Virginia Tech's Domination of Florida State Gives Hope for Orange Bowl, Stanford

After the second week of the season, there weren’t many people who thought they’d see high-caliber play from Virginia Tech for the rest of the season.

Now they wouldn’t expect anything else.

It can’t be emphasized enough how much of a roller coaster ride the season has been for the Hokies. Losing to Boise State and James Madison in the same week, losing their preseason Heisman hopeful to an injury, coming back from 17-0 on the road, forcing 12 turnovers in two games and then winning 11 straight games including the ACC Championship.

The final score was not indicative of how the game actually went.

The jumbotron read 44-33, but in reality, it should have been 45-21, and that’s the part that has Hokie nation incredibly excited to play Stanford in the Discover Orange Bowl.

The most impressive stat was easily Tech’s third-down conversions; the Hokies were an absurdly good 13-of-18 on third down.

Tyrod Taylor once again rose to the challenge of a big time game and put on an absolute show. He threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns and added a touchdown run of his own. I’ve said it before and I will say it now and many times before the game—Taylor was a bad play call and a running back’s fumble away from being a Heisman finalist.

Despite recent misfortune against Florida State, namely the 1999 National Championship and the 2005 ACC Championship, Taylor has owned the Seminoles during his time at Virginia Tech. On a grander scale, he has owned the entirety of the ACC with the exception of a couple weeks in 2008 and 2009.

Tech’s offense line also played magnificently and opened up multiple large holes for the running backs throughout the game. Watching them block in the first half from seats behind the end zone was simply incredible—a high school running back could have put up respectable numbers.

And they even gave Taylor enough time to find the open receiver, a tough order, given Florida State’s 3.58 sacks per game.

It was really an all-around effort to come out and dominate the way the Hokies did—even Bryan Stinespring did his part.

For the first time this entire season, there were less than a handful of poor play calls and the scoreboard reflected it. The Hokies could have easily put up over 50 points against a Florida State defense that is both talented and well-coached.

I ripped Stinespring earlier this year, but credit is certainly due for his performance last Saturday.

The Seminoles were severely underrated coming into the ACC Championship. They could have easily been 11-1 without imploding late against UNC and N.C. State and consequently could be a top-15 team, at the minimum.

And it’s not as if the ‘Noles came out flatfooted with E.J. Manuel at quarterback, either. He led the team down the field with ease on the opening drive for three points and only made a few poor throws.

There are a lot of people doubting Stanford’s true caliber based on its strength of schedule, a doubt which is further exaggerated by not being able to watch Stanford play on a weekly basis. Frankly, those people have a valid argument—Stanford played one game against a really tough opponent, Oregon, and they lost badly.

Conversely, Cardinal fans just have to say three letters in order to counter—JMU.

Led by Heisman candidate and first-round quarterback Andrew Luck, Stanford has quietly finished the season 11-1 and finished fourth in the final BCS standings. Their offensive line is one of the top units in the country and their defense has come a long way since last season, ranking 24th in total defense and 11th in scoring defense.

Outside the Rose Bowl and the national championship, the Orange Bowl provides the most intriguing matchup of the bowl season: Ohio State is going to shut down Arkansas—you heard it here first.

Two weeks ago, this matchup looked bleak for Virginia Tech, but given the way the Hokies have played. it now it figures to be a fantastic battle between two of the country’s best coaches, Jim Harbaugh and Frank Beamer.

The ACC championship was a statement win and a stepping stone for the program heading into its third Orange Bowl in four years and what should be a promising 2011. The best part for Hokie fans is that the team is still playing with a chip on its shoulder—after all, Virginia Tech would be a top-five team without the JMU debacle.

Going into the ACC championship, the team motto was “home for the holidays.” Going to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl would mean the team would have had to stay in a hotel for Christmas while the Orange Bowl gave them off until December 27.

Now that the team can celebrate with their respective families, they’ve adopted the slogan 212, which symbolizes how the team started with two losses then—hopefully —won 12 straight in order to be boiling hot (the boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit, by the way.)

Frank Beamer also provided some interesting motivation, telling the players he would dance with the team if they won the ACC.

Well, they did so, and he did, and thanks to Chris Hill, you can watch Beamer do what he does not do best. The video is at the bottom of the article and it is absolutely hysterical.

So their tactics have been rather unconventional. But who cares when they have given Tech an 11-game win streak, another ACC Championship and a BCS Bowl berth against a top-five opponent?

While the Hokies were given the unenviable task of facing Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal, they are both prepared and capable of beating them in Miami on January 3.

And it’s all because of their dominance over Florida State in the ACC Championship Game.