[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ custom_padding=”26px|0px|0|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0|0px|27px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]
Streaks are meant to be broken, but Virginia Tech found a way to extend the nation’s longest bowl streak to 26 games in 2018, winning their final two games of the year in dramatic fashion. Over the last 26-years, Virginia Tech has gone from a relative unknown to a top-tier program in college football. However, in the big picture of college football history, Virginia Tech is a relative new comer.
The Rose Bowl is the birthplace of the bowl game that was created in the early 1900’s. The first “Rose Bowl” was January 1, 1902 between Michigan and Stanford. It took a few years to pick up steam, but by the late 1930’s, there were a total of six bowls. I’m sure nobody back then could have imagined what “Bowl Season” would turn in to.
If you flash forward to 2018, there are now a total of 41 bowls and it feels like over the last 26 years that the Hokies have played in most of them. Is it the most successful bowl streak we’ve ever seen? No, probably not, but it has put Virginia Tech on the map.
Florida State’s bowl streak snapped for a second time this season at 36 if you’re not counting wins vacated from the 2006 season that included the Emerald Bowl. For this purpose, let’s ignore the vacated wins from 2006.
From 1982-2017, Florida State went to 36 straight bowls, and won a total of three national titles: 1993, 1999 (over Virginia Tech) and 2013.
Michigan had a bowl streak of 33-straight seasons that spanned from 1975-2007, and during that span the Wolverines claimed a split national title with Nebraska in 1997. Speaking of the Cornhuskers, they also had a bowl streak of 35 from 1965-2003 and had a total of five claimed national titles during that time (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997).
The Hokies do not have a national title during their current bowl streak, and have only appeared in the national championship once, which was in 1999 against Florida State by a Michael Vick led team.
However, this isn’t to say Virginia Tech’s bowl streak is a failure. In fact, it’s the opposite. Virginia Tech has been playing football since 1892, but they are not a college football blue blood, and didn’t find sustained success until Frank Beamer came to town, and even he had a hard time in the beginning. The first bowl game Virginia Tech ever played in was the 1946 Sun Bowl against Cincinnati, which they lost 18-6. They didn’t play in another bowl game for 20 years, and had only played in a total of six bowl games until 1993, which is when the current streak started.
If you stop and think about that for a second, you can really gain a grasp on what this bowl streak has meant to Virginia Tech. This streak has put the program on the map. It has brought relevance to a relative unknown in the college football landscape. The most important game during this streak for Virginia Tech was probably the 1995 Sugar Bowl when the 13th ranked Hokies beat the 9th ranked Texas Longhorns. This was the first top-tier bowl that the Hokies had ever played in, and winning it really made a statement that Virginia Tech had arrived.
During this now 26-year streak, Virginia Tech claimed three Big East titles (1995, 1996, 1999) and won the ACC in four out of the first six years they were in the conference. They’ve played in four Orange Bowls, as well as four Sugar Bowls (one of which was the national championship) with a 2-6 record in those games having won each bowl game once. That being said, the Hokies should have won a second Sugar Bowl in 2012. I think every person that watched that game would agree that Virginia Tech won, because Danny Coale caught it.
The program has taken a step back after the 2011 season, but the Hokies have still been able to crack bowl season every year, with the 2018 season putting that streak in jeopardy more than any season in recent history. The Hokies have a 12-13 bowl record during the streak, and will look to bring that up to .500 when they play Cincinnati in the Military Bowl on December 31st.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.17.6″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.17.6″ custom_padding=”9px|0px|27px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.17.6″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.17.6″]
🚨IT'S OFFICIAL🚨@VT_Football & @GoBearcatsFB will kickoff the New Year at the 2018 #MilitaryBowl presented by @northropgrumman benefiting @USOMetroDC‼️
🎟https://t.co/kNRMX50Y7n pic.twitter.com/0x6o0ORakn
— #MilitaryBowl (@MilitaryBowl) December 2, 2018
[/et_pb_code][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
DANNY CAUGHT IT.