2008 Orange Bowl
The 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Kansas Jayhawks on January 3, 2008, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Spread bettors favored Virginia Tech by three points, but in a game dominated by defensive and special teams play, Kansas defeated Virginia Tech 24–21. The game was part of the 2007–2008 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. This 74th edition of the Orange Bowl was televised in the United States on FOX and was watched by more than eight million viewers.
2008 Orange Bowl
The Virginia Tech Hokies began their 2007 football season with emotion and remembrance. As Virginia Tech recovered from the worst school shooting in American history, football served as a way to help the university community emotionally heal. The opening game of the season, on September 1, 2007, was against East Carolina University and featured numerous remembrance ceremonies and commemorations. Buoyed by the emotion of the day, the Hokies earned a 17–7 victory. Their next game would not be as easy. One week later, Virginia Tech traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face the No. 2 Louisiana State University Tigers. The Tigers were widely regarded in pre-season polls as favorites to play in the National Championship Game and overwhelmed the Hokies in front of a home crowd, 48–7.