2008 Orange Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl game was a post-season college football
bowl game
between the Virginia Tech Hokies
and the Kansas Jayhawks
on January 3, 2008, at Dolphins Stadium in Miami Gardens
, Florida
. Spread bettors
favored Virginia Tech by three points, but in a game dominated by defensive and special teams play, Kansas defeated Virginia Tech 24–21. The game was part of the 2007–2008 Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. This 74th edition of the Orange Bowl was televised in the United States on FOX
and was watched by more than eight million viewers.
The game between the third-ranked ACC
champion Virginia Tech Hokies
and the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks
from the Big 12 Conference
(Big 12) was played at neutral-site Dolphins Stadium. Tech served as the home team in the contest. Virginia Tech automatically qualified for the Orange Bowl by virtue of the ACC's tie-in with the bowl, while Orange Bowl selected Kansas over West Virginia
—which had been upset by then 4–7 Pittsburgh
—and conference rival Missouri
. Two weeks after Kansas's selection, controversy erupted when a deal was revealed to put 4th-ranked Oklahoma
against Virginia Tech. The deal was vetoed by BCS commissioners, and the selection of Kansas was upheld.
The game marked the first time the Jayhawks had been to the Orange Bowl since 1969 and was their first bowl game since the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl, when they defeated Houston
41–13. Virginia Tech last played in the Orange Bowl game in December 1996
, losing to Nebraska 21–41. The 2008 Orange Bowl was Virginia Tech's 15th consecutive season with a bowl game, a streak dating to the 1993 Independence Bowl
.
Kansas quarterback
Todd Reesing
had an excellent game, completing 20 of his 37 pass
es for 227 yards, one touchdown
, and one interception. On the opposite side of the ball, Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon
finished the game 13 for 28 passing, earning 160 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Despite both teams' offensive performances, the game's Most Valuable Player
was a defensive player, Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib
, whose 60-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Kansas its first lead of the game. After the game, Talib was one of several players from both teams to announce an intention to enter the 2008 NFL Draft
.
As champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia Tech was awarded an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl game. The automatic ACC bid was the result of an off-season deal following the inaugural ACC Championship Game
which granted the winner of the ACC Championship Game an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl unless it was ranked high enough in the Bowl Championship Series
standings to play in the National Championship Game.
, football served as a way to help the university community emotionally heal. The opening game of the season, on September 1, 2007, was against East Carolina University
and featured numerous remembrance ceremonies and commemorations. Buoyed by the emotion of the day, the Hokies earned a 17–7 victory. Their next game would not be as easy. One week later, Virginia Tech traveled to Baton Rouge
, Louisiana
to face the No. 2 Louisiana State University Tigers
. The Tigers were widely regarded in pre-season polls as favorites to play in the National Championship Game
and overwhelmed the Hokies in front of a home crowd, 48–7.
In the wake of the Hokies's defeat, Virginia Tech chose to start a new quarterback and a new offensive plan. Behind freshman
Tyrod Taylor
, the Hokies rolled to five straight victories, including a win over No. 22 Clemson by 18 points. During the winning streak, Sean Glennon
, who had started at quarterback for the Hokies during the first two games of the season, returned to alternate possessions with Taylor in an unusual two-quarterback system. On October 25, the Hokies had a chance to make up for their early-season loss to LSU when they faced No. 2 Boston College on a Thursday night in Blacksburg
, Virginia
. Though the Hokies dominated for most of the game, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan
managed a late-game comeback to win the game 14–10 with 11 seconds remaining.
With four consecutive victories after the loss, including a win over then-No. 16 Virginia, the Hokies won the Coastal division and secured a bid to the 2007 ACC Championship Game
in Jacksonville, Florida
. There, they faced a rematch with Boston College, champions of the Atlantic Division. As in the previous matchup, defense dominated, but unlike in the earlier matchup, Matt Ryan was unable to seize the victory. Two fourth-quarter interceptions by Virginia Tech sealed the Hokie win and an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl game.
football poll of the 2007 season, Kansas did not receive a single vote. From their opening game of the year, however, the Jayhawks began to impress voters with their offensive efficiency. Against Mid-American Conference
Champion Central Michigan University
, Kansas scored 52 points while only allowing a single touchdown
.
Over the next three games, Kansas outscored its opponents 162–16. As Kansas's Big 12
schedule began, the Jayhawks' winning ways continued, as they proved themselves against legitimate competition. On October 6, Kansas traveled to Manhattan
, Kansas
, home of then-ranked No. 24 Kansas State University
for the opening game of its Big 12 schedule. In front of 50,924 hostile fans, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing
struggled for the first time in the season. Late in the fourth quarter, Reesing threw a ball that bounced off the facemask
of wide receiver
Dexton Fields before being intercepted. The interception set up a Kansas State touchdown that put Kansas into a 24–21 hole with seven and a half minutes remaining. Reesing and the Jayhawks struck back quickly, however, and scored a 30-yard touchdown to take the lead for good.
With the win, Kansas broke into the rankings of the top 25 college football teams in the country for the first time since 1996, entering the AP Poll
at No. 20. Over the next six weeks, Kansas continued to find ways to win. Traditional Jayhawk rivals such as Nebraska
, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M
were defeated during the course of the season, and Kansas climbed the national rankings. By the 13th week of the season, the stage had been set for an epic game against Kansas's traditional rival, Missouri.
Due to prior agreement, the 2007 edition of the Border War was held in Kansas City
, Missouri
, at Arrowhead Stadium
, home of the National Football League
's Kansas City Chiefs
. In front of over 80,000 fans, No. 4 Missouri defeated No. 2 Kansas 36–28 to hand the Jayhawks their first loss of the season. Missouri, with the win, earned a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game. In that game, Oklahoma defeated Missouri 38–17 to earn an automatic bid to the 2008 Fiesta Bowl
. Because the loss gave Missouri its second of the year, Kansas, which lost to the Tigers, was selected as an at-large pick by the BCS and earned a trip to the Orange Bowl.
Pundits and fans who opposed Kansas' selection pointed to the Jayhawks' strength of schedule, which at one point during the season was as low as 109th out of 119 Division I teams. By the time of the BCS selection, however, Kansas's strength of schedule had climbed substantially, reaching 88th in the Sagarin rankings
and 74th in the CBS rankings. The final rankings rated Kansas' schedule as more difficult than Hawaii
, which was also selected to play in the BCS. Aggravating the situation was the fact that Kansas and Missouri have one of the most intense rivalries in college football. Known as the Border War, the roots of the rivalry date to the years before the American Civil War
.
Two weeks after the selection of Kansas, yet another controversy arose when it was revealed that Big 12 and ACC officials had worked out an agreement to feature an Oklahoma/Virginia Tech matchup in the Orange Bowl in the hours leading up to the final selection. Oklahoma, which initiated the proposal, requested that it face the highest-ranked BCS opponent then available, which would have been Virginia Tech (ranked 3rd in the BCS). Normally, Oklahoma, the 2007 Big 12 Champion, would have played in the Fiesta Bowl, which holds the automatic rights to the Big 12 Champion's BCS bid. A little-known clause in the Bowl Championship Series contract, however, allows for the commissioners of the BCS to override that bid if the automatically selected team had played in the game the previous year, or to create a more interesting matchup. Oklahoma had played in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl
and seemed a perfect candidate for execution of the clause. Representatives from the Orange and Fiesta bowls reportedly worked out a deal to swap Oklahoma and Kansas and Dan Bebee, the commissioner from the Big 12, presented the plan to the BCS committee. The remaining BCS commissioners rejected the request (with only the Big 12, ACC and Big East commissioners in favor) and honored the original selection of Kansas for the Orange Bowl and forced Oklahoma to accept its automatic Fiesta Bowl Bid. The release of this plan upset many fans at both schools and across the country, who perceived that an (4)Oklahoma-(3)Virginia Tech matchup would have been superior to a (8)Kansas-(3)Virginia Tech game. Ironically, while Oklahoma-Virginia Tech was perceived as a better match-up due to their high rankings, both teams went on to be upset by the lower ranked team with Oklahoma losing 48-28 to (9)West Virginia.
