Bowl History
2 0 0 9 O R A N G E B O W L
4
Hokies extend their bowl streak with trip to the Fedex orange bowl Following its second straight ACC championship and third in five years, Virginia Tech’s invitation to the 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl marks the 16th-consecutive season that the Hokies have participated in a bowl. Only two other schools – Florida and Florida State – have a current streak that is longer. Not only have the Hokies extended their bowl streak, but they also get a chance to avenge their Orange Bowl demons and make better upon last year’s loss to Kansas at Dolphin Stadium. Leading the charge for 22 seasons now, head coach Frank Beamer has acquired a 6-9 bowl record during the streak. Tech’s bowl history began, however, long before Beamer took the reins in Blacksburg. A few months after the coach was born, the Hokies received a bid to the Hokies’ first bowl game, and traveled to El Paso, Texas, to face Cincinnati in the 1947 Sun Bowl. The two teams played a scoreless first half in cold and icy conditions before UC took charge in the second half for an 18-6 victory.
Virginia Tech played against Cincinnati in the 1947 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. It was the first bowl game for each team.
Tech’s second bowl appearance did not come until 1966, when the Hokies dropped a hard-fought 14-7 decision to Miami in the Liberty Bowl. In 1968, Tech returned to the Liberty Bowl to face Mississippi and quarterback Archie Manning. The Hokies raced to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter,
before falling to Manning and the Rebels, 34-17. The Hokies made the first of three Peach Bowl/ Chick-fil-A Bowl appearances in 1980, losing to 18th-ranked Miami, 20-10. In 1984, Tech traveled to Shreveport, La., where it lost a 23-7 Independence Bowl match-up with the United States Air Force Academy. The Hokies returned to the Peach Bowl against NC State following the 1986 season and produced one of their most memorable victories, winning 25-24 on Chris Kinzer’s dramatic 40-yard field goal as time expired. Beamer and Tech began their current 16year bowl streak in 1993 against Indiana in the Independence Bowl. The Hokies used the final seconds of the first half to break open a close game. Tech got a fumble return for a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half and an 80-yard TD return of a blocked field goal on the final play before halftime. The sudden scoring flurry lifted Tech to a 45-20 win. A year later, Tennessee got off to a big early lead and went on to defeat Tech, 45-23, in the transplanted 1994 Outback Steakhouse Gator Bowl game at Florida Field in Gainesville. Peyton Manning — son of Tech’s ‘68 Liberty Bowl nemesis Archie — directed the Vols. Following the 1995 season, Tech posted the biggest win in school history when it defeated Texas, 28-10, for the championship of the Nokia Sugar Bowl. The Hokies fell In the 1986 Peach Bowl, Chris Kinzer’s 40-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Hokies to a 25-24 victory over NC State. behind 10-0 before rallying behind bowl MVP