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.
2008 Orange Bowl
Kansas' victory over Virginia Tech was the Jayhawks' fifth bowl victory and was the 11th bowl game in the history of the Kansas Jayhawks football team. Because of the unexpected nature of the Jayhawks' success, some pundits proclaimed the 2008 Orange Bowl as ranking among the greatest Kansas sports victories of all time. The game paid $17 million to the Big 12 Conference and helped to boost the Kansas football team's national profile among potential recruits. In addition, the program saw an increase in ticket sales in the years immediately following the bowl appearance. Two months after the football team's Orange Bowl win, the men's basketball team won the National Championship becoming only the second school to win a BCS Bowl game and National Championship in basketball in the same school year. Additionally the 49 wins combined from the football team and basketball team were the most combined wins in NCAA history from a football team and men's basketball team.