Most pre-game media and popular coverage of the 2008 Orange Bowl focused on the matchup between Kansas's No. 2 scoring offense and Virginia Tech's No. 2 scoring defense. Outside factors, such as coaching, previous experience, and fan support were also considered in pre-game analysis of the matchup. Outside story lines included Virginia Tech's recovery from the Virginia Tech Massacre
, recovery from late-season losses suffered by each team (against Missouri for Kansas and against Boston College for Virginia Tech).
was led by running back
Brandon McAnderson, who averaged 87.5 yards per game during the 2007 season and earned 1,050 yards and 16 touchdowns in the season leading to the Orange Bowl. Through the air, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing earned the 11th-highest passer rating
in the country, averaging a 152.41 quarterback rating in 2007. Reesing completed 62.6% of his pass
es during the 2007 season, earning 3,259 yards, 32 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Reesing's favorite receiver was Marcus Henry, who was ranked No. 29 in the country for passing yardage, averaging over 82 receiving yards per game. During 2007, Henry earned 994 yards and nine touchdowns. On the offensive line, the Jayhawks were led by All-American left tackle Anthony Collins, who finished as a finalist for the Outland Trophy
, awarded to college football's best offensive lineman. Because of the Jayhawks' effectiveness on offense, they punted the ball just 46 times during the 2007 season, the seventh-lowest total in Division I.
and Tyrod Taylor
shared time behind center
. Though unusual, the system was successful in leading the Hokies to their second ACC Championship in four years. During the 2007 regular season, Glennon threw for 1,636 yards and 11 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his passes. Taylor, meanwhile, passed for 916 yards and five touchdowns while also rush
ing for 431 yards. Some pundits predicted that Kansas might have difficulty with Taylor's mobility, as his style of play was similar to that of Missouri's Chase Daniels, who gave Kansas its sole loss of the 2007 season. On the other end of the Virginia Tech aerial offense was a corps of capable receivers, led by senior wide receiver
s Eddie Royal and Josh Morgan. Morgan was the fifth-ranked receiver in Virginia Tech history, having earned 1,787 receiving yards. Royal was sixth, having earned 1,767 yards. Two of Tech's other receivers, Josh Hyman and Justin Harper, recorded 1,138 and 1,274 receiving yards each, marking the first time in Virginia Tech history that the Hokies had four different thousand-yard career receivers on the same team. On the ground, the Hokies were led by running back Branden Ore, who rushed for 876 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. One week before the Orange Bowl, Tech coaches revealed that Ore would be suspended for the first quarter of the game against Kansas as punishment for showing up late to the Hokies' final pre-bowl practice. Ore was replaced by sophomore rusher Kenny Lewis Jr, who struggled against the Jayhawks' rush defense.
. One key player in the Virginia Tech defense was linebacker
Xavier Adibi, who had scored his third career defensive touchdown in the ACC Championship Game against Boston College. Adibi, together with fellow linebacker Vince Hall, made up "the best LB duo in the country," according to ESPN commentator Chris Spielman. Hall's effectiveness had, however, been limited in the 2007 season by a broken wrist suffered against Clemson. Hall missed four games with the injury, but returned to play the final three contests of the season for Virginia Tech and promised to be featured heavily in the 2008 Orange Bowl. Backing up the Virginia Tech linebackers was a strong backfield, which had produced 12 NFL
draft picks in the nine years preceding the 2007 season. Primary among the backfield players were cornerback
s Victor Harris and Brandon Flowers, who Sports Illustrated
.com called "maybe the best cornerback duo in the country".
s for loss and promised more of the same for the Orange Bowl. The team captain of the Jayhawk defense, meanwhile, was All-American cornerback
Aqib Talib
. Talib was also a threat on offense, catching eight passes, including four touchdowns, during the regular season.
The 2008 Orange Bowl kicked off at 8:30 p.m. EST
at Dolphins Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
. The official attendance for the game was listed as 74,111 (the eighth consecutive Orange Bowl sellout), but actual attendance was lower, and several upper-deck sections of the stadium were sparsely filled. Approximately 15 million viewers watched the game, earning the broadcast a Nielsen rating of 7.4. The broadcast of the 2008 Orange Bowl was the only BCS bowl game to show a rise in television viewers over the previous season's broadcast, as the 2007 Orange Bowl had only earned a Nielsen rating of 7.0. The pre-game show featured several high school
marching band
s, and the national anthem was sung by American Idol
runner-up Katharine McPhee
.
The coin toss
featured former Virginia Tech star Bruce Smith, while Kansas was represented by Gale Sayers
. Kansas won the toss and elected to kick off
to Virginia Tech. Kansas would receive the ball to begin the second half. At kickoff, the air temperature was unseasonably cold for Miami at 57 °F (13.9 °C), and the skies were cloudy with intermittent rain.
Virginia Tech's Eddie Royal fielded the opening kickoff
from Kansas kicker Scott Webb, returning it 59 yards to the 41-yard line of Kansas. The return gave the Virginia Tech offense excellent field position to begin the game. Tech quarterback
Sean Glennon
connected on an 11-yard pass
to Justin Harper for a first down on the opening play of the game, but Kansas' defense stiffened on subsequent plays. After Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor entered the game at quarterback, Kansas sacked
Taylor twice, pushing Virginia Tech 19 yards backward, out of field goal
range. Because of the sacks, Virginia Tech was forced to punt
the ball away without scoring any points.
The punt was downed in the end zone for a touchback
, and Kansas began its first offensive possession of the game at its 20-yard line. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing
proved remarkably effective, completing six of his eight passes during the drive and rush
ing for five yards on a quarterback scramble
. Reesing drove Kansas' offense into Virginia Tech territory, but after Tech's Orion Martin sacked Reesing, Kansas was unable to gain another first down and kicker Scott Webb was sent into the game to attempt a 44-yard field goal. Webb's kick sailed wide of the uprights, however, and the game remained scoreless with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter.
After the missed field goal, Virginia Tech took over on offense at its own 27-yard line. Running back
Kenny Lewis, Jr., replacing the suspended Branden Ore, ran for a first down, and Tyrod Taylor connected on an 11-yard pass to Eddie Royal for another first down. Now inside Kansas territory, Taylor attempted another pass. Kansas All-American cornerback Aqib Talib
jumped between Taylor's throw and the receiver, intercepting the ball. Talib returned the interception 60 yards to the end zone for a Kansas touchdown—the first points of the game. An extra point
kick by Scott Webb made the score 7–0 Kansas with 5:15 remaining in the quarter.
High-stepping into the endzone, Aqib Talib committed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which was enforced on the post-score kickoff. The penalty, coupled with a good kick return by Virginia Tech, gave the Hokies excellent field position for their third possession of the game. Quarterback Sean Glennon capitalized on that field position, connecting on a 24-yard pass to wide receiver
Justin Harper. The catch pushed Virginia Tech inside Kansas territory and seemingly set up the Hokie offense for their first score of the game. After two plays for no gain and a five-yard loss when Glennon was sacked by James Holt, Virginia Tech was forced to attempt a 49-yard field goal. Jud Dunlevy's kick fell short, however, and Virginia Tech was denied a score. Kansas recovered the short kick, which landed in the end zone
, and returned the ball 39 yards. Despite the momentum earned by the missed kick, Kansas went three plays without gaining a first down and was forced to punt the ball away. Virginia Tech recovered the ball at its 15-yard line and ran two plays before time ran out in the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, Kansas had kept Virginia Tech scoreless while capitalizing on a 60-yard interception return by Aqib Talib for the game's only points, a 7–0 lead.
, and running back Brandon McAnderson contributed several short rushes. The Kansas offense failed to gain a second first down after the interception, however, and kicker Scott Webb was again called upon to attempt a field goal, this time from 32 yards away. Unlike his first kick, the second sailed through the uprights for three points. With 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Kansas extended its lead to 10–0.
Virginia Tech recovered the post-field goal kickoff at its own 31-yard line, and Branden Ore, having entered the game after his one-quarter suspension, advanced the ball three yards. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor also advanced the ball five yards on a scramble, but failed to gain a first down. The Hokies were forced to punt the ball away, and Kansas recovered the kick at its 41-yard line. With good field position and momentum granted by the interception and field goal, Kansas moved the ball quickly. Todd Reesing was sacked by Nekos Brown and Xavier Adibi, but connected to Jake Sharp for 20 yards on two passes, advancing the ball deep into Virginia Tech territory. Passes to Marcus Henry and Dezmon Briscoe advanced Kansas 21 more yards into Hokie territory, and Brandon McAnderson rushed for five yards on the ground. Capping the Kansas drive was a 13-yard toss by Reesing to Henry for a touchdown. The score, which came with 7:03 remaining in the first half, gave Kansas a 17–0 lead, its largest of the game.
Virginia Tech recovered the post-touchdown kickoff desperately needing to score before halftime. Kansas had played strongly on defense throughout the first half, and the game's momentum was firmly behind the Jayhawks, who had capitalized on two Virginia Tech turnovers
. Sean Glennon completed a three-yard pass to Josh Morgan to begin the drive, but it was running back Branden Ore who did the vast majority of the work during the Hokies' final offensive drive of the first half. After Glennon's pass, Ore rushed the ball on six straight plays, picking up 33 yards and two first downs on the way. After that, Glennon contributed a five-yard run of his own, which was aided by a 15-yard facemask
penalty against Kansas. Branden Ore received the ball again, rushing on five consecutive plays, culminating in a one-yard run for a touchdown. The score came with just 1:03 left in the half, giving Virginia Tech its first points of the game and narrowing Kansas' lead to 17–7.
Kansas received Virginia Tech's kickoff, and the Hokies attempted to give themselves another chance at offense by calling timeouts after Kansas rushed the ball. The timeouts stopped the clock, but Kansas managed to earn a first down and run out the clock after Tech used its allotted three timeouts. Heading into halftime, Kansas still had the lead and the momentum, but a Virginia Tech touchdown had cut the Jayhawks' lead to just 10 points, 17–7.
