2008 Orange Bowl

2008 Orange Bowl

The 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Kansas Jayhawks on January 3, 2008, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Virginia Tech was awarded an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl game by virtue of the ACC’s tie-in with the bowl. Kansas was selected over West Virginia and Missouri.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. It was Virginia Tech’s 15th consecutive season with a bowl game, a streak dating to the 1993 Independence Bowl.

About 2008 Orange Bowl in brief

Summary 2008 Orange BowlThe 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Kansas Jayhawks on January 3, 2008, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The game was part of the 2007–08 Bowl Championship Series of the NCAA Division I FBS football season. Virginia Tech was awarded an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl game by virtue of the ACC’s tie-in with the bowl, while Kansas was selected over West Virginia and Missouri.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. Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib, whose 60-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Kansas its first lead of the game, won the game’s Most Valuable Player award. It was Virginia Tech’s 15th consecutive season with a bowl game, a streak dating to the 1993 Independence Bowl. It marked the first time the Jayhawks had been to theOrange Bowl since the 1969 Orange Bowl and was their first bowl game since the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl, when they defeated Houston 41–13. The Hokies began their 2007 season with emotion and remembrance. As Virginia Tech recovered from the worst school shooting in American history, football served as a way to help the university community emotionally heal. Behind freshman Tyrod Taylor, the Hokies rolled to five straight victories, including a win over No.22 Clemson by 18 points. 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 Hokie in front of a home crowd, 48–7. On October 25,  the Hokies had a chance to make up for their early-season loss to LSU when they faced Boston College on a Thursday night in Blacksburg, Virginia. With four consecutive victories after a loss to the then-No.16 Boston College, Virginia Hokie sealed the automatic bid and the 2007 ACC Championship Game. As in the previous matchup, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan was unable to seize the fourth-quarter victory, but unlike in the earlier matchup, he managed a late-game comeback to win the game 14–10 with 11 seconds remaining. After the game in Jacksonville, Florida, they faced a rematch with Boston College and secured a win in the 2007 Atlantic Division Championship Game in Jacksonville. The game marked the final game of the season for both teams, with Virginia Tech and Boston College playing for the Coastal Division title and the Coastal division title. The final game was played at neutral-site Dolphins Stadium. It is the only Orange Bowl to be played in Florida, which is home to the Miami Dolphins, the Florida State Seminoles, the University of Florida, and the University of Miami Hurricane and the University State University. The Orange Bowl is the 74th edition of the tournament and was watched by more than eight million viewers.