in the schools’ 65 meetings. . . . Amar Brisco returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown with 52 seconds left as Nevada Las Vegas defeated San Diego State, 31-24, in a Mountain West Conference game at San Diego to end a seven-game road losing streak. Jason Thomas completed 19 of 31 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns for UNLV (6-5, 4-3), which needs to win at Hawaii Saturday to qualify for either the Las Vegas Bowl or the Silicon Valley Classic. The Rebels need seven victories to become bowl eligible because they play a 12-game schedule. San Diego State is 3-8 and 3-4 in the MWC.