Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

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.

Kansas may be a newcomer to the BCS, but they’re certainly not playing like it.

The Jayhawks have gotten off to a fast start on both sides of the ball, and are up 17-0 over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

All-American corner Aqib Talib has been active all night, as he returned an interception 60 yards for a score to get the scoring started, returned a punt 17 yards to set the Jayhawks up with a short field, which they capitalized on to get into the end zone to take a 17-0 lead, and he also had a long return on a missed field goal.

The Kansas defense has been a nightmare for the Virginia Tech offense, with two interceptions and four sacks already.

And, on offense, Todd Reesing is 12 of 19 for 107 yards and a touchdown, with his 13-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Henry setting a new school record of 36.

There’s still plenty of time to go, but the Jayhawks are certainly off to an excellent start all-around.