Virginia Tech arrives in Jacksonville for second time this month

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Posted 5:04AM on Wednesday, December 28, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Virginia Tech's football team arrived Tuesday in Jacksonville for the second time this month, looking for better results in the Gator Bowl than their last visit to Alltel Stadium the first week in December. At that time, the Hokies were 10-1, ranked No. 5 in the AP poll and were strong favorites to secure an Orange Bowl bid as they prepared to play in the inaugural ACC Championship Game at Alltel Stadium against a 7-4, unranked Florida State team. But a sub-par effort by the Hokies combined with a sterling performance by the Seminoles resulted in a 27-22 Florida State win, despite a valiant Tech comeback which included three touchdowns in the final 13:29. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer's job now is to set aside the disappointment of that loss and focus on the club's fifth Gator Bowl appearance, including its third such bowl game in Jacksonville in the past six seasons. ``It's disappointing we didn't get that last win against Florida State, win the ACC Championship and play in the Orange Bowl,'' said Beamer. ``Life has got disappointments, and if you're going to be disappointed, the Gator Bowl and Jacksonville, Florida is not a bad place to be. Beamer received his second consecutive ACC Coach of the Year honor earlier this month. ``There's disappointments in life where things just didn't work out,'' Beamer said. ``How we're going to respond to that disappointment is our challenge down here.'' Several of Virginia Tech's players said the Florida State game is in the past and won't affect their play in next Tuesday's Gator Bowl contest against Louisville. ``We've got something to prove every time we hit the field and there's going to be even more to prove now since we came down here a month ago and lost,'' said senior defensive tackle Darryl Tapp who has 18 quarterback sacks and 29 tackles-for-loss the past two seasons. ``We didn't do our job for that game, any aspect of it. Now we've got to turn it up a notch at practice and get ready.'' Beamer pronounced the squad healthy with the exception of Mike Imoh. The senior tailback who set the school's single-game rushing record with a 243-yard effort against North Carolina a year ago, missed three games with ankle injuries this year, but returned for the Florida State game. He has since had surgery on Dec. 19 to repair the ankle and will miss the Gator Bowl Game. Virginia Tech is one of four teams playing in a bowl game for the 13th consecutive season. The others include Florida, Florida State and Michigan. (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)