The halftime show
of the 2008 Orange Bowl was headlined by American blues
rock
band ZZ Top
, who played their song Sharp Dressed Man
. The band was a favorite of Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, who expressed regrets prior to the game that he would not be able to listen to the performance. The Master of Ceremonies
for the show was local disc jockey
DJ Irie, who orchestrated a cheering contest between fans of Virginia Tech and Kansas. Irie became the first DJ to perform in the halftime show of a bowl game in 2005 when he played during halftime at the 2005 Orange Bowl
. Also featured during the halftime show were a group of high school
marching bands, who played Stevie Ray Vaughan
's Crossfire while ZZ Top's stage was disassembled. Following the halftime show, the FOX truck broadcasting the game experienced a power outage. As Fox crews worked to get the power restored, the second half was delayed by three minutes.
d for a loss of six yards after catching a pass. Reesing was sacked under heavy pressure from the Tech defense. On third down, a Reesing pass was nearly intercepted by Cody Grimm, who knocked it down to force a Kansas punt. On the subsequent return, Virginia Tech earned its first big play of the game. Eddie Royal, who had returned every one of Virginia Tech's first-half kicks, received the ball and lateral
ed it to Justin Harper, who returned it 84 yards for a touchdown. The score cut Kansas' lead to just three points with 11:35 remaining in the third quarter.
With the game's momentum now firmly in their favor, the Virginia Tech defense stopped Kansas' offense on three straight plays, forcing another Kansas punt. The kick traveled 62 yards and was recovered at the Virginia Tech 18-yard line. Virginia Tech's offense, despite the poor field position, moved quickly, partly due to a 15-yard pass interference
penalty against Kansas. Sean Glennon completed a controversial 37-yard pass to tight end
Greg Boone to drive the Hokies deep into Kansas territory. Initially, the pass appeared to have been intercepted by a Kansas defender, but subsequent replays revealed that Boone had wrested possession of the ball away from the defender. Three rushes deep inside the Kansas red zone netted the Hokies just nine more yards, setting up a fourth-and-one scenario for the Virginia Tech offense. Rather than risk a failed fourth-down conversion, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer
sent in kicker Jud Dunlevy to attempt a 25-yard field goal. During the kick, however, Kansas defender Joe Mortensen rushed through the Virginia Tech line and blocked the kick, denying the Hokies three points and preserving a 17–14 Kansas lead with 6:31 remaining in the quarter.
The block neutralized all the Virginia Tech momentum that had been gained with the punt-return touchdown and kept Kansas in the lead. After the block, however, Kansas failed to gain a first down on offense. Though forced to punt the ball away, punter Kyle Tucker's 42-yard kick was helped by a 10-yard illegal blocking penalty against Virginia Tech that pinned the Hokies at their own 25-yard line. Branden Ore picked up a first down with two rushes, but the Tech offense failed to gain another first down and the Hokies were forced to punt the ball again.
Kansas took over at its own 12-yard line after the punt. On the first play of the drive, Reesing completed a 37-yard pass to Dexton Fields, putting the ball near midfield. Three straight incomplete pass
es later, Kansas faced a fourth-and-ten and a punt. Instead of punting the ball away, however, Kansas elected to try a risky fake punt-pass. Instead of snapping the ball to the punter, the ball was snapped to running back Brandon McAnderson, who threw the ball 22 yards downfield to Micah Brown for a first down. On the very next play, Reesing, having returned to the field, connected on a 28-yard pass to Dexton Fields, who was pushed out of bounds just short of the goal line. With a first-and-goal from inside the one-yard line, a Kansas touchdown seemed inevitable. On the first play inside the red zone, however, Kansas fumble
d the ball. Though the ball was recovered by a Kansas player, the play lost four yards. On the next play, Kansas committed a 15-yard personal foul penalty. The personal foul was followed by a 10-yard holding penalty, and Kansas was pushed entirely outside the Virginia Tech red zone. In an effort to push back, Reesing threw a pass deep downfield. Instead of being completed, however, the ball was intercepted by Virginia Tech's D.J. Parker. With 39 seconds left in the quarter, Virginia Tech had stopped Kansas from gaining a point despite the Jayhawks penetrating inside the Virginia Tech one-yard line.
As the quarter came to an end, the Hokies gained two quick first downs and advanced the ball 26 yards, seemingly having regained the momentum lost with the blocked kick. With one quarter remaining in the game, however, Kansas still had a three-point lead, 17–14.
The first few plays of the fourth quarter failed to live up to the promise that had been shown in the third for the Hokies. Two incomplete passes and one that gained just two yards forced Virginia Tech to punt the ball away with 13:49 remaining in the quarter. After taking over at its 33-yard line, Kansas had no more success on offense than did Virginia Tech. After three straight plays with no gain, Kansas was forced to punt the ball away as well. A 58-yard kick by Kyle Tucker pinned Virginia Tech inside its 10-yard line, and the Hokies were unable to advance the ball much beyond the ten-yard line. An incomplete pass and a two-yard run by Branden Ore were all the offense managed before Sean Glennon threw a 20-yard interception to the Jayhawks' Justin Thornton. Thornton returned the ball 30 yards to the Virginia Tech two-yard line, and on Kansas' first play after the interception, Todd Reesing ran two yards for the touchdown. The score gave the Jayhawks a 24–14 lead with just 10:57 remaining.
After the Kansas kickoff, Virginia Tech took over at its 33-yard line. Needing a score, the Hokies committed a five-yard false start penalty before quarterback Sean Glennon was sacked by Kansas' Mike Rivera. The two plays pushed the Virginia Tech offense back, preventing them from gaining a first down. Forced to punt the ball away, Virginia Tech had to play defense as Kansas took over at its 28-yard line. Secure in their lead, Kansas elected to run the ball in an effort to keep the clock moving and bring the game to an end more quickly. Brandon McAnderson broke free for 28 yards on the first play of the drive, and Jake Sharp contributed another first down on the ground before the Hokie defense stopped Kansas on an attempt to earn a first down on a fourth-and-two deep inside Virginia Tech territory.
Having stopped Kansas on fourth down, Virginia Tech took over on offense at its 22-yard line. With just 5:51 remaining in the game, the Hokies badly needed to score quickly and get a defensive stop in order to have a chance to win. The Hokies advanced on the first aspect of that requirement as Sean Glennon converted several first downs through the air. Kansas allowed no play over nine yards until late in the drive, forcing Virginia Tech to use up valuable time. On the last play of the drive, Sean Glennon connected on a 20-yard strike to Justin Harper for a touchdown. The score cut Kansas' lead to just three points, but with just three minutes remaining in the game, Virginia Tech's comeback would only be complete if the Hokies could recover a difficult onside kick
.
Jud Dunlevy kicked the ball, which traveled the regulation 10 yards, but was recovered by Kansas. The Hokies, despite failing to recover the onside kick, still had a chance for another offensive possession if they stopped Kansas' offense short of a first down. Because the Hokies had two timeouts remaining, they could stop the clock after two Kansas plays, thus preserving time for a Virginia Tech offensive drive. An 11-yard pass by Todd Reesing netted Kansas a first down, however, and subsequent runs by the Jayhawks allowed Kansas to run out the clock despite the Virginia Tech timeouts. Kansas preserved its lead by kneeling on the ball inside the Virginia Tech 5 yard line on the final plays of the game, and the 24–21 victory was celebrated as time ran out.
was named the game's Most Valuable Player
. Talib's 60-yard interception return for a touchdown was the Orange Bowl's first since the 1968 Orange Bowl, when Oklahoma
's Bob Stephenson performed the same feat. When he appeared on stage on the field after the game to receive his award, Talib exclaimed, "I felt like Deion!", a reference to former NFL star Deion Sanders
.
The two teams finished with extremely similar statistical totals, as befitting a close game. The two teams were within 38 total yards of each other; Kansas had 344 yards and Virginia Tech had 306. That relative closeness was reflected in the teams' first-down totals as well. Virginia Tech earned 20 first downs: 10 rushing, eight passing, and two via penalty. Kansas, meanwhile, earned 19 first downs: five rushing, 13 passing, and one via penalty.
Over two-thirds of Kansas' offense came through the air as the Jayhawks racked up 249 net passing yards. The Hokies, meanwhile, earned almost half their offense on the ground. The end result of the varying offensive strategies was much the same, however. Kansas successfully converted six of its 17 third-down attempts, while Virginia Tech converted seven of its 17 attempts. The time of possession was one key stat in favor of Kansas, as Kansas controlled the ball for 33:47, over 7 minutes more than Virginia Tech's possession time of 26:13.
The difference in the game came from special teams and turnovers
. Virginia Tech turned the ball over three times, while Kansas turned the ball over just once. Kansas converted its three takeaways into 17 points, giving the Jayhawks an enormous advantage on the scoreboard. Virginia Tech failed to convert its sole turnover recovery into any points.
With Glennon behind center, the Virginia Tech offense utilized several different wide receivers in the passing game. Eight different players caught at least one pass, and the leading receiver, Justin Harper, hauled in four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Josh Morgan, meanwhile, caught three passes, bringing him to 122 receptions for his career, passing Antonio Freeman
for second place all-time at Virginia Tech. Ernest Wilford
remains first in the Virginia Tech record book, with 126 receptions.
The Hokies were slightly more effective rushing the ball. In the ground game, seven different players carried the ball at least once, netting 135 rushing yards. Branden Ore finished the game with 116 yards, leading all rushers on both teams. That total put him just eight yards short of his second-straight 1,000-yard season. Ore's total is even more impressive when one considers that he had been suspended for the entire first quarter of the game, his place taken by backup rusher Kenny Lewis, Jr. Lewis finished the game with four carries for 22 yards, and didn't see much action after Ore entered the game at the beginning of the second quarter.
