2008 Orange Bowl
In the wake of the Hokies's defeat, Virginia Tech chose to start a new quarterback and a new offensive plan. Behind freshman Tyrod Taylor, the Hokies rolled to five straight victories, including a win over No. 22 Clemson by 18 points. During the winning streak, Sean Glennon, who had started at quarterback for the Hokies during the first two games of the season, returned to alternate possessions with Taylor in an unusual two-quarterback system. On October 25, the Hokies had a chance to make up for their early-season loss to LSU when they faced No. 2 Boston College on a Thursday night in Blacksburg, Virginia. Though the Hokies dominated for most of the game, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan managed a late-game comeback to win the game 14–10 with 11 seconds remaining.
2009 Orange Bowl
The at-large spot in the Orange Bowl was filled via a round-robin selection procedure defined by the other Bowl Championship series games (the Sugar, Fiesta, and Rose bowls) and the automatic bids. The order of at-large selections rotates annually among the BCS bowls. In 2009, the Fiesta Bowl picked first, followed by the Sugar Bowl, then the Orange Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl picked Ohio State, while the Sugar Bowl selected Utah. The Orange Bowl was thus left to select Big East Conference champion Cincinnati, fulfilling the BCS' contractual obligation to provide a game for the conference's champion.