Hokies Savor Bowl Victory

Win Could Be Steppingstone

MIAMI -- The national television audience focused on a makeshift stage set up for the postgame trophy presentation, where Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer and his players basked in the unbridled joy of an Orange Bowl victory.

Away from the cameras stood a coaching staff whose actions bespoke the significance of Thursday night's 20-7 win over Cincinnati and the program's first major bowl victory since 1995. Passionate hugs highlighted initial embraces. They understood Thursday was more than just another win.

"This is special," said associate head coach Billy Hite, who has coached at Virginia Tech for 31 seasons. "We finally got the monkey off our back and the ACC."

For the better part of a month, Virginia Tech answered questions about its four-game losing streak in major bowl games and the ACC's BCS futility that had included eight consecutive losses.

The Hokies return 53 of 64 players who were in uniform Thursday, but that was a discussion defensive coordinator Bud Foster preferred to delay.

"I'm just enjoying this one right now," said Foster, who replaced seven starters but still finished with a defense that ranked seventh nationally. "I'm so proud of where we've come this year as a football team."

When the Hokies entered a bye week with a 5-1 record, Foster did not think they were a good team. They lost three of their next four games, but their young players developed confidence and gained trust. After falling to 6-4, the Hokies won their final two regular season games, the ACC championship game and the Orange Bowl.

"I think it's the best football team maybe we've ever had, meaning that we've had tough losses but nobody split up, everybody kind of hung in there together, kept working hard," Beamer said. "We've had some great, great seasons and all that, but I think this is the best football team we've ever had at Virginia Tech."

It could have been hyperbole in the moment, but junior tight end Greg Boone agreed. Boone has been a part of more talented teams, but this was his first win in a BCS game.

"Not too many teams can say that they did that," Boone said.

It all came together on the team's final night. First-time starter Barquell Rivers thwarted Cincinnati's fourth-and-goal attempt to prevent a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and a fellow novice, guard Jaymes Brooks, ably blocked for game most valuable player Darren Evans, who rushed for 153 yards.

Senior defensive end Orion Martin made what he called the best play of his career when he intercepted a fourth-quarter pass to set up Evans's game-clinching touchdown.

Senior all-American cornerback Macho Harris said junior Stephan Virgil, who recorded his sixth interception of the season, could be the Hokies' next great defensive back. Junior safety Kam Chancellor, who also recorded an interception, declared he would return to Virginia Tech instead of entering the NFL draft, even though he played his best game of the season.

Despite the one-game-at-a-time ethos that dominated much of the season, Virginia Tech could finally admit Thursday's win meant more -- and most of the players who felt the joy will return next season to defend the ACC championship and perhaps make a run for a title more prestigious than the Orange Bowl.

As Evans jogged off the field to chants of "M-V-P," he skirted past ice cubes from Beamer's Gatorade shower. There will be a time when the promise of next season will become the dominant story, but when Thursday night turned into Friday morning, most of the players and coaches wanted to revel in what just occurred. Soon it will melt away. Until it does, they wanted to soak it all in.