Hurricanes next for resurgent Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Frank Beamer has seen this scenario before.<br> <br> Fresh off an impressive victory against Clemson that knocked the Tigers out of the top 10 and earned Virginia Tech re-entry into the top 25, the Hokies will head to Florida on Saturday to take on a Miami team that seems less impressive than usual.<br> <br> The scenario brings Beamer back to Jacksonville last December, when the Hokies played supposed underdog Florida State in the ACC Championship and lost 27-22.<br> <br> ``People said, well they lost this and they lost that. But it&#39;s still the great athletes on that football field, and that&#39;s what you have to understand about Miami,&#39;&#39; Beamer said Tuesday. ``They&#39;ve got some great players. Some of them are young, but they certainly can play the game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Hokies (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) appear to have regained their confidence with home victories against Southern Mississippi, 36-6, and Clemson, 24-7.<br> <br> That followed lopsided losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College, games that not only made the Hokies a longshot to play for the conference championship again, but also cast a negative light on the program for unsportsmanlike play on the field.<br> <br> Now, Beamer said, things have settled down and the players know that the season is far from over and could get pretty exciting if the last month breaks right.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re together as a football team,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> Unity is good, especially when there&#39;s still hope for a big finish.<br> <br> ``We can&#39;t control what happens in the conference,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Things can happen, but if we spend a lot of time talking about that, then we&#39;re not talking about Miami.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2) are coming off a 30-23 loss at Georgia Tech, but figure to be ready for their old Big East rivals. A year ago, with Virginia Tech riding high at No. 3, Miami came to Lane Stadium and dominated Marcus Vick and the Hokies, 27-7.<br> <br> ``That,&#39;&#39; Beamer said, ``was a butt-kicking. The bad news for us is that a lot of those same players are still on the field. We&#39;d better be ready to play ourselves.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> In this rivalry, though, which as often as not decided the Big East champion before both jumped to the ACC, being jazzed about the matchup is rarely a problem.<br> <br> ``We know we&#39;re going to give them our best shot and they&#39;re going to give us their best shot, no matter what our records are,&#39;&#39; center Danny McGrath said.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s a big game for both our programs.&#39;&#39;