By Ray Buck
CBS SportsLine National Columnist
Sept. 19, 1998

MIAMI -- Drew Barrymore, where were you? Another Cinderella Story took a cruel twist Saturday night for the Miami Hurricanes.

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If there was any doubt the Orange Bowl has completely lost its mystique and that the Miami Hurricanes have a long way to go to regain their magic, it was quickly erased by a 27-20 overtime loss to No. 21 Virginia Tech

Let's face it. The Hurricanes still are paying for those 31 lost scholarships -- the ones that were taken away by sanctions brought by the NCAA back when Dennis Erickson was the coach and Butch Davis was an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys.

Davis, who inherited these woes in 1995, has tried hard to bury the past and create a "No Excuses" attitude for the present and future.

"We didn't play as well as we can or as well as we're going to play," said Davis with the look of a man who had just seen his poodle get run over. "We self-destructed ... it was our own undoing."

Herein lies the problem. The 'Canes, 2-1, try to fool themselves -- and can't. They blew leads of 13-3 and 20-17 against the Hokies, and each time their fate was followed by another dose of self-destruction and self-doubt.

The Miami Hurricanes once had a 58-game winning streak at the Orange Bowl. Davis' Orange Bowl record stands at 12-7.

Don't look now but Virginia Tech, 3-0, has won back-to-back road games at Clemson -- winning 37-0 at Death Valley last week -- and Miami. Senior quarterback Al Clark has been the difference-maker both times, completing 14 of 26 passes for 153 yards, two TDs and his first interception of the season against the 'Canes.

THIS GAME TURNED IN THE THIRD QUARTER when the Hurricanes had five consecutive possessions end in a turnover. Apparently, the Hokies weren't intimidated by the 31,159 empty seats.

Miami senior quarterback Scott Covington, making only his fourth career start, completed 13-of-28 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. But it wasn't nearly enough.

That's because Covington was sacked five times, intercepted once and had a hand in two of his team's four lost fumbles -- one on the center exchange and another on an aborted handoff to Edgerrin James, who rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries.

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Santana Moss, center, and the 'Canes celebrate an early touchdown but it would be the Hokies' night in the end. (AP)

"Maturity and our young age is not an excuse anymore," Covington said. "We have to go out and win, that's all."

But the Canes haul around so much baggage. Even Davis can't get past it, telling reporters this past week when asked about being favored to beat the Hokies, "If you give us the 31 lost scholarships back, then maybe you can make those statements."

AND WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE 24-YARD touchdown catch by Virginia Tech junior wide receiver Ricky Hall in OT, Davis replied, "The kid made a great catch. That's probably why he's on scholarship."

Miami is off probation. Maybe it's time to get off the self-pity train.

OK, the Hurricanes are young -- with 61 percent of the players used by Davis in the first three games being either freshmen or sophomores, including two freshmen starting on the offensive line for the first time in 20 years.

Covington, at least, was refreshing in his refusal to whine.

"I thought tonight was the night," said the senior QB. "But (with five turnovers), you can't beat a local high school. It was really disappointing because I really thought tonight was our night."

NOW THE QUESTION IS WHETHER OR not this is going to be Miami's year to gain back respectability. This was a must-win game to get back on track.

Consider this: UM has yet to play UCLA and Florida State at home, West Virginia and Syracuse on the road.

The Canes are coming off a 5-6 season. If Davis has another 5-6 season in '98, he will sustain as many losses in four years (27-18) as predecessors Jimmy Johnson (52-9) and Erickson (63-9) did in the previous 11 years combined.

There was one magical moment for Miami. Covington dropped back and put up for grabs something that more closely resembled a 50-yard punt. The ball came down along the Miami sideline in the vicinity of two Hurricane receivers -- Reggie Wayne and Santana Moss -- and one Virginia Tech defender, Ike Charlton.

It was a jump ball. Wayne came down with it. Charlton fell to his knees. And Wayne somehow stepped through a ring of fire, a snake pit and two would-be tacklers on his way -- untouched -- to the end zone. This gave the Canes a 20-17 lead.

VIRGINIA TECH HAD A CHANCE TO WIN THE game in regulation. Kicker Shayne Graham was wide right on a 36-yard field-goal attempt with 12 seconds left -- his second miss of the game -- but the pressure was never put on him again.

Clark took care of that. He hit Hall for the game-winner in OT. Covington and the Canes were sacked twice on the final series and couldn't tie or win.

Miami did rack up three TDs against a Virginia Tech defense that was ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense.

Aside from the five turnovers, however, Miami was hurt by 13 penalties for 96 yards.

The magic again was a no-show at the Orange Bowl. It might be another long season for the Canes.

Ray Buck is CBS SportsLine's national columnist.