BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia Tech's rise to the top of the Big East Conference came just as Miami was on its way down, slapped first by a bowl ban and then three years of NCAA sanctions that cost the Hurricanes 24 scholarships.

	Andre' Kendrick gives Virginia Tech a true deep threat.

The Hokies became the choice for the 1995 Sugar Bowl only after Miami was banned from consideration, and while the Hokies have won four straight against the Hurricanes, only one of those wins came against a full complement of players.

That was in 1995, before Miami's violations problems started, and Hokies coach Frank Beamer said his team's nailbiter victory marked the arrival of Virginia Tech football on the national stage and told the Hokies that they belonged.

"I think it's what Miami stood for," Beamer said, recalling his team's 13-7 victory at home in 1995. "They weren't only the best team in the Big East; they were the best team in the country for the 10 years before that."

The Hokies became the first unranked team in 11 years to beat the Hurricanes that day, sealing the victory when a fourth-down pass by Ryan Clement from the Virginia Tech 25 was batted down at the goal line with 23 seconds to play.

"I think what it meant was that we could compete not only with the best in the Big East, but also with the best in the country," Beamer said this week.

"You want to feel like you belong, but until you go out and do it, line up and win the football game, that's when you know you can do it," Beamer said.

Beamer's bunch has been proving it belongs ever since. It's won 44 of 54 games since that 1995 breakthrough, including three more against Miami. In 1996, the Hokies became the first Big East team to beat Miami at the Orange Bowl, 21-7.

On Saturday, the teams will meet again at Lane Stadium, and while the stakes once again likely include the Big East title, the vantage points are reversed:

Virginia Tech (8-0, 4-0 Big East) is ranked second nationally and needs to win to stay in contention for a shot at the national championship. The 19th-ranked Hurricanes (5-3, 3-0), who won three national titles before their problems with the NCAA started, want to show the country that they are all the way back.

"This is a huge game and a big opportunity for our football team," said Miami coach Butch Davis, who is 36-18 as Miami's coach, but 0-4 against the Hokies.

All four losses have come in close games, with the 21-7 setback being sealed on a 100-yard interception return by the Hokies' Keion Carpenter with 1:54 left.

Two years ago, Pierson Prioleau intercepted a two-point conversion pass with 2:10 to play in the Hokies' 27-25 victory, and last year Al Clark's 24-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Hall gave the Hokies a 27-20 victory in overtime.

Virginia Tech's chief rivals have always been Virginia and West Virginia, but the Hurricanes' return to their once-dominant form and their designs on regaining their perch atop the Big East make them a natural third rival for the Hokies.

Corey Moore, Virginia Tech's outspoken defensive end, made that clear this week when he spoke about going for a fifth straight victory in the series.

"Obviously they don't respect our program because the last four times we've beaten them, they never gave us credit for beating them," he said.

"Every year they always find an excuse. I think that shows a lack of respect, but that doesn't bother us. We get the `W' and they go home with an `L.'

"Hopefully it'll be the same outcome Saturday."

Moore knows the latter is no given, though, not with these Hurricanes.

"Their wideouts are dangerous, very capable of making plays as they've shown against us in the past and also this year against some very impressive defenses," he said. "That team is kind of streaky, and they're hot right now."

Under Beamer, Virginia Tech has stood out for its refusal to be intimidated by any team, always viewing games against the likes of Nebraska and Alabama as opportunities to measure where it fits into the hierarchy of the football elite.

On the road back, Miami is taking the same approach.

"We're not scared. Not at all," linebacker Dan Morgan said. "We've been through bigger games than this. This is a huge game, but I love these kind of games, playing in front of a hostile crowd. I drool over these kind of games."