On special teams, the Hokies had several highs and lows. Justin Harper's 84-yard punt-return touchdown sparked a Virginia Tech rally that brought the Hokies within striking distance, but failures on special teams also ended the rally and turned the momentum of the game against Virginia Tech. Kicker Jud Dunlevy had been the third-most accurate kicker in the nation heading into the Orange Bowl, having hit 21 of his 24 field goal attempts during the season. He only needed two field goals to break Tech's record for most field goals in the season, set at 22 by Shayne Graham
in 1998. Though Dunlevy had two chances for field goals, one fell short and the other was blocked.
On defense, the Hokies were led by linebacker Vince Hall, who recorded seven solo tackles, one assisted tackle, and one pass break-up. Hokies' defender Orion Martin also had a big game, recording six solo tackles, one assisted tackle, and two sacks of Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing. Two other defensive players recorded one sack apiece, and D.J. Parker recorded the Hokies' sole interception on defense.
Eight different receivers caught at least one pass, with Dexton Fields leading all receivers in the game with seven catches for 101 yards. Both totals were the highest marks recorded in the game by either team. Fields was also the recipient of a play that tied for the longest pass play of the game, a 37-yard toss from Reesing halfway through the third quarter. Cornerback and game MVP Aqib Talib came into the game as a receiver several times, but because his appearance in the game was such an unusual occurrence, the Virginia Tech defense was able to zero in on him and prevent him from catching the ball.
The Jayhawks' ground game was less effective than their pass offense, but still had success against a tough Virginia Tech defense. Running back Brandon McAnderson, Kansas' leading rusher, finished the game with 15 carries for 75 yards. Backup running back Jake Sharp rushed nine times for 33 yards, including several key first-down runs.
As successful as Kansas' offense was, it was the Jayhawks' special teams (beating Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer at his own game) that earned them the victory. Kansas blocked one Virginia Tech field goal, and caused Tech kicker Jud Dunlevy to miss another short. Kansas punter Kyle Tucker did an excellent job pinning Virginia Tech deep in its own end of the field, kicking the ball five times for a total of 250 yards, averaging 50 yards a punt. His longest punt, a 62-yard kick, was one of three punts that were downed inside Tech's 20-yard line.
The Kansas defense, which had been ill-regarded heading into the game, performed well, as MVP Aqib Talib finished the game with five tackles in addition to the interception that he returned for a touchdown. The Jayhawks' leading tackler was Mike Rivera, who earned 12 tackles, including one sack of quarterback Sean Glennon. Altogether, the Jayhawks sacked Virginia Tech's quarterbacks five times, including two sacks on the opening drive of the game.
A bet on the game between the governors of Kansas and Virginia was resolved when Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
sent a Virginia smoked ham to the Kansas state capitol. Had Virginia Tech won, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius
would have sent Kaine an assortment of Kansas beef.
and the 2008 Orange Bowl, the Hokies amassed a record of six wins and nine losses. Despite the loss to the Jayhawks and the loss of several graduating players, Virginia Tech was a popular pick to repeat as ACC
champions heading into the off-season. The seniors who graduated following the Orange Bowl game were the winningest team in Virginia Tech history, becoming one of just three teams in Division I to win at least 10 games each of the previous four years. Junior Sean Glennon's second consecutive failure to win a bowl game, however, re-opened the question of whether he or Tyrod Taylor would be the Hokies' starter at quarterback in 2008.
team. Because of the unexpected nature of the Jayhawks' success, some pundits proclaimed the 2008 Orange Bowl as ranking among the greatest Kansas sports victories of all time. The game paid $17 million to Kansas and the Big 12 Conference
and helped to boost the Kansas football team's national profile among potential recruits. In addition, the bowl appearance assisted the Kansas Athletic Department's fundraising efforts.
, held April 26 and April 27, 2008. Virginia Tech cornerback
Brandon Flowers was one of the first Orange Bowl participants to announce his intent to enter the draft following the game. Flowers, a redshirt junior, finished the season with five interceptions.
Two Kansas players announced that they would leave early for the NFL. Aqib Talib, the game's MVP, and All-American
Anthony Collins announced they would enter the 2008 draft, capitalizing on their successful season.
In total, eight Virginia Tech players would be drafted that year, along with four Kansas players.
Other Bowl Championship Series
games
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
between the Virginia Tech Hokies
Virginia Tech Hokies football
The Virginia Tech Hokies football team is a college football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FBS, in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They have more wins in team history than any other program in the ACC. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium which seats over...
and the Kansas Jayhawks
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
on January 3, 2008, at Dolphins Stadium in Miami Gardens
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Spread bettors
Spread betting
Spread betting is any of various types of wagering on the outcome of an event, where the pay-off is based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome, such as fixed-odds betting or parimutuel betting. A spread is a range of outcomes and the bet is whether the outcome...
favored Virginia Tech by three points, but in a game dominated by defensive and special teams play, Kansas defeated Virginia Tech 24–21. The game was part of the 2007–2008 Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 30, 2007, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 7, 2008, where the top...
and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. This 74th edition of the Orange Bowl was televised in the United States on FOX
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
and was watched by more than eight million viewers.
The game between the third-ranked ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
champion Virginia Tech Hokies
2007 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
The 2007 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
and the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks
2007 Kansas Jayhawks football team
The 2007 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas for the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision intercollegiate football season of 2007-2008...
from the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
(Big 12) was played at neutral-site Dolphins Stadium. Tech served as the home team in the contest. Virginia Tech automatically qualified for the Orange Bowl by virtue of the ACC's tie-in with the bowl, while Orange Bowl selected Kansas over West Virginia
2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
The 2007 West Virginia Mountaineers football team began play on September 1, 2007. The team was coached by Rich Rodriguez until he announced on December 16, 2007 that he was leaving West Virginia to coach the Michigan Wolverines. The head coaching position remained vacant after his announcement,...
—which had been upset by then 4–7 Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
—and conference rival Missouri
2007 Missouri Tigers football team
The 2007 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in college football's 2007 season. The team was coached by Gary Pinkel and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium....
. Two weeks after Kansas's selection, controversy erupted when a deal was revealed to put 4th-ranked Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
against Virginia Tech. The deal was vetoed by BCS commissioners, and the selection of Kansas was upheld.
The game marked the first time the Jayhawks had been to the Orange Bowl since 1969 and was their first bowl game since the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl, when they defeated Houston
Houston Cougars football
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...
41–13. Virginia Tech last played in the Orange Bowl game in December 1996
1996 Orange Bowl (December)
The 63rd Orange Bowl, also known as the 1996 Orange Bowl, was a 1996–1997 Bowl Alliance game played on December 31, 1996 between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the . Virginia Tech, champions of the Big East Conference, came into the game with a 10–1 record and #10 AP ranking, whereas Nebraska,...
, losing to Nebraska 21–41. The 2008 Orange Bowl was Virginia Tech's 15th consecutive season with a bowl game, a streak dating to the 1993 Independence Bowl
1993 Independence Bowl
The 1993 Independence Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the and the at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 31, 1993. The 18th edition of the Independence Bowl was the final contest of the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams,...
.
Kansas quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Todd Reesing
Todd Reesing
Todd Reesing is a former starting quarterback for the Kansas Jayhawks.- High school career:Reesing attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas and was a good student and a letterman in football and baseball. In football, Reesing was named the Texas 4A Player of the Year as a junior...
had an excellent game, completing 20 of his 37 pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
es for 227 yards, one touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
, and one interception. On the opposite side of the ball, Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon
Sean Glennon
Sean Glennon is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent in the National Football League....
finished the game 13 for 28 passing, earning 160 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Despite both teams' offensive performances, the game's Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
was a defensive player, Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib
Aqib Talib
Aqib Talib is an American football cornerback who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.-Early years:...
, whose 60-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Kansas its first lead of the game. After the game, Talib was one of several players from both teams to announce an intention to enter the 2008 NFL Draft
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...
.
Team selection
2005 ACC Championship Game
The 2005 Dr. Pepper Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game was the inaugural contest of the game. It was a regular-season ending American college football contest at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Florida State Seminoles. The...
which granted the winner of the ACC Championship Game an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl unless it was ranked high enough in the Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
standings to play in the National Championship Game.
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Hokies began their 2007 football season with emotion and remembrance. As Virginia Tech recovered from the worst school shooting in American historyVirginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
, football served as a way to help the university community emotionally heal. The opening game of the season, on September 1, 2007, was against East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
and featured numerous remembrance ceremonies and commemorations. Buoyed by the emotion of the day, the Hokies earned a 17–7 victory. Their next game would not be as easy. One week later, Virginia Tech traveled to Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
to face the No. 2 Louisiana State University Tigers
2007 LSU Tigers football team
The 2007 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University during the college football season of 2007–2008, winning the Southeastern Conference championship and the national championship. The team's Head Coach was Les Miles who entered his third year at the helm of LSU Football...
. The Tigers were widely regarded in pre-season polls as favorites to play in the National Championship Game
2008 BCS National Championship Game
The 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, and featured the #1 and #2 college football teams in the United States as determined by the BCS Poll to decide the BCS National Championship for the 2007...
and overwhelmed the Hokies in front of a home crowd, 48–7.
In the wake of the Hokies's defeat, Virginia Tech chose to start a new quarterback and a new offensive plan. Behind freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was the starting quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies football team from the start of the 2008 college football season until the 2011 Orange Bowl, the final game of the 2010 college...
, the Hokies rolled to five straight victories, including a win over No. 22 Clemson by 18 points. During the winning streak, Sean Glennon
Sean Glennon
Sean Glennon is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent in the National Football League....
