2009 FexEx Orange Bowl
Virginia Tech (9-4) vs.
Cincinnati (11-2)
Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports
Payout:
$14-17 million Location: Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
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2009 Orange
Bowl
Player Profiles, Histories, & More
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Cincinnati |
Virginia Tech |
|
Total Offense |
|
50th 375.31 ypg |
107th 296.15 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
25th 316.08 ypg |
7th 277.08 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
49th 27.31 ppg |
89th 22.23 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
28th 20.15 ppg |
13th 17.46 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
94th 121.23 ypg |
41st 167.92 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
13th 104 ypg |
18th 107 |
|
Pass Offense |
|
25th 254.08 ypg |
111th 128.23 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
67th 212.08 ypg |
13th 170.08 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
84th -0.38 |
18th 0.85 |
|
Cincinnati
E. Kentucky W 40-7
at Oklahoma L 52-26
Miami Univ. W 45-20
at Akron W 17-15
at Marshall W 33-10
Rutgers W 13-10
at Conn. L 40-16
So Florida W 24-10
at WVU W 36-23 OT
at Louisville W 28-20
Pitt W 28-21
Syracuse W 30-10
at Hawaii W 29-24 |
Virginia
Tech
E Carolina L 27-22
Furman W 24-7
Ga Tech W 20-17
at UNC W 20-17
at Nebraska W 35-30
West. Kent W 27-13
at Bos. Coll L 28-23
at Florida St L 30-20
Maryland W 23-13
at Miami L 16-14
Duke W 14-3
Virginia W 17-14
ACC Champ
Boston Coll W 30-12 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
C |
5
highest
1 lowest |
VT |
|
3 |
Quarterbacks |
3.5 |
|
3 |
RBs |
4 |
|
4 |
Receivers |
1.5 |
|
2 |
O
Line |
3 |
|
4.5 |
D
Line |
4 |
|
4 |
Linebackers |
4 |
|
3.5 |
Secondary |
4 |
|
5 |
Spec
Teams |
3 |
|
5 |
Coaching |
4.5 |
|
By
Richard Cirminiello
When Virginia Tech and
Cincinnati meet at Dolphin
Stadium, both will be looking
for their first BCS bowl victory
and some national respect. In
fact, the Hokies and Bearcats
will be playing for an even
greater cause on New Year’s
night, looking to prop up the
sagging reputations of the ACC
and Big East, respectively.
Like it or not, this is the
least anticipated of the
postseason’s five marquee games,
the orange-headed step-child of
the BCS bowl offerings. Neither
program is ranked in the top 10
or harbors a household name, so
it’s easy to understand why much
of the country has greeted the
match up with a yawn. That
doesn’t mean, however, that
there won’t be a bunch of juicy
storylines before kickoff.
Ever since becoming the Big East
favorite with a Nov. 8 upset of
West Virginia, every Cincinnati
game has been the biggest in
school history. Heck, a Fort
Worth Bowl win over Marshall in
2004 might be the height of its
postseason history, so an Orange
Bowl berth presents an
opportunity that could have
long-term implications. The
Bearcats are a product of
second-year head coach Brian
Kelly, the stoic leader and
rising star behind the team’s
success. As long as he’s in the
Queen City, a perennial question
mark, the program will be in
good hands. Winners of 10 of its
last 11 games since getting
trounced by Oklahoma, Cincy is
built on a rugged defense,
outstanding special teams, and
an inconsistent offense. It’s
also had to endure a mess at
quarterback that didn’t get
resolved until the second half
of the year. Sound familiar,
Hokie fans? Kelly has a vision
for Cincinnati that begins with
shedding the “basketball school”
image. An Orange Bowl win would
go a long way toward putting
those plans into overdrive.
Few were surprised when Virginia
Tech won the ACC and played in
the Orange Bowl a year ago. Few
expected a repeat in 2008, which
makes the feat so impressive.
The Hokies were supposed to be
rebuilding on both sides of the
ball, and an opening day loss to
East Carolina did nothing to
change that notion. Yet, they
were somehow able to patch
together enough nail-biters to
become league champs for the
third time since leaving the Big
East before the 2004 season.
Plus, Tech saved its best effort
of the year for the league title
game, belting Boston College,
30-12, behind its trademark
opportunistic defense and just
enough timely plays from QB
Tyrod Taylor. This is far from a
vintage Hokie squad, which is
why Frank Beamer and defensive
coordinator Bud Foster are doing
some of their finest work ever
in Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech needs this Orange
Bowl in the worst way. So does
the ACC. The Hokies got picked
off by Kansas in last January’s
game, and is 0-for-3 on the BCS
stage. Even worse, the ACC has
lost eight straight BCS bowl
games. Cincinnati, on the other
hand, is playing with house
money. Lose, and it still gets a
ton of mileage from simply
making the trip. Win, and it
could be the turning point for a
program that expects to become a
regular in these types of games.
