Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 21 - Jayhawks are Orange Bowl champs.
My oh my, Virginia Tech just got out-Beamer Balled.
Upstart Kansas proved that they were anything but, using great defense, big special teams plays, and offensive efficiency to topple Virginia Tech 24-21 in the Orange Bowl.
The Hokies did have an 84-yard punt return for a score in the third quarter, and they also sacked Todd Reesing five times.
That might be good enough on most nights, but not on this one, because Kansas was just a little better at every facet of the game.
On defense, the Jayhawks registered five sacks and picked off three passes, including one that star corner Aqib Talib returned 60 yards for a touchdown, and another that Justin Thornton returned to the two, setting up Todd Reesing’s decisive two-yard touchdown run that made it 24-14 early in the fourth.
Despite giving up the punt return for a score, Kansas also came up big on special teams, blocking a field goal and using a fake punt to get a first down on another drive.
And, on offense, the Jayhawks didn’t crumble against the tenacious Tech defense, turning the ball over only once and picking up 343 total yards against a defense that was allowing only 293.3 coming into tonight.
All of those efforts combined to lead Kansas to one of the biggest victories in school history, and dispelled any doubts about whether or not they deserved to be in the BCS.
And, there’s a good chance they could be here again this time next season.
They’ll lose a lot of offensive production in Brandon McAnderson and Marcus Henry, but they’ll return receivers Dexton Fields and Kerry Meier (who’s also the backup QB), running back Jake Sharp, and most importantly, Reesing, who threw for 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions in his first season as a starter.
And, on defense, they may lose Talib to the draft, but will nearly all of the unit’s key players and leading tacklers.
They will have to replace placekicker Scott Webb and punter Kyle Tucker, but that might be the only unit that will see drastic changes.
So, it might be a strange sight right now, but get used to it, because these Jayhawks don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.
Tags: Aqib Talib, Brandon McAnderson, Justin Thornton, Kansas Jayhawks, Marcus Henry, Orange Bowl, Todd Reesing, Virginia Tech Hokies