Virginia Tech Looks to Even the Record Against Stanford

Virginia Tech is coming off a tough beat at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. This figures into this week’s matchup against the Stanford Cardinal. The one and only time the Hokies have faced Stanford was in the 2011 Discover Orange Bowl, with the Hokies falling 40-12.

The game was close at half, with the Hokies trailing 13-12. In the second half, it was the Andrew Luck show. He threw for three touchdowns and outdueled fellow NFL QB Tyrod Taylor for the win. That win capped a 12-1 season for the Cardinal and sent a strong message that Stanford was a top 5 team firmly in the conversation for national championships. Tech fell to 11-3, a record most Hokie fans would kill for at this point. I remember this game well, and we had a good team, not a great team. Stanford rolled up 534 total yards on a Tech defense that featured some great players including Jayron Hosley and Eddie Whitley.

Andrew Luck won the MVP that game, but make no mistake, this Saturday’s matchup will look quite different. On the benches, Brent Pry has a ton to prove as the Hokies are looking to make a bowl run. Troy Taylor is looking to make the program relevant again. In the Orange Bowl game, Frank Beamer was facing off against Jim Harbaugh. Two absolute legends that were titans in their time. It will be interesting to see how Pry can motivate the team to respond to a tough night in Miami. When Beamer brought the Hokies to Miami, they had just gotten trounced in the ACC title game at the hands of Clemson.

This game won’t have the luster of the New Year’s Six affair the last time these two teams faced off, but Hokie fans know how much is on the line.