Georgia Tech head coach George O' Leary, left, and West Virginia University head coach Don Nehlen, talk with reporters during a news conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Sunday, Dec. 28, 1997. The two teams face each other in the Carquest Bowl at Pro Players Stadium in Miami on Monday, Dec. 29, 1997. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Web posted December 29, 1997

By Tony Fabrizio
Morris News Service

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The locals aren't interested, and the respective constituencies are unexcited. Pro Player Stadium could be less than half full tonight when 6-5 Georgia Tech plays 7-4 West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl.

``Our people felt that we'd sell between 15,000 and 18,000 tickets,'' said Georgia Tech athletic director Dave Braine, his school having moved only about 7,500. ``I think disappointing losses at the end of the season had a lot to do with that. The way we lost the Georgia game, how emotional it was ... obviously, we've paid a price.''

Braine conceded that the poor showing by Tech's fans could impact on the team's chances of going to bowls in the future. Bowl committees favor schools that bring a lot of fans, and schools that don't - such as 7-4 Virginia this year - sometimes stay home.

Tech sports information assistant Allison George blamed traveling difficulties, such as full or expensive flights from Atlanta and the lack of rental cars because of the holidays. But Braine wouldn't use that excuse, noting that Orange Bowl, played in Miami, always sells out.

``That's a different bowl, obviously, but you can get charters,'' Braine said. ``People can find ways to get here if they want to bad enough. See how many people Nebraska brings here (for Friday's Orange Bowl).''

As poorly as Tech has fared in generating interest, at least it has West Virginia beat. The Big East Conference school will bring about 4,500 fans.

Only 30,000 seats had been sold as of Sunday afternoon for the 75,000-seat home of the Miami Dolphins, and officials slashed ticket prices to $9 in hopes of avoiding the smallest crowd in the bowl's history. The lowest-attended Carquest Bowl was the 1995 game between North Carolina and Arkansas, which drew 34,428.

Competing with rock and roll music at a coaches press conference Sunday at Planet Hollywood, Tech's George O'Leary and West Virginia's Don Nehlen were grilled about whether their teams deserved to be in a bowl.

O'Leary was polite enough, saying that the bowl is a deserved reward for players. But Nehlen practically snapped at a reporter, saying coaches have to do a better job educating the media as to what constitutes a successful season.

``If they're going to put 25 or 30 teams in bowls, each of us deserves to be here,'' Nehlen asserted.

O'Leary has worked his team uncommonly hard for the game, believing a win would put a buffer between the painful loss to Georgia Nov. 29 and off-season workouts.

Always pragmatic, O'Leary also wanted to take advantage of the allotted practice time, using it to evaluate younger players and teach the older ones.

``We went two-a-days the first week of practice, and we came down here and practiced every day since we've been here - even on Christmas Day,'' lamented receiver Harvey Middleton ``Coach has really given the younger guys a lot more practice time.''

For the record, West Virginia did not practice on Christmas Day.

The game's marquee matchup pits Yellow Jackets quarterback Joe Hamilton against Mountaineers tailback Amos Zereoue.

Hamilton finished the season as the ACC's hottest quarterback and set Tech school records for passing efficiency (146.6), completion percentage (64.6) and total offense (2,792).

Zereoue, who received three first-place Heisman Trophy votes, finished third in the nation in rushing with 1,505 yards in 10 games.

``He's a great back, and we've got to be disciplined with our lanes or it could be a long night,'' O'Leary said.

Said Nehlen, ``The more I look at Georgia Tech on film, the better they look. So I stopped looking at them because they make me nervous.''