, who had started at quarterback for the Hokies during the first two games of the season, returned to alternate possessions with Taylor in an unusual two-quarterback system. On October 25, the Hokies had a chance to make up for their early-season loss to LSU when they faced No. 2 Boston College on a Thursday night in Blacksburg
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Though the Hokies dominated for most of the game, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan (American football)
Matthew Thomas "Matt" Ryan , nicknamed "Matty Ice," is the starting American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round as the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft...
managed a late-game comeback to win the game 14–10 with 11 seconds remaining.
With four consecutive victories after the loss, including a win over then-No. 16 Virginia, the Hokies won the Coastal division and secured a bid to the 2007 ACC Championship Game
2007 ACC Championship Game
The 2007 Dr. Pepper Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game featured the Boston College Eagles and the Virginia Tech Hokies in a regular-season college football game that determined the conference's champion for the 2007 season. Virginia Tech defeated Boston College 30–16 to win the ACC...
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. There, they faced a rematch with Boston College, champions of the Atlantic Division. As in the previous matchup, defense dominated, but unlike in the earlier matchup, Matt Ryan was unable to seize the victory. Two fourth-quarter interceptions by Virginia Tech sealed the Hokie win and an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl game.
Kansas
Kansas began its 2007 football season unregarded and without much consideration from the national media. In the opening Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
football poll of the 2007 season, Kansas did not receive a single vote. From their opening game of the year, however, the Jayhawks began to impress voters with their offensive efficiency. Against Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
Champion Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University is a public research university located in Mount Pleasant in the U.S. state of Michigan...
, Kansas scored 52 points while only allowing a single touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
.
Over the next three games, Kansas outscored its opponents 162–16. As Kansas's Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
schedule began, the Jayhawks' winning ways continued, as they proved themselves against legitimate competition. On October 6, Kansas traveled to Manhattan
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, home of then-ranked No. 24 Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
for the opening game of its Big 12 schedule. In front of 50,924 hostile fans, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing
Todd Reesing
Todd Reesing is a former starting quarterback for the Kansas Jayhawks.- High school career:Reesing attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas and was a good student and a letterman in football and baseball. In football, Reesing was named the Texas 4A Player of the Year as a junior...
struggled for the first time in the season. Late in the fourth quarter, Reesing threw a ball that bounced off the facemask
Football helmet
A football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football. It consists of a hard plastic top with thick padding on the inside, a face mask made of one or more plastic bars, and a chinstrap. Some players add polycarbonate visors to their helmets, which are...
of wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Dexton Fields before being intercepted. The interception set up a Kansas State touchdown that put Kansas into a 24–21 hole with seven and a half minutes remaining. Reesing and the Jayhawks struck back quickly, however, and scored a 30-yard touchdown to take the lead for good.
With the win, Kansas broke into the rankings of the top 25 college football teams in the country for the first time since 1996, entering the AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
at No. 20. Over the next six weeks, Kansas continued to find ways to win. Traditional Jayhawk rivals such as Nebraska
2007 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 2007 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bill Callahan and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska....
, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M
2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2007-2008 college football season. The team was coached by Dennis Franchione, who had coached at A&M since the 2003 season, but resigned at the conclusion of the annual game with the University of Texas...
were defeated during the course of the season, and Kansas climbed the national rankings. By the 13th week of the season, the stage had been set for an epic game against Kansas's traditional rival, Missouri.
Due to prior agreement, the 2007 edition of the Border War was held in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, at Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium is a stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri and home to the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs....
, home of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
. In front of over 80,000 fans, No. 4 Missouri defeated No. 2 Kansas 36–28 to hand the Jayhawks their first loss of the season. Missouri, with the win, earned a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game. In that game, Oklahoma defeated Missouri 38–17 to earn an automatic bid to the 2008 Fiesta Bowl
2008 Fiesta Bowl
The 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game sponsored by Tostitos. It was part of the 2007–2008 Bowl Championship Series of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played annually since 1971, first at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe,...
. Because the loss gave Missouri its second of the year, Kansas, which lost to the Tigers, was selected as an at-large pick by the BCS and earned a trip to the Orange Bowl.
Controversy
Although Virginia Tech's selection via automatic bid was relatively quiet, Kansas' selection caused a great deal of controversy. Kansas had lost to Big 12 runner-up Missouri and had a lower Bowl Championship Poll ranking than the Tigers. Some believed that Missouri should have been selected ahead of Kansas because they had defeated Kansas and because they had played in the Big 12 Championship Game. According to BCS officials, however, Missouri's two losses were more of a detriment than Kansas's one loss and subsequent championship game absence.Pundits and fans who opposed Kansas' selection pointed to the Jayhawks' strength of schedule, which at one point during the season was as low as 109th out of 119 Division I teams. By the time of the BCS selection, however, Kansas's strength of schedule had climbed substantially, reaching 88th in the Sagarin rankings
Jeff Sagarin
Jeff Sagarin is an American sports statistician well-known for his development of a methodology for ranking and rating sports teams in a variety of sports...
and 74th in the CBS rankings. The final rankings rated Kansas' schedule as more difficult than Hawaii
2007 Hawaii Warriors football team
The 2007 Hawaii Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in the 2007 NCAA Division I-Bowl Subdivision college football season....
, which was also selected to play in the BCS. Aggravating the situation was the fact that Kansas and Missouri have one of the most intense rivalries in college football. Known as the Border War, the roots of the rivalry date to the years before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Two weeks after the selection of Kansas, yet another controversy arose when it was revealed that Big 12 and ACC officials had worked out an agreement to feature an Oklahoma/Virginia Tech matchup in the Orange Bowl in the hours leading up to the final selection. Oklahoma, which initiated the proposal, requested that it face the highest-ranked BCS opponent then available, which would have been Virginia Tech (ranked 3rd in the BCS). Normally, Oklahoma, the 2007 Big 12 Champion, would have played in the Fiesta Bowl, which holds the automatic rights to the Big 12 Champion's BCS bid. A little-known clause in the Bowl Championship Series contract, however, allows for the commissioners of the BCS to override that bid if the automatically selected team had played in the game the previous year, or to create a more interesting matchup. Oklahoma had played in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl
2007 Fiesta Bowl
The 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game played as part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
and seemed a perfect candidate for execution of the clause. Representatives from the Orange and Fiesta bowls reportedly worked out a deal to swap Oklahoma and Kansas and Dan Bebee, the commissioner from the Big 12, presented the plan to the BCS committee. The remaining BCS commissioners rejected the request (with only the Big 12, ACC and Big East commissioners in favor) and honored the original selection of Kansas for the Orange Bowl and forced Oklahoma to accept its automatic Fiesta Bowl Bid. The release of this plan upset many fans at both schools and across the country, who perceived that an (4)Oklahoma-(3)Virginia Tech matchup would have been superior to a (8)Kansas-(3)Virginia Tech game. Ironically, while Oklahoma-Virginia Tech was perceived as a better match-up due to their high rankings, both teams went on to be upset by the lower ranked team with Oklahoma losing 48-28 to (9)West Virginia.
Pregame buildup
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
, recovery from late-season losses suffered by each team (against Missouri for Kansas and against Boston College for Virginia Tech).
Kansas
Heading into the Orange Bowl, Kansas was ranked second in the nation in scoring (44.3) and sixth in yards per game (491). Kansas scored 40 or more points eight times during the 2007 season and scored 50 points five times. Kansas's ground gameRush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
was led by running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Brandon McAnderson, who averaged 87.5 yards per game during the 2007 season and earned 1,050 yards and 16 touchdowns in the season leading to the Orange Bowl. Through the air, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing earned the 11th-highest passer rating
Passer rating
Passer rating is a measure of the performance of quarterbacks or any other passers in American football and Canadian football. There are at least two formulae currently in use: one officially used by the National Football League and the Canadian Football League, and one used in college football...
in the country, averaging a 152.41 quarterback rating in 2007. Reesing completed 62.6% of his pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
es during the 2007 season, earning 3,259 yards, 32 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Reesing's favorite receiver was Marcus Henry, who was ranked No. 29 in the country for passing yardage, averaging over 82 receiving yards per game. During 2007, Henry earned 994 yards and nine touchdowns. On the offensive line, the Jayhawks were led by All-American left tackle Anthony Collins, who finished as a finalist for the Outland Trophy
Outland Trophy
The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...
, awarded to college football's best offensive lineman. Because of the Jayhawks' effectiveness on offense, they punted the ball just 46 times during the 2007 season, the seventh-lowest total in Division I.
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech featured an unusual two-quarterback system on offense, as quarterbacks Sean GlennonSean Glennon
Sean Glennon is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent in the National Football League....
and Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was the starting quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies football team from the start of the 2008 college football season until the 2011 Orange Bowl, the final game of the 2010 college...
shared time behind center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
. Though unusual, the system was successful in leading the Hokies to their second ACC Championship in four years. During the 2007 regular season, Glennon threw for 1,636 yards and 11 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his passes. Taylor, meanwhile, passed for 916 yards and five touchdowns while also rush
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
ing for 431 yards. Some pundits predicted that Kansas might have difficulty with Taylor's mobility, as his style of play was similar to that of Missouri's Chase Daniels, who gave Kansas its sole loss of the 2007 season. On the other end of the Virginia Tech aerial offense was a corps of capable receivers, led by senior wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
s Eddie Royal and Josh Morgan. Morgan was the fifth-ranked receiver in Virginia Tech history, having earned 1,787 receiving yards. Royal was sixth, having earned 1,767 yards. Two of Tech's other receivers, Josh Hyman and Justin Harper, recorded 1,138 and 1,274 receiving yards each, marking the first time in Virginia Tech history that the Hokies had four different thousand-yard career receivers on the same team. On the ground, the Hokies were led by running back Branden Ore, who rushed for 876 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. One week before the Orange Bowl, Tech coaches revealed that Ore would be suspended for the first quarter of the game against Kansas as punishment for showing up late to the Hokies' final pre-bowl practice. Ore was replaced by sophomore rusher Kenny Lewis Jr, who struggled against the Jayhawks' rush defense.
