2008 ORANGE BOWL GUIDE - HokieSports

on Sept. 15. The Bobcats kept
the score within seven until the
fourth quarter, when a Branden
Ore rushing score was followed
by a 44-yard run by Kenny Lewis,
Jr. – his second touchdown of
the day. The Hokies’ 28 points
came unanswered, and they
continued the streak into the next
game against William & Mary the
following week.
Tech opened the game with
the Tribe by running off 34 more
points – all in the first half – on
its way to a 44-3 drubbing that
was highlighted by a 60-yard punt
return touchdown by flanker Eddie
Royal and a 49-yard interception
return for a touchdown by
cornerback Brandon Flowers.
The Hokies opened ACC play
on Sept. 29 at home with a 17-10
victory over North Carolina. The
offense stalled a bit after its
momentum in the previous two
games – Tech’s points came off of
a Jud Dunlevy field goal and short
runs by Taylor and Ore – and the
Tar Heels were threatening late
in the fourth quarter. The drive
was thwarted, though, by one
of linebacker Cam Martin’s three
sacks on the day, and the Hokies
won their conference opener for
the fourth straight year.
Though Tech put up 41 points
in its next game, a 41-23 success
at Clemson, 27 of them came by
way of the defense or special
teams. Dunlevy hit a pair of field
goals, and BeamerBall was on
full display as the Hokies scored
touchdowns via punt return and
kick return in the same game
for the first time under Beamer.
Royal notched his second score
on a punt return in three games
with an 82-yarder in the first half,
Harris took back a kickoff 100
yards for his second touchdown
of the year, and safety D.J. Parker
tallied a pick-six on a 32-yard
interception return on the first
drive of the game.
The Hokies’ winning streak
reached five games with a 43-14
domination of Duke in Durham on
Oct. 13, and the story of the game
was Glennon’s triumphant return
in place of Taylor, who sprained
his ankle in the first quarter. The
former starter went on to throw
for 258 yards and two touchdowns
on 16-of-21 passing, staking his
claim for a role in the offense that
would continue for the rest of the
season.
Following a bye week, the
then-No. 2 Boston College Eagles
came to town and rained on the
Hokies’ parade in a Thursday night
storm-soaked thriller. Tech led
10-0 late in the fourth quarter
and looked certain to record
the upset, but that’s when Ryan
pulled off one of college football’s
most improbable comebacks,
throwing two touchdowns in the
final 2:11 – including the gamewinner
with 11 seconds on the
clock – to steal victory from the
Hokies.
Though the loss left Tech
stunned and 6-2, the late-game
collapse proved to be the Hokies’
rallying cry for the rest of the
season as they ripped off five
straight victories in convincing
fashion to earn the Orange Bowl
bid. The comeback began with
a bizarre 27-3 win at Georgia
Tech the following Thursday,
before which four Tech jerseys
mysteriously disappeared,
including Glennon’s. The Hokies
were forced to fashion some
old Georgia Tech jerseys into
makeshift Virginia Tech ones, and
Glennon fashioned one of the best
games of his career, leading the
Hokies to a season-high 481 yards
of total offense and the runaway
win.
The Hokies returned home
on Nov. 10 to battle Florida State
as Beamer sought his first-ever
win against the Seminoles.
Down 21-20 heading into the
fourth quarter, Tech rolled up 20
unanswered points to secure the
41-20 win. Split end Justin Harper
tallied a career-high 167 yards
receiving, and the game marked
the first time that the Hokies
went to the rotating quarterback
system as Taylor returned from his
high-ankle sprain to score the go-
ahead touchdown early in
the final period.
Tech put up its
fourth 40-plus point
game of the year in
a 44-14 whipping of
Miami the next week in
its home finale, once
again exploding in the
second half, this time
for 24 unanswered
points. Harper scored
for the third game in
a row, and Ore added
two touchdowns as the
Hokies set themselves
up for a showdown in
Charlottesville the next
week with the rival
Cavaliers to decide the
Coastal Division crown.
The Hokies clinched
a rematch with Boston
College in the ACC title
game by knocking off
Virginia 33-21. Ore
racked up a season-high
147 yards on the ground,
while Royal picked up an
identical 147 through the
air, including a game-changing
39-yard touchdown with just 12
seconds left in the first half and
the Hokies down by one point.
Taylor added a pair of rushing
scores in the win and Dunlevy
booted four field goals to send
the Hokies to Jacksonville with a
ticket to Miami on the line.
On Dec. 1 with the ACC
Championship up for grabs, Tech
got the redemption it had been
seeking since that rainy nightmare
in Blacksburg five weeks prior by
avenging the loss with a 30-16
win over the Eagles. The game
once again came down to the wire
with Ryan engineering another
Chris Ellis, seen here leveling Miami’s quarterback, enjoyed a breakout season at
defensive end, while recording 49 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 38 quarterback hurries.
2007 REVIEW
Not only did Eddie Royal score two touchdowns
on punt returns and become the ACC’s all-time
leader in punt return yards, he also had a careerhigh
32 receptions and four touchdown catches,
including this game-changer at UVa.
comeback bid, but an interception
by Hall deep in Tech’s territory
and a pick-six by linebacker Xavier
Adibi with 11 seconds remaining
sealed the deal for the Hokies.
Offensive lineman Duane Brown
blocked two kicks in the game
for Tech, and Glennon earned
MVP honors after tossing three
touchdown passes and leading the
maroon and orange to its fourthever
11-win season.
The Hokies once again earned
their share of individual honors
following the regular season.
Adibi, Chris Ellis, Harris and Royal
were all named first-team All-ACC,
while Barry Booker, Brown and
Flowers all made the second team.
Hall, Parker and Carlton Powell
each earned honorable mentions.
On a national level, Adibi and
Flowers were named to the AFCA
Coaches’ All-America Team.
While the emotional season
opener on Sept. 1 seems both like
it was just yesterday and years
ago all at the same time, it’s
probably a safe bet to say that
all of Tech’s individual standouts
would trade in their post-season
accolades if it meant an Orange
Bowl victory and the right to call
themselves the only 12-win team
in school history. Come Jan. 3
against Kansas, the Hokie Nation
will come together one more time
to celebrate what will go down as
a special year no matter what the
outcome in Dolphin Stadium.
2007 VIRGINIA TECH FOOTBALL 7
2008 ORANGE BOWL GUIDE