Virginia Tech Football: Ranking the Hokies' Bowl Victories

With its fourth Sugar Bowl invitation, the Virginia Tech Hokies have been accepted to 19 straight bowl games.

Unfortunately, the Hokies' bowl record still leaves much to be desired, sitting at 9-15 overall.

Frank Beamer's team has experienced great bowl wins its history, however. Tech hopes to add another marquee win to its resume in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines.

For the time being, though, here is a top-to-bottom ranking of Virginia Tech's nine bowl victories. 

9. 1993 Independence Bowl

Frank Beamer's first bowl appearance pitted the No. 22 ranked Hokies against No. 21 ranked Indiana.

Incidentally, this season was Beamer's first winning season for Tech, and potentially saved the job of the future great coach.

The highlight of the game was this blocked kick right before half that was returned for a touchdown.

Beamerball was born.

Virginia Tech took an eight-point lead into halftime and never looked back, winning the game, 45-20. 

8. 2002 San Francisco Bowl

On New Year's Eve in 2002, Virginia Tech was slated to face Air Force in the inaugural San Francisco Bowl.

The bowl was played in the baseball park of the San Francisco Giants, then called Pacific Bell Park. The game is still played today, but is now entitled the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

In 2002, the 9-4 Hokies defeated the Falcons, 20-13. Defensive coordinator Bud Foster's squad shut down the triple option attack, allowing only three points after the first quarter.

This game may be best remembered by Tech fans as a game in which both teams had to share the same sideline.

The game itself highlighted a talented tandem of running back Lee Suggs and quarterback Bryan Randall. Randall was named MVP of the game.

7. 1998 Music City Bowl

The 1998 Music City Bowl was Virginia Tech's largest margin of victory in bowl history.

In the inaugural edition of the Nashville showdown, the Hokies pummeled the Crimson Tide with stingy defense and points off of turnovers.

Defensive end Corey Moore provided pressure on the quarterback all game, causing several mistakes by the Alabama offense.

The dominant win served as a springboard for Virginia Tech's National Championship run the following season. 

6. 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl

The Hokies frequent the city of Atlanta often, what with bi-annual trips to Georgia Tech and appearances in Chick-fil-A kickoff classics and bowl games.

In 2009, the Chick-fil-A Bowl brought the Hokies to town for the third time in one season. 

After losing the first two trips to Alabama and Georgia Tech, the third time was a charm, as Virginia Tech played one of its most complete games in recent memory.

The Hokies took care of a talented Tennessee team that nearly upset eventual national champion Alabama earlier in the season. 

It was a particularly big win for a fanbase eager for geographical bragging rights over its less-than-neighborly Tennessee fans to the west. 

5. 1986 Peach Bowl

The most dramatic win for the Hokies in a bowl game came in their first bowl win.

The 1986 Peach Bowl matched Virginia Tech against North Carolina State in Atlanta.

The winning moment of the game came on a 57-yard drive that began on Tech's own 20-yard line. The Hokies were trailing by two points with 1:57 on the clock.

Virginia Tech drove down the field into field goal range and won on a 40-yard field goal with time expiring by kicker Chris Kinzer.

 

4. 2006 Gator Bowl

No. 12 Virginia Tech had to settle for the Gator Bowl as a consolation prize after falling to Florida State in the first edition of the ACC Championship.

The Hokies played No. 15 Louisville in a game that regrettably is remembered more for a mental lapse by Marcus Vick than anything else.

Late in the first half, Vick stomped on Louisville defender Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil got the last laugh, though, seeing as how he is still in the NFL and Vick is nothing more than Michael's younger brother.

Nonetheless, Virginia Tech earned an exciting win over a quality team despite the sloppy play. 

3. 2001 Gator Bowl

For all the critics, Virginia Tech was once overlooked as a BCS at-large selection. 

In 2001, the Hokies went 10-1, with their only loss coming to a highly ranked Miami team. Even with the excitement of Michael Vick, Tech was skipped over by BCS officials, and therefore, was relegated to the Gator Bowl.

The more-talented Hokies dominated Clemson, winning, 41-20, with a strong offensive showing in the second half.

The game ended up being Vick's last in maroon and orange, finishing the game with 205 yards passing. 

2. 2009 Orange Bowl

Virginia Tech's lone BCS bowl victory came in the 2009 Orange Bowl versus Big East champion Cincinnati. 

The Hokies fell behind 7-0 early on a touchdown drive by Tony Pike and the Bearcat offense.

After that, Cincinnati failed to sniff the endzone anymore, as Virginia Tech scored 20 unanswered en route to a 20-7 victory.

Freshman running back Darren Evans was named MVP of the game, ending the season with 1,265 yards on the ground. 

1. 1995 Sugar Bowl

The best bowl win in Virginia Tech history came in the 1995 Sugar Bowl versus No. 9 Texas. 

The University of Texas still stands as the highest-ranked opponent ever defeated by Virginia Tech in a bowl game.

The Hokies were Big East champions in 1995 and went into the game ranked No. 13. Tech outscored the Longhorns, 21-0, in the second half en route to the biggest win in program history at the time.

While not called the BCS at the time, the Sugar Bowl was a BCS-level game in 1995, and the win began to push Tech into the limelight of college football from that point onward.