A Step in the Right Direction

Young Hokies Top Cincinnati, Win Orange Bowl

MIAMI, Jan. 1 -- A season that started with an upsetting loss concluded Thursday night with a win that will forever keep this year's team in Virginia Tech lore. The weight of recent postseason struggles was lifted, and the momentum of a roster saturated with youth proved itself earlier than expected. On a night when Virginia Tech was an underdog in the Orange Bowl, the Hokies responded with a 20-7 victory over Cincinnati to give the program its first major bowl win since 1995.

"To come down here and win a BCS game, which we haven't done, this team, of all the 16 bowls [Virginia Tech has been to in the last 16 seasons], this stage, to win the Orange Bowl, it's as satisfying as it gets," offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said.

The most valuable player was redshirt freshman Darren Evans, who rushed for 153 yards. The starting quarterback was sophomore Tyrod Taylor, who ran for 41 yards. Plus, eight members of a starting defense that allowed just seven points to the Bearcats' high-powered attack return next season.

"This is right up there with the Maryland game [a 23-13 Hokies win on Nov. 6]. To win MVP, it's just amazing to me," Evans said.

It was that youth that made Thursday's result seem so unlikely on the last Saturday in August, when East Carolina beat Virginia Tech. The Hokies lasting into 2009 seemed impossible. It was only appropriate that the Orange Bowl win followed the same script.

Virginia Tech's "all-business" motif that characterized nearly four weeks of bowl preparations appeared disrupted on the game's first drive, when Cincinnati seemed energized and the Hokies overmatched. Six plays and 72 yards concluded with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Tony Pike to Mardy Gilyard, who pulled down an acrobatic catch as he was diving out of bounds. Hokies safety Kam Chancellor was on the coverage during what was thought to be the junior's nationally televised audition for NFL scouts.

Chancellor later redeemed himself. So did the Hokies.

A shootout favored the Bearcats. A standstill worked to the Hokies' advantage. Cincinnati's opening drive suggested a scoring explosion, but Bud Foster's defense adapted. It forced Cincinnati off the field, either by inducing a punt or plucking interceptions. Pike's touchdown was Cincinnati's only third-down conversion in the first half. Stephan Virgil, Chancellor and Orion Martin each made critical interceptions to win the turnover margin and ultimately the game.

Virginia Tech knotted the score early in the second quarter when Taylor danced to a 17-yard touchdown run that left Cincinnati's defenders whiffing. It was his seventh rushing touchdown of the season and epitomized why he, not senior Sean Glennon, needed to start this season to energize the team.

Taylor's mobility was a major factor for the third consecutive game. He rushed for 137 yards in a 17-14 win over Virginia on Nov. 29 and was named MVP of the ACC championship game the following week by rushing for a pair of touchdowns.

The coaching staff continued to compliment Taylor's passing during the week, but it remained inconsistent. He released a series of nice throws before making an incorrect read on a second-quarter drive when he forced a pass into double coverage for an interception.

The offense translated Virgil's second-quarter interception into a 43-yard field goal by Dustin Keys as the halftime clock expired, giving the Hokies a three-point lead. Keys connected on a 35-yard field goal to cap the first drive of the second half and secured Virginia Tech's single-season field goal record with 23.

A delicate six-point lead marked much of the second half for Virginia Tech, but the lead was opened and the game sealed early in the fourth quarter when Martin enjoyed one of the highlights of his career, dropping into coverage and capturing an interception at the Bearcats 10. Three plays later, Evans ran it in from six yards and gave Virginia Tech the margin needed to feel comfortable.

Even though those around the program refused to admit it this week, the Orange Bowl success came perhaps a season earlier than expected. Fifty-three of the 64 players who dressed for Thursday's game return next season. Virginia Tech loses just three offensive starters and four defensive starters from this year's team, although two of those players -- guard Nick Marshman and linebacker Brett Warren -- did not play on Thursday and one -- fullback Devin Perez -- did not start because of the Hokies' two-tight end formation.

The Hokies begin next season on Sept. 5 against Alabama, an opening game that could possibly feature two top 10 teams. Thursday's win will carry over into everything that happens before that game -- from Signing Day to spring practice to preseason rankings to preseason camp. Even more, those 53 returning players will carry the confidence of an Orange Bowl win instead of the burden of another BCS loss.

Hokies Note: Chancellor will return for his senior season. He admitted he played the best game of his season, but is excited about the team's prospects next season. "I can say that officially now," Chancellor said. "I want to come back."