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech finished the season ranked second nationally in points allowed per game (15.5) and fourth nationally in yardage allowed (293). The Hokies didn't allow a fourth-quarter point in the five games after giving up 14 fourth-quarter points to Boston College in BlacksburgBlacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
. One key player in the Virginia Tech defense was linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
Xavier Adibi, who had scored his third career defensive touchdown in the ACC Championship Game against Boston College. Adibi, together with fellow linebacker Vince Hall, made up "the best LB duo in the country," according to ESPN commentator Chris Spielman. Hall's effectiveness had, however, been limited in the 2007 season by a broken wrist suffered against Clemson. Hall missed four games with the injury, but returned to play the final three contests of the season for Virginia Tech and promised to be featured heavily in the 2008 Orange Bowl. Backing up the Virginia Tech linebackers was a strong backfield, which had produced 12 NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
draft picks in the nine years preceding the 2007 season. Primary among the backfield players were cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
s Victor Harris and Brandon Flowers, who Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
.com called "maybe the best cornerback duo in the country".
Kansas
Kansas, meanwhile, was less-highly regarded on defense and came into the 2008 Orange Bowl ranked 57th nationally in pass defense. On the ground, however, Kansas was ranked far higher—sixth in the nation. In addition, Kansas only allowed an average of 16 points per game, good enough for to be ranked fourth nationally. A key portion of that run defense was defensive tackle James McClinton, who was named the Big 12's Defensive Lineman of the Year and earned second-team All-America honors. McClinton finished the 2007 regular season with 10.5 tackleTackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
s for loss and promised more of the same for the Orange Bowl. The team captain of the Jayhawk defense, meanwhile, was All-American cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
Aqib Talib
Aqib Talib
Aqib Talib is an American football cornerback who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.-Early years:...
. Talib was also a threat on offense, catching eight passes, including four touchdowns, during the regular season.
Game summary
Eastern Standard Time
Eastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...
at Dolphins Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
. The official attendance for the game was listed as 74,111 (the eighth consecutive Orange Bowl sellout), but actual attendance was lower, and several upper-deck sections of the stadium were sparsely filled. Approximately 15 million viewers watched the game, earning the broadcast a Nielsen rating of 7.4. The broadcast of the 2008 Orange Bowl was the only BCS bowl game to show a rise in television viewers over the previous season's broadcast, as the 2007 Orange Bowl had only earned a Nielsen rating of 7.0. The pre-game show featured several high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
s, and the national anthem was sung by American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
runner-up Katharine McPhee
Katharine McPhee
Katharine Hope McPhee is an American pop singer, songwriter, actress, model, and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol in 2006, eventually finishing as the runner-up.Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records...
.
The coin toss
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
featured former Virginia Tech star Bruce Smith, while Kansas was represented by Gale Sayers
Gale Sayers
Gale Eugene Sayers also known as "The Kansas Comet", is a former professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears....
. Kansas won the toss and elected to kick off
Kickoff (American football)
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...
to Virginia Tech. Kansas would receive the ball to begin the second half. At kickoff, the air temperature was unseasonably cold for Miami at 57 °F (13.9 °C), and the skies were cloudy with intermittent rain.
First quarter
Kickoff (American football)
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...
from Kansas kicker Scott Webb, returning it 59 yards to the 41-yard line of Kansas. The return gave the Virginia Tech offense excellent field position to begin the game. Tech quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Sean Glennon
Sean Glennon
Sean Glennon is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent in the National Football League....
connected on an 11-yard pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
to Justin Harper for a first down on the opening play of the game, but Kansas' defense stiffened on subsequent plays. After Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor entered the game at quarterback, Kansas sacked
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
Taylor twice, pushing Virginia Tech 19 yards backward, out of field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
range. Because of the sacks, Virginia Tech was forced to punt
Punt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
the ball away without scoring any points.
The punt was downed in the end zone for a touchback
Touchback
In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus...
, and Kansas began its first offensive possession of the game at its 20-yard line. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing
Todd Reesing
Todd Reesing is a former starting quarterback for the Kansas Jayhawks.- High school career:Reesing attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas and was a good student and a letterman in football and baseball. In football, Reesing was named the Texas 4A Player of the Year as a junior...
proved remarkably effective, completing six of his eight passes during the drive and rush
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
ing for five yards on a quarterback scramble
Quarterback scramble
A quarterback scramble or scramble is an impromptu maneuver or run in American football and Canadian football by a quarterback. If a quarterback is under pressure by an opposing team's defense, he may run forward, backward, or laterally in an attempt to avoid being tackled behind the line of...
. Reesing drove Kansas' offense into Virginia Tech territory, but after Tech's Orion Martin sacked Reesing, Kansas was unable to gain another first down and kicker Scott Webb was sent into the game to attempt a 44-yard field goal. Webb's kick sailed wide of the uprights, however, and the game remained scoreless with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter.
After the missed field goal, Virginia Tech took over on offense at its own 27-yard line. Running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Kenny Lewis, Jr., replacing the suspended Branden Ore, ran for a first down, and Tyrod Taylor connected on an 11-yard pass to Eddie Royal for another first down. Now inside Kansas territory, Taylor attempted another pass. Kansas All-American cornerback Aqib Talib
Aqib Talib
Aqib Talib is an American football cornerback who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.-Early years:...
jumped between Taylor's throw and the receiver, intercepting the ball. Talib returned the interception 60 yards to the end zone for a Kansas touchdown—the first points of the game. An extra point
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
kick by Scott Webb made the score 7–0 Kansas with 5:15 remaining in the quarter.
High-stepping into the endzone, Aqib Talib committed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which was enforced on the post-score kickoff. The penalty, coupled with a good kick return by Virginia Tech, gave the Hokies excellent field position for their third possession of the game. Quarterback Sean Glennon capitalized on that field position, connecting on a 24-yard pass to wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Justin Harper. The catch pushed Virginia Tech inside Kansas territory and seemingly set up the Hokie offense for their first score of the game. After two plays for no gain and a five-yard loss when Glennon was sacked by James Holt, Virginia Tech was forced to attempt a 49-yard field goal. Jud Dunlevy's kick fell short, however, and Virginia Tech was denied a score. Kansas recovered the short kick, which landed in the end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
, and returned the ball 39 yards. Despite the momentum earned by the missed kick, Kansas went three plays without gaining a first down and was forced to punt the ball away. Virginia Tech recovered the ball at its 15-yard line and ran two plays before time ran out in the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, Kansas had kept Virginia Tech scoreless while capitalizing on a 60-yard interception return by Aqib Talib for the game's only points, a 7–0 lead.
Second quarter
Virginia Tech began the second quarter in possession of the ball and facing a third-and-five from its own 20-yard line. On the first play of the quarter, quarterback Sean Glennon threw for the first down, but was intercepted at the 37-yard line by Kansas' Chris Harris. After the interception, Kansas had the ball at the Virginia Tech 31-yard line. Todd Reesing connected on a first-down pass to Derek FineDerek Fine
Derek Fine is an American football tight end who is currently a Free Agent in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas.Fine has also been a member of the St...
, and running back Brandon McAnderson contributed several short rushes. The Kansas offense failed to gain a second first down after the interception, however, and kicker Scott Webb was again called upon to attempt a field goal, this time from 32 yards away. Unlike his first kick, the second sailed through the uprights for three points. With 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Kansas extended its lead to 10–0.
Virginia Tech recovered the post-field goal kickoff at its own 31-yard line, and Branden Ore, having entered the game after his one-quarter suspension, advanced the ball three yards. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor also advanced the ball five yards on a scramble, but failed to gain a first down. The Hokies were forced to punt the ball away, and Kansas recovered the kick at its 41-yard line. With good field position and momentum granted by the interception and field goal, Kansas moved the ball quickly. Todd Reesing was sacked by Nekos Brown and Xavier Adibi, but connected to Jake Sharp for 20 yards on two passes, advancing the ball deep into Virginia Tech territory. Passes to Marcus Henry and Dezmon Briscoe advanced Kansas 21 more yards into Hokie territory, and Brandon McAnderson rushed for five yards on the ground. Capping the Kansas drive was a 13-yard toss by Reesing to Henry for a touchdown. The score, which came with 7:03 remaining in the first half, gave Kansas a 17–0 lead, its largest of the game.
Virginia Tech recovered the post-touchdown kickoff desperately needing to score before halftime. Kansas had played strongly on defense throughout the first half, and the game's momentum was firmly behind the Jayhawks, who had capitalized on two Virginia Tech turnovers
Turnover (football)
In American football, a turnover occurs when the team with the ball loses possession of the ball, which is then gained by the other team. The two events that are officially classified as "turnovers" are fumbles or interceptions In American football, a turnover occurs when the team with the ball...
