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
On special teams, the Hokies had several highs and lows. Justin Harper's 84-yard punt-return touchdown sparked a Virginia Tech rally that brought the Hokies within striking distance, but failures on special teams also ended the rally and turned the momentum of the game against Virginia Tech. Kicker Jud Dunlevy had been the third-most accurate kicker in the nation heading into the Orange Bowl, having hit 21 of his 24 field goal attempts during the season. He only needed two field goals to break Tech's record for most field goals in the season, set at 22 by Shayne Graham in 1998. Though Dunlevy had two chances for field goals, one fell short and the other was blocked.