Big East schools have won three
BCS games in-a-row over Georgia,
Wake Forest, and Oklahoma. A
fourth straight would silence
those critics, who don’t believe
the league deserves an automatic
bid into the money games.
Players to watch:
Where would Cincinnati be
without the emergence of QB
Tony Pike? It’d be bowling,
but not in Florida. Buried on
the depth chart before the
season, he rescued the offense
after Ben Mauk was denied an
extra year of eligibility,
Dustin Grutza got hurt, and
Chazz Anderson was ineffective.
At 6-6 and 225 pounds, he’s got
terrific size, a live arm, and
the ability to escape the rush.
The junior also has the
attention of NFL scouts after
throwing 18 touchdown passes and
just seven interceptions in the
first meaningful action of his
career. Pike will get challenged
like never before when he
attempts to hook up with the
dynamic receiving duo of
Mardy Gilyard and
Dominick Goodman. While
Gilyard and Goodman have
combined for 152 catches and 17
touchdowns, Virginia Tech sports
one of the best corner tandems
in the country. Victor Harris
and Stephan Virgil
have 11 interceptions between
them, and rarely allow receivers
to get behind them.
Assuming CB Mike Mickens
can return from a knee injury, S
Brandon Underwood is
going to have a huge night.
Mickens and DeAngelo Smith
will have no problems
shutting down the young Hokie
receivers in man coverage,
allowing Underwood to cheat up
to keep containment on Taylor,
Darren Evans, and the
rest of the Tech running game.
The Hokies are 111th
nationally through the air, so
it’s no surprise how they plan
to attack the Bearcat D.
In order to stop the Cincinnati
passing game, Virginia Tech
needs to create pressure on Pike
without having to sell out.
That’ll put the onus on speedy
ends Orion Martin and
Jason Worilds to beat a
Bearcat line that’s average at
tackle and 91st in
the country in sacks allowed.
Worilds and Martin are a couple
of All-ACC second teamers with
31.5 tackles behind the line and
the explosiveness to get Pike
out of his comfort zone.
Taylor and Evans will remain the
keys to the Virginia Tech
offense, but its secret weapon
will be Greg Boone, the
versatile 6-3, 290-pound tight
end. A human mismatch, he’ll be
especially effective against a
pedestrian group of Cincinnati
linebackers. With limited
chances to make plays on the
outside, Taylor will spend most
of the night looking to get the
ball to Boone in the middle of
the field.
Virginia Tech will win if...
it wins the turnover battle. The
Hokies are at their best when
they’re wreaking havoc on
defense, scoring non-offensive
touchdowns, and creating short
fields for the offense. That
attack is going to need all of
the help it can get against a
stingy Cincinnati team that’s 13th
nationally at stopping the run
and No. 1 in net punting, thanks
to talented senior P Kevin
Huber. If Tech is forced to
travel 75 or 80 yards every time
it has the ball, it’ll have a
hard time surpassing its season
average of 22 points a game.
Cincinnati will win if...
Pike peaks. The Bearcats are not
going to run the ball on
Virginia Tech, which means it’ll
be up to Pike and his receivers
to keep the chains moving. This
is uncharted waters for the
junior, who has yet to play a
game of this magnitude or a
defense with so much talent in
the secondary. Although he won’t
need to be otherworldly for
Cincinnati to win, he does need
to avoid the type of mistakes
that can shift the momentum in
the Hokies’ favor. He also must
find a way to get the ball to
Gilyard and Goodman, the two
offensive players most likely to
rip off a game-changer down the
sidelines.
What will happen:
Cincinnati is in the same
position Kansas was a year ago,
universally underappreciated
despite winning 11 games. The
Bearcats will use that lack of
respect to their advantage,
handing Virginia Tech their
fourth straight BCS bowl loss.
While the defenses and special
teams will take center stage in
a physical, low-scoring game,
the difference will be the
Bearcat passing game. With a
month to prepare, Kelly will
have Pike ready to make a play
or two downfield to soften up
the Hokie D and put Cincy in
range for the winning points.
The Orange Bowl still won’t be a
thing of beauty, but it should
get a competitive game that
isn’t decided until late in the
final quarter.
Line: Cincinnati -1
... CFN Prediction:
Cincinnati 23 ... Virginia Tech
19
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2009 Orange
Bowl
Player Profiles, Histories, & More