Hokies Run (Or Climb) Into The BCS

By Cris Shropshire

December 10, 2008

Unlikely. That would be the cry if someone said in June that the Hokies would have a game in college football's Bowl Championship Series after losing seven defensive starters, their top-four wide receivers, and their starting tailback. Still the Hokies were ranked no.17 in the nation entering the 2008 season.

Improbable. In August after Virginia Tech's loss to mid-major East Carolina University, some may have even laughed at the Hokies' likelihood of earning a BCS bid.

Unfair. After losing three of four in the middle of the season to three other Atlantic Coast Conference teams, it would have been difficult to find anyone who would believe Virginia Tech had a shot of making a BCS game let alone deserved one.

Early season wins against divisional opponents combined with the competitiveness of ACC play (some may even say total intra-conference mediocrity) gave the Hokies an opportunity to play against Boston College for back-to-back ACC Championships and a second consecutive trip to the BCS Orange Bowl. Suffice to say, the Hokies seized it.

The Hokies beat Boston College to win the ACC Championship and now have the chance to finish what they started in last season's Orange Bowl.

Controversy about fairness always comes up during the BCS season but enough cannot be said about the resiliency of the Hokies.

"I think we play enough [meaningful] games. The ACC is not going to have to apologize for any of them." Frank Beamer said of the ACC's place in the BCS in his post-game press conference. "We may not have that great, great football team [in the ACC] right now, but we have got a lot of really good football teams that are getting better."

Armed now with a no.17 national ranking, if the Hokies do win the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day against the Big East champion Cincinnati Bearcats, Beamer's team will have tallied ten wins each of the last five seasons. This is a rare and difficult feat for any college football program these days.

"I think that now we are going to enjoy this for sure," Beamer said.  "But we go to the Orange Bowl with the idea that one more win gets us to ten.  I think that would be really, really special for this football team to end up with, double digit, ten wins."

Nationally, Virginia Tech became an afterthought following a loss to Miami late in the season, which landed the Hurricanes in the driver's seat for the Coastal division title. Miami lost to Georgia Tech the subsequent week (a team the Hokies defeated earlier in the season) and that gave the Hokies an inch. Beamer's team took a mile.

"I thought it was all over after the Miami loss," said Flo Mayer, Tech student and Hokie fan. "But as soon as Miami lost the next week to Georgia Tech, I made sure I had tickets and stayed here for the Duke game that weekend and the UVA game the following week to help cheer the Hokies on to go to the ACC Championship."

The team's defense played its part in earning a spot in the Orange Bowl. Tech's defense allowed only 11.2 points per game in the Hokies last five games. Defensive coordinator, Bud Foster, made it clear what drove his half of the squad to play at its highest level all season down the stretch.

"[This win] kind of shows what we're all about: the character." Foster said.

This marks the Hokies' third BCS bowl appearance since joining the ACC in 2004. Attending a bowl game this season adds another milestone to the program Beamer has spent over 20 years building. The Hokies have the fourth-longest active bowl streak having appeared in a bowl game in 16 consecutive seasons.

Unlikely? Improbable? Unfair? The Hokies have the opportunity on Jan. 1 to make it clear to the nation that they belong.