Orange Bowl
Background:
The two teams have never met.
Kansas: Loss to Missouri after a tear through the scum of the Big 12
Virginia Tech: 5 Wins, including Florida and Boston College
Kansas Advantages:
They've proven they can handle some of the Big 12s Mid-Major teams.
Their coach is Mark Mangino. He likes Waffles. He is Coach of the Year.
In their only loss, their performance against Missouri was incredibly respectable.
They have no real stars....mostly a combination of everything at every position. Kind of the Opposite of Colt Brennan and his high flying offense.
That being said, Aqib Talib is a great corner (almost best defensive player of the year), and Todd Reesing (QB) has set 20 Kansas school records....but the team is reliant on neither too much.
Kansas Disadvantages:
They have not beaten anyone of significance, except a once 24th ranked Kansas State.
Their actual skill has been questioned. They got into the BCS without going to their conference championship game....essentially penalizing Missouri for doing so. However, it was mostly the Orange Bowls fault. Blame them!
Their schedule strength was....109th. In the nation.
They are a bit reliant on the pass.
Virginia Tech Advantages:
Power wins over Virginia, Boston College, and Clemson.
Their loss to Boston College was really just a fluke.
They have a top notch defense, rated Top-5 in sacks and interceptions in the nation.
They use a 2 Quarterback and Runningback system, so injuries won't affect them as much.
Their special teams have been ace, blocking 2 Field Goals in the ACC championship game against Boston College.
Their Kicker, Jud Dunlevy, has a .875 accuracy rating this season.
Virginia Tech Disadvantages:
They got crushed by LSU, which may siginify that they're high, but not elite just yet.
Anyone who watched the Boston College game knows that they can't play a 2 man rush late in games. The pass rush was almost like watching a game of tag between Bowser, Barney, and the Roadrunner. You know who's going to win.
The announcers will mention the Virginia Tech shootings 2,678 times.
The ACC is 2-5 in bowls this year.
They are without Branden Ore (RB) for the first quarter, and may be without 92-tackle Vince Hall, an All-ACC line backer (Questionable).
Writer Predictions:
Jason Frost: TBA
OKLuschen: TBA
Zorgon: Kansas. What it's really going to come down to is if the cornerback duo of Brandon Flowers and Victor Harris can stop Reesings 32 TD pass game. Even though Kansas Lost, Reesing had an excellent game against Missouri (2 TDs, 2 INTs, he rushed in a TD). And I'm pretty sure he can pull it off against the secondary of Virginia Tech. The Kansas offense will become one-dimentional pretty fast, because with such bad of a schedule and only a decent rushing attack, I'm pretty sure it'll get shut down. On the other side of the ball, Virginia tech will probobly have to rely on it's run, with Kansas stronger corners shutting the Tech pass down. All in all, this will probably be the best bowl game (Yes, better than Ohio State-LSU, and yes, even better than the International and GMAC bowls). This ripsnorter ends 30-27, Kansas.
Bottom Line: Kansas 1, Virginia Tech 0