. Sean Glennon completed a three-yard pass to Josh Morgan to begin the drive, but it was running back Branden Ore who did the vast majority of the work during the Hokies' final offensive drive of the first half. After Glennon's pass, Ore rushed the ball on six straight plays, picking up 33 yards and two first downs on the way. After that, Glennon contributed a five-yard run of his own, which was aided by a 15-yard facemask
Football helmet
A football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football. It consists of a hard plastic top with thick padding on the inside, a face mask made of one or more plastic bars, and a chinstrap. Some players add polycarbonate visors to their helmets, which are...
penalty against Kansas. Branden Ore received the ball again, rushing on five consecutive plays, culminating in a one-yard run for a touchdown. The score came with just 1:03 left in the half, giving Virginia Tech its first points of the game and narrowing Kansas' lead to 17–7.
Kansas received Virginia Tech's kickoff, and the Hokies attempted to give themselves another chance at offense by calling timeouts after Kansas rushed the ball. The timeouts stopped the clock, but Kansas managed to earn a first down and run out the clock after Tech used its allotted three timeouts. Heading into halftime, Kansas still had the lead and the momentum, but a Virginia Tech touchdown had cut the Jayhawks' lead to just 10 points, 17–7.
Halftime show
Halftime show
A halftime show is a performance given during halftime, the period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions , or for sports that do not have an extended...
of the 2008 Orange Bowl was headlined by American blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
, who played their song Sharp Dressed Man
Sharp Dressed Man
"Sharp Dressed Man" is a song performed by ZZ Top from their album Eliminator released in 1983. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning....
. The band was a favorite of Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, who expressed regrets prior to the game that he would not be able to listen to the performance. The Master of Ceremonies
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
for the show was local disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
DJ Irie, who orchestrated a cheering contest between fans of Virginia Tech and Kansas. Irie became the first DJ to perform in the halftime show of a bowl game in 2005 when he played during halftime at the 2005 Orange Bowl
2005 Orange Bowl
The 2005 Orange Bowl represented the BCS National Championship Game of the 2004 season and was played on January 4, 2005 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida....
. Also featured during the halftime show were a group of high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
marching bands, who played Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
's Crossfire while ZZ Top's stage was disassembled. Following the halftime show, the FOX truck broadcasting the game experienced a power outage. As Fox crews worked to get the power restored, the second half was delayed by three minutes.
Third quarter
Kansas, which had won the pre-game coin toss, received the ball to open the second half. Todd Reesing initially began where he had left off in the first half, completing a pass to Dexton Fields for 12 yards and a first down. On subsequent plays, however, Virginia Tech showed some of the defensive prowess that had been promoted heavily heading into the game. Aqib Talib was tackleTackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
d for a loss of six yards after catching a pass. Reesing was sacked under heavy pressure from the Tech defense. On third down, a Reesing pass was nearly intercepted by Cody Grimm, who knocked it down to force a Kansas punt. On the subsequent return, Virginia Tech earned its first big play of the game. Eddie Royal, who had returned every one of Virginia Tech's first-half kicks, received the ball and lateral
Lateral pass
In American football, a lateral pass or lateral, officially backward pass , occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to any teammate behind him or directly next to him...
ed it to Justin Harper, who returned it 84 yards for a touchdown. The score cut Kansas' lead to just three points with 11:35 remaining in the third quarter.
Pass interference
In American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference is a penalty that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver's ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass. Pass interference may include tripping, pushing, pulling, or cutting in front of the receiver or...
penalty against Kansas. Sean Glennon completed a controversial 37-yard pass to tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
Greg Boone to drive the Hokies deep into Kansas territory. Initially, the pass appeared to have been intercepted by a Kansas defender, but subsequent replays revealed that Boone had wrested possession of the ball away from the defender. Three rushes deep inside the Kansas red zone netted the Hokies just nine more yards, setting up a fourth-and-one scenario for the Virginia Tech offense. Rather than risk a failed fourth-down conversion, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer
Frank Beamer
Frank Beamer is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , a position he has held since 1987. From 1981 to 1986, Beamer served as the head coach at Murray State University...
sent in kicker Jud Dunlevy to attempt a 25-yard field goal. During the kick, however, Kansas defender Joe Mortensen rushed through the Virginia Tech line and blocked the kick, denying the Hokies three points and preserving a 17–14 Kansas lead with 6:31 remaining in the quarter.
The block neutralized all the Virginia Tech momentum that had been gained with the punt-return touchdown and kept Kansas in the lead. After the block, however, Kansas failed to gain a first down on offense. Though forced to punt the ball away, punter Kyle Tucker's 42-yard kick was helped by a 10-yard illegal blocking penalty against Virginia Tech that pinned the Hokies at their own 25-yard line. Branden Ore picked up a first down with two rushes, but the Tech offense failed to gain another first down and the Hokies were forced to punt the ball again.
Incomplete pass
An incomplete pass is a term in American football which means that a legal forward pass hits the ground before a player on either team gains possession. For example, if the quarterback throws the ball to one of his wide receivers, and the receiver either does not touch it or tries to catch it...
es later, Kansas faced a fourth-and-ten and a punt. Instead of punting the ball away, however, Kansas elected to try a risky fake punt-pass. Instead of snapping the ball to the punter, the ball was snapped to running back Brandon McAnderson, who threw the ball 22 yards downfield to Micah Brown for a first down. On the very next play, Reesing, having returned to the field, connected on a 28-yard pass to Dexton Fields, who was pushed out of bounds just short of the goal line. With a first-and-goal from inside the one-yard line, a Kansas touchdown seemed inevitable. On the first play inside the red zone, however, Kansas fumble
Fumble
A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
d the ball. Though the ball was recovered by a Kansas player, the play lost four yards. On the next play, Kansas committed a 15-yard personal foul penalty. The personal foul was followed by a 10-yard holding penalty, and Kansas was pushed entirely outside the Virginia Tech red zone. In an effort to push back, Reesing threw a pass deep downfield. Instead of being completed, however, the ball was intercepted by Virginia Tech's D.J. Parker. With 39 seconds left in the quarter, Virginia Tech had stopped Kansas from gaining a point despite the Jayhawks penetrating inside the Virginia Tech one-yard line.
As the quarter came to an end, the Hokies gained two quick first downs and advanced the ball 26 yards, seemingly having regained the momentum lost with the blocked kick. With one quarter remaining in the game, however, Kansas still had a three-point lead, 17–14.
Fourth quarter
After the Kansas kickoff, Virginia Tech took over at its 33-yard line. Needing a score, the Hokies committed a five-yard false start penalty before quarterback Sean Glennon was sacked by Kansas' Mike Rivera. The two plays pushed the Virginia Tech offense back, preventing them from gaining a first down. Forced to punt the ball away, Virginia Tech had to play defense as Kansas took over at its 28-yard line. Secure in their lead, Kansas elected to run the ball in an effort to keep the clock moving and bring the game to an end more quickly. Brandon McAnderson broke free for 28 yards on the first play of the drive, and Jake Sharp contributed another first down on the ground before the Hokie defense stopped Kansas on an attempt to earn a first down on a fourth-and-two deep inside Virginia Tech territory.
Onside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
.
Jud Dunlevy kicked the ball, which traveled the regulation 10 yards, but was recovered by Kansas. The Hokies, despite failing to recover the onside kick, still had a chance for another offensive possession if they stopped Kansas' offense short of a first down. Because the Hokies had two timeouts remaining, they could stop the clock after two Kansas plays, thus preserving time for a Virginia Tech offensive drive. An 11-yard pass by Todd Reesing netted Kansas a first down, however, and subsequent runs by the Jayhawks allowed Kansas to run out the clock despite the Virginia Tech timeouts. Kansas preserved its lead by kneeling on the ball inside the Virginia Tech 5 yard line on the final plays of the game, and the 24–21 victory was celebrated as time ran out.
Final statistics
Kansas' Aqib TalibAqib Talib
Aqib Talib is an American football cornerback who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.-Early years:...
was named the game's Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
. Talib's 60-yard interception return for a touchdown was the Orange Bowl's first since the 1968 Orange Bowl, when Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
's Bob Stephenson performed the same feat. When he appeared on stage on the field after the game to receive his award, Talib exclaimed, "I felt like Deion!", a reference to former NFL star Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders
Deion Luwynn Sanders , nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst...
.
The two teams finished with extremely similar statistical totals, as befitting a close game. The two teams were within 38 total yards of each other; Kansas had 344 yards and Virginia Tech had 306. That relative closeness was reflected in the teams' first-down totals as well. Virginia Tech earned 20 first downs: 10 rushing, eight passing, and two via penalty. Kansas, meanwhile, earned 19 first downs: five rushing, 13 passing, and one via penalty.
Over two-thirds of Kansas' offense came through the air as the Jayhawks racked up 249 net passing yards. The Hokies, meanwhile, earned almost half their offense on the ground. The end result of the varying offensive strategies was much the same, however. Kansas successfully converted six of its 17 third-down attempts, while Virginia Tech converted seven of its 17 attempts. The time of possession was one key stat in favor of Kansas, as Kansas controlled the ball for 33:47, over 7 minutes more than Virginia Tech's possession time of 26:13.
