Posse on Bowl-way: Virginia Tech

Happy To Be Here?

Well, I suppose that having two losses and finishing the season in a strong fashion is all the rage nowadays, but I'm pretty certain that you need to come from somewhere other than the ACC to be in that state and still have a legit claim for the title in 2007. And while their hopes were likely dashed the moment they stepped onto their planes en route to Baton Rouge, is getting smoked by LSU on their home field really that much worse than losing to Stanford? Even in light of the tragedies that took place this offseason, one could say that winning the ACC was an example of what was clearly the preseason choice for the strongest team holding serve. And many believe that by drawing Kansas, a team that a lot of people STILL don't know quite what to make of yet, VT has a good opportunity for the BCS' fourth blowout of 2008.

Come Here Often?

While Virginia Tech has flirted with all manner of BCS bowls as of late, this is their first Orange Bowl since 1997, when they lost 41-21 to Nebraska. If nothing else, we can lament a time when VT could go 10-1 and be ranked #10 (!!!) and Nebraska could go 10-2 and be #6. Wowzers!
Why Care?

Perhaps for no other reason than seeing how real Kansas is exactly. Pretty amazing that the vagaries of Big XII North scheduling can have a team that's twelve games deep and still be somewhat of a mystery. Either that or you can see the QB duo that will probably dominate the ACC next season, provided Sean Glennon doesn't act a fool and declare himself eligible for the NFL draft. Don't laugh- he's sent feelers out. But in reality, here's what it comes down to: writers strike + you don't have anything better to do.

And The Winner Is...

I say this well aware that the Orange Bowl constitutes a matchup of what is the ACC champion vs. the 3rd (at best) team from the Big XII, but if you check the stats, the ACC guys don't do well in BCS games. Then again, you had Wake Forest up against a Louisville juggernaut last season even though VT was playing the best football by the time the season ended (what a reversal!) and a verrrrrry questionable Florida State team going against what was considered JoePa's possible swan song team. This year, however, it's hard to see VT blowing this one, particularly now that they've figured out how to utilize both Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon as signal callers. All things told, it's possible that KU is way better than all of us think, but the Hokies aren't the kind of team that will either take a team lightly or make many mistakes. Due to their style of play, I wouldn't expect a blowout either way, but I'll have to give the nod to Beamer.

Virginia Tech 27 Kansas 13