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 ACC Championship Game
The Virginia Tech Hokies entered the 2008 season having won the 2007 ACC Championship Game, finishing with an 11–3 overall record that included a postseason loss to the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2008 Orange Bowl. Despite winning the ACC for the second time in less than four years, Virginia Tech was anticipated to spend 2008 rebuilding a team that saw 12 starters graduate or enter the NFL Draft. Though picked in a preseason poll to win the Coastal Division, the Hokies were defeated in their season opener by underdog East Carolina.