The difference in the game came from special teams and turnovers
Turnover (football)
In American football, a turnover occurs when the team with the ball loses possession of the ball, which is then gained by the other team. The two events that are officially classified as "turnovers" are fumbles or interceptions In American football, a turnover occurs when the team with the ball...
. Virginia Tech turned the ball over three times, while Kansas turned the ball over just once. Kansas converted its three takeaways into 17 points, giving the Jayhawks an enormous advantage on the scoreboard. Virginia Tech failed to convert its sole turnover recovery into any points.
Virginia Tech statistical recap
On offense, the Hokies largely kept up with the Jayhawks, despite a losing effort. The two-quarterback system that had been heavily promoted heading into the game was largely abandoned in the first quarter after freshman Tyrod Taylor was sacked on his first two plays and threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown during his second time on the field. After those two abortive first-quarter appearances, and a single play at the beginning of the second quarter, Taylor did not re-enter the game until a single play halfway through the fourth quarter. With Taylor largely removed from the game, junior Sean Glennon was left to fill the gaps. Glennon had a solid, if unspectacular, game, completing 13 of his 28 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. Glennon did struggle at times against the Jayhawks' defense, however, throwing two interceptions that resulted in 10 Kansas points.With Glennon behind center, the Virginia Tech offense utilized several different wide receivers in the passing game. Eight different players caught at least one pass, and the leading receiver, Justin Harper, hauled in four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Josh Morgan, meanwhile, caught three passes, bringing him to 122 receptions for his career, passing Antonio Freeman
Antonio Freeman
Antonio Michael Freeman is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League, most notably for the Green Bay Packers. He attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, dominating his high school conference. Freeman played college football at Virginia Tech...
for second place all-time at Virginia Tech. Ernest Wilford
Ernest Wilford
Ernest Lee Wilford, Jr. is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
remains first in the Virginia Tech record book, with 126 receptions.
The Hokies were slightly more effective rushing the ball. In the ground game, seven different players carried the ball at least once, netting 135 rushing yards. Branden Ore finished the game with 116 yards, leading all rushers on both teams. That total put him just eight yards short of his second-straight 1,000-yard season. Ore's total is even more impressive when one considers that he had been suspended for the entire first quarter of the game, his place taken by backup rusher Kenny Lewis, Jr. Lewis finished the game with four carries for 22 yards, and didn't see much action after Ore entered the game at the beginning of the second quarter.
On special teams, the Hokies had several highs and lows. Justin Harper's 84-yard punt-return touchdown sparked a Virginia Tech rally that brought the Hokies within striking distance, but failures on special teams also ended the rally and turned the momentum of the game against Virginia Tech. Kicker Jud Dunlevy had been the third-most accurate kicker in the nation heading into the Orange Bowl, having hit 21 of his 24 field goal attempts during the season. He only needed two field goals to break Tech's record for most field goals in the season, set at 22 by Shayne Graham
Shayne Graham
Michael Shayne Graham is an American football placekicker. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2000, and most recently played with the New England Patriots...
in 1998. Though Dunlevy had two chances for field goals, one fell short and the other was blocked.
On defense, the Hokies were led by linebacker Vince Hall, who recorded seven solo tackles, one assisted tackle, and one pass break-up. Hokies' defender Orion Martin also had a big game, recording six solo tackles, one assisted tackle, and two sacks of Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing. Two other defensive players recorded one sack apiece, and D.J. Parker recorded the Hokies' sole interception on defense.
Kansas statistical recap
On offense, the Jayhawks recorded a total of 344 yards, 249 of which came through the air. Quarterback Todd Reesing was the key contributor to the Kansas aerial attack, completing 20 of his 37 passes for 227 yards and just one interception. The only other Kansas player to record passing yards was running back Brandon McAnderson, who threw a 22-yard first-down pass during a fake punt. Though under pressure for much of the game—Reesing was sacked four times—Kansas continued to maintain an effective pass attack throughout the game.Eight different receivers caught at least one pass, with Dexton Fields leading all receivers in the game with seven catches for 101 yards. Both totals were the highest marks recorded in the game by either team. Fields was also the recipient of a play that tied for the longest pass play of the game, a 37-yard toss from Reesing halfway through the third quarter. Cornerback and game MVP Aqib Talib came into the game as a receiver several times, but because his appearance in the game was such an unusual occurrence, the Virginia Tech defense was able to zero in on him and prevent him from catching the ball.
The Jayhawks' ground game was less effective than their pass offense, but still had success against a tough Virginia Tech defense. Running back Brandon McAnderson, Kansas' leading rusher, finished the game with 15 carries for 75 yards. Backup running back Jake Sharp rushed nine times for 33 yards, including several key first-down runs.
As successful as Kansas' offense was, it was the Jayhawks' special teams (beating Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer at his own game) that earned them the victory. Kansas blocked one Virginia Tech field goal, and caused Tech kicker Jud Dunlevy to miss another short. Kansas punter Kyle Tucker did an excellent job pinning Virginia Tech deep in its own end of the field, kicking the ball five times for a total of 250 yards, averaging 50 yards a punt. His longest punt, a 62-yard kick, was one of three punts that were downed inside Tech's 20-yard line.
The Kansas defense, which had been ill-regarded heading into the game, performed well, as MVP Aqib Talib finished the game with five tackles in addition to the interception that he returned for a touchdown. The Jayhawks' leading tackler was Mike Rivera, who earned 12 tackles, including one sack of quarterback Sean Glennon. Altogether, the Jayhawks sacked Virginia Tech's quarterbacks five times, including two sacks on the opening drive of the game.
Postgame effects
Kansas' victory in the 2008 Orange Bowl had far-reaching effects for both Virginia Tech and Kansas as well as college football teams around the country. The victory allowed Kansas to finish its 2007 season with a final record of 12–1, while the loss brought Virginia Tech to a final record of 11–3. The game itself provided tens of millions of dollars of economic impact for the South Florida region, which attracted tens of thousands of visitors from both Virginia and Kansas. In Kansas, bars and liquor stores benefited from the game, as Jayhawks' fans stocked up on food and alcohol for the game.A bet on the game between the governors of Kansas and Virginia was resolved when Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
sent a Virginia smoked ham to the Kansas state capitol. Had Virginia Tech won, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius is an American politician currently serving as the 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was the second female Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors...
would have sent Kaine an assortment of Kansas beef.
Virginia Tech
The Hokies' loss to Kansas lowered its bowl winning percentage since 1993 to 40 percent. In the 15 bowl games played between the 1993 Independence Bowl1993 Independence Bowl
The 1993 Independence Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the and the at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 31, 1993. The 18th edition of the Independence Bowl was the final contest of the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams,...
and the 2008 Orange Bowl, the Hokies amassed a record of six wins and nine losses. Despite the loss to the Jayhawks and the loss of several graduating players, Virginia Tech was a popular pick to repeat as ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
champions heading into the off-season. The seniors who graduated following the Orange Bowl game were the winningest team in Virginia Tech history, becoming one of just three teams in Division I to win at least 10 games each of the previous four years. Junior Sean Glennon's second consecutive failure to win a bowl game, however, re-opened the question of whether he or Tyrod Taylor would be the Hokies' starter at quarterback in 2008.
Kansas
Kansas' victory over Virginia Tech was the Jayhawks' fifth bowl victory and was the 11th bowl game in the history of the Kansas Jayhawks footballKansas Jayhawks football
The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....
team. Because of the unexpected nature of the Jayhawks' success, some pundits proclaimed the 2008 Orange Bowl as ranking among the greatest Kansas sports victories of all time. The game paid $17 million to Kansas and the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
and helped to boost the Kansas football team's national profile among potential recruits. In addition, the bowl appearance assisted the Kansas Athletic Department's fundraising efforts.
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 Orange Bowl provided an excellent national platform for players from both Kansas and Virginia Tech to impress National Football League scouts prior to the 2008 NFL Draft2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...
, held April 26 and April 27, 2008. Virginia Tech cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
Brandon Flowers was one of the first Orange Bowl participants to announce his intent to enter the draft following the game. Flowers, a redshirt junior, finished the season with five interceptions.
Two Kansas players announced that they would leave early for the NFL. Aqib Talib, the game's MVP, and All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
Anthony Collins announced they would enter the 2008 draft, capitalizing on their successful season.
In total, eight Virginia Tech players would be drafted that year, along with four Kansas players.
See also
- Glossary of American footballGlossary of American footballThe following terms are used in American football and Canadian football, but see also the glossary of Canadian football.-0-9: A formation of the 4-3 defense featuring several dramatic shifts of personnel...
Other Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
games
- 2008 Sugar Bowl2008 Sugar BowlThe 2008 Allstate Sugar Bowl Game was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the Bowl Championship Series for the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and was the 74th Sugar Bowl...
- 2008 Fiesta Bowl2008 Fiesta BowlThe 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game sponsored by Tostitos. It was part of the 2007–2008 Bowl Championship Series of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played annually since 1971, first at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe,...
- 2008 Rose Bowl2008 Rose BowlThe 2008 Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi, the 94th Rose Bowl Game, played on January 1, 2008 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, was a college football bowl game. The contest was televised on ABC, the 20th straight year the network aired the Rose Bowl, starting at 4:30pm EST...
- 2008 BCS National Championship Game2008 BCS National Championship GameThe 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, and featured the #1 and #2 college football teams in the United States as determined by the BCS Poll to decide the BCS National Championship for the 2007...