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Transcript of Wednesday's FedEx Orange Bowl news conference featuring Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly:

FRANK BEAMER

JASON ALPERT: Coach, if you could just talk about any difference between your preparations between this year's Orange Bowl and last year's Orange Bowl.

COACH BEAMER: Yeah, we have prepared differently. I feel good about our preparation. We had more full-speed work back in Blacksburg. We scrimmaged a little bit. Since we've been down here we've had curfew earlier, we've been up early in the morning, alert, practiced well, feel good about our preparation.

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ATLANTA -- Virginia staged its most impressive performance of the season Sunday night, overcoming a five-point deficit in the final three minutes of regulation, then outlasting Georgia Tech 88-84 in overtime in the first ACC game for both teams.

UVa freshman and three-time ACC rookie of the week Sylven Landesberg had a game-high 25 points, six rebounds and five assists in 41 minutes to lead the Cavaliers (6-4 overall, 1-0 ACC).

The Cavaliers trailed 82-81 before Landesberg hit a three-point play with 1:08 remaining in overtime. After Georgia Tech had forced an 84-84 tie with 14 seconds left, Calvin Baker gave UVa a lead it would not relinquish when he scored on a driving layup with nine seconds left.

Baker had made a game-winning 3-pointer in UVa's February upset of Georgia Tech on the same floor.

Gani Lawal had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (7-4, 0-1). Tech, shooting an ACC-low 59.9 percent after 10 games, converted only 16 of 33 free throws.

Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring and Cincinnati defensive coordinator Joe Tresey held court at Sunday's Orange Bowl news confereence. Here's what they had to say:

JASON ALPERT: Coach, you’ve now been here for a couple days in South Florida. Talk about how your preparations are going getting ready for the FedEx Orange Bowl.

JOE TRESEY: Going very well. Our young men have done a great job. They’re enjoying South Florida. The Orange Bowl Committee has just been unbelievable. This is the first time we’ve been to a BCS Bowl, so we’re enjoying every minute of it.
But we practiced yesterday for the first time. Our kids did a nice job. They know what’s at stake. This is a group that likes to play. They really love to play. Coach Kelly will tell you I’m sure when you interview him that they enjoy what they do, and when we hit the practice field, they’re ready to roll. It’s been a good start.
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All-Group AAA kick returner Antone Exum from Richmond's Deep Run High School announced Sunday that he has made a football commitment to Virginia Tech.

Exum, who played quarterback on offense and safety on defense, picked the Hokies over Penn State. He said he had a total of 17 scholarship offers.

Exum (6 feet, 200 pounds) was rated the No. 16 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times and is the seventh player off this year's Top 25 to commit to Tech.

Exum is the 20th player to commit to Tech for the 2009 season, counting Bassett offensive lineman Andrew Miller, who will begin his Hokies' career on wrestling scholarship.

In addition, three 2008 signees are expected to enroll for the second semester in January.

 Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao was able to find time for 14 players Tuesday in a 74-48 victory over visiting Hampton, which only made junior Solomon Tat more conspicuous by his absence.

 Tat, a 6-foot-5 wing player, was in uniform but did not play. He has played in two of Virginia's first nine games but for only a total of one minute. On both occasions, he was inserted in the game for defensive purposes at the end of the first half.

 Tat played in only 15 games last year, when he missed the first 11 games of the season after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia.

 When the subject was raised following Tuesday's game, Leitao said there is nothing physical that is keeping Tat off the floor.

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CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Although there has been no let-up in Virginia's close losses, at least the Cavaliers' victories are getting more lopsided.

UVa, a 29-point winner over Longwood last week, defeated Hampton 74-48 on Tuesday night to raise its record to 5-4.

Mike Scott had game highs of 17 points and 15 rebounds, coming back strongly from a three-rebound afternoon Saturday in a 74-58 loss to Auburn.

Hampton fell to 5-5. Virginia is off until Sunday, when it begins its ACC schedule at Georgia Tech.

DD

Last Friday's official announcement that Virginia Tech will meet Alabama in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff game next Sept. 5 in Atlanta will be worth $2 million to each school.

The game, which will be telecast by either ESPN or ABC, is a pairing that helps pumps up the strength of each team's nonconference schedules for 2009.

Each school will receive an allotment of about 31,700 tickets. The Georgia Dome seats a little more than 70,000. Tickets for the game will not be included in Tech's season-ticket package, Hokies athletic director Jim Weaver said Monday night.

Tech will be the home team in the game. The Tide will be playing in the contest for the second consecutive year. Alabama routed ninth-ranked Clemson in the game 34-10 this past season and moved to No. 1 in the polls until losing to Florida 31-20 in the Southeastern Conference title game.

The officiating crew will be supplied by the SEC, with ACC officials manning the replay booth at the 70,000-seat Georgia Dome. 

-- Randy King

Senior defensive end Orion Martin had a solid excuse for missing the Hokies' bowl practice Saturday.

Martin had much more important business on his itinerary: He was getting married in his hometown of Martinsville.

Martin, 23, exchanged vows with his fiance, Jennifer Edwards, whom he met in church in Martinsville about eight months ago. Martin proposed to Edwards during a family dinner at the "Red Lobster" in Christiansburg following the Hokies' 20-17 victory over Georgia Tech on Sept. 13.

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CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia overcame 20.8-percent shooting to take a four-point second-half lead but saw its offensive woes return Saturday in a 58-56 loss to Auburn at John Paul Jones Arena.

It was the fourth loss in five games for the Cavaliers, who fell to 4-4. Freshman Sylven Landesberg had a game-high 22 points, 15 in the second half, but UVa did not have a second double-figure scorer.

Auburn, a preseason choice for fifth in the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, trailed 56-52 following a basket by UVa's Sammy Zeglinski with 4:02 remaining, but got 3-pointers by Tay Waller and DeWayne Reed to pull out the win.

Virginia failed to score on its last five possessions, including a go-ahead 3-point attempt by Zeglinski that was blocked by Reed with four seconds remaining.

Korvotney Barber had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Auburn (6-4). The Tigers outrebounded UVa 44-30, which helped overcome 34.4-percent shooting from the field. UVa shot 36.7 percent.

DD

A pair of Virginia Tech senior starters -- left guard Nick Marshman and middle linebacker Brett Warren -- are not expected to play in the FedEx Orange Bowl against Cincinnati on Jan. 1.

Tech coach Frank Beamer is expected to make an announcement on both players' availabililty for the game at today's Media Bowl gathering in Blacksburg.

Marshman, a 6-foot-5, 339-pound fifth-year senior, has started the past 27 games for Tech. His place in the starting lineup would likely be filled by Jaymes Brooks, a redshirt freshman from Newport News. The 6-2, 304-pound Brooks played only four snaps in two games -- three against Furman and one against Boston College -- in the 12-game regular season.

Warren, a 6-1, 237-pound fifth-year senior, has started every game this season. He ranks second on the club in tackles (86), with five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two interceptions, including one for a touchdown.

Barquell Rivers, a 5-11, 229-pound redshirt freshman, was listed as Warren's backup on the depth chart for Tech's last game -- the Dec. 6 ACC Championship game win over Boston College. Rivers, however, has seen little action this season as his eight tackles suggest.

In a late-breaking development Friday night, redshirt junior running back Jahre Cheeseman has informed the coaching staff that he is leaving the program, according to BeamerBall.com.

Cheeseman, who was among the leading candidates at tailback in the fall, had only four carries for 21 yards this season. Cheeseman broke his left leg during spring practice and never was able to move up into the rotation before moving to fullback in midseason.

-- RANDY KING