Hokie ClubThe Virginia Tech football squad (6-6, 3-5 ACC) will play in its 22nd straight bowl game when it takes on the University of Cincinnati (9-3, 7-1 AAC) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday in the Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman. Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway and Paul Carcaterra will have the call for ESPN and kickoff is set for 1:02 p.m. The game can be heard nationally on ESPN Radio, as well.
The Series
• The Military Bowl will be the 11th football meeting between Virginia Tech and the University of Cincinnati in a series that dates back to 1947 and is tied 5-5.
• The Bearcats won the first three meetings between the two schools, including an 18-7 decision in the Sun Bowl following the 1946 season. UC also registered a 31-14 win at home in 1985 and downed the Hokies, 24-20, in Blacksburg in the 1986 season opener. Virginia Tech then won the next three games to tie the series. The Hokies edged UC, 21-20, in Blacksburg during the 1987 season, won at Cincinnati, 41-14, in 1988 and posted a 56-9 decision at Lane Stadium in 1991.
• In 1995, the Bearcats shut out the Hokies 16-0 at Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech has gone on to score in 255 straight games since then. In 2006, the Hokies beat the Bearcats 29-13 at home and Tech downed the Bearcats 20-7 in the Orange Bowl following the 2008 season at SunLife Stadium in Florida.
• The last meeting came in 2012 as the Bearcats rallied in the final minute to knock off Tech 27-24 at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.
• This will be the third meeting in a bowl game between the two as they split the earlier two meetings.
Sold Out!
• Virginia Tech sold its allotment of nearly 8,000 tickets for the Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman in less than 30 hours after the bowl and matchup was announced. The Northern Capital Region is home to Virginia Tech’s largest alumni base as nearly 55,000 Tech graduates live in the area.
Tech-Cincinnati Connections
• Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock is in his first full year with the department. He came to Tech after spending two years as Cincinnati’s Director of Athletics. While at Cincinnati, Babcock hired current Bearcat head coach Tommy Tuberville from Texas Tech.
• Virginia Tech starting quarterback Michael Brewer signed with Texas Tech and played for Tommy Tuberville. Brewer played for Tuberville for two years at Texas Tech before Tuberville left for Cincinnati. A year later, Brewer transferred to Virginia Tech after graduating from Texas Tech in May 2014.
• Cincinnati associate head coach Robert Prunty was Virginia Tech offensive lineman Laurence Gibson’s head coach at Hargrave Military Academy. Gibson is from Sierra, Arizona, but came to Virginia for a season of prep school under Prunty.
Military Ties
• Virginia Tech has strong ties to the military and is proud to have a chance to play in the Military Bowl. The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (VTCC) is the military component of the student body at Virginia Tech. Cadets live together in dormitories, march to meals in formation, wear a distinctive uniform on campus, and receive an intensive military and leadership educational experience similar to that available at the United States service academies.
• Sophomore tight end Kalvin Cline is a proud member of the VTCC, balancing time on the football field with his duties to the Corps.
• Since 1872, the Corps of Cadets has produced outstanding leaders for the Commonwealth and the Nation. Seven of its alumni have earned the Medal of Honor and over 100 of its graduates have been promoted to General and Flag Officer rank.
A Bright Future
• Twenty-five of Virginia Tech’s 33 touchdowns on the season have been scored by freshmen (27 of 33 by underclassmen). Freshmen have scored 230 of 280 points this year for Tech - 82.1 percent - the most of any FBS school.
• Freshman Bucky Hodges has 517 yards receiving for the season, breaking the record for receiving yards in a season by a tight end under head coach Frank Beamer (475, Steve Johnson, 1987). He also has seven receiving touchdowns, setting a new school record for touchdown catches in a season by a tight end. He had been tied with Jeff King, who had six in 2005.
• Freshman Isaiah Ford broke the Tech freshman record for receiving yards in a season, moving past Joshua Stanford (614, 2013) and now has 665 yards entering the bowl game. He also has set the Tech freshman record for catches in a season (53). Three freshman: Ford (53), Hodges (42) and Cam Phillips (40) have 40 or more catches on the season.
The Bowl Streak
• This will be Tech’s 22nd-straight bowl game appearance, which is the second-longest active streak in the country.
• With its bowl trip this year, Tech is one of only six programs in college football history to go to a bowl in at least 22 straight years: Nebraska (35), Michigan (33), Florida State (33; active), Alabama (25), Florida (22) and Tech (22; active).
• Frank Beamer is one of only four coaches all time to lead a program to 22 or more straight bowl games, joining Bobby Bowden (Florida State, 28), Tom Osborne (Nebraska, 25) and Paul “Bear” Bryant (Alabama, 24).
Tech at Neutral Sites
• Virginia Tech has a 149-130-19 record in football games played at neutral sites and is 13-21 in neutral site games during Coach Frank Beamer’s 28 seasons.
In Maryland
• The Hokies are 6-15 all-time in the state of Maryland, last playing in the Old Line State in 2012, a 27-24 loss to Cincinnati at FedExField in Landover.
• Tech is 2-7 all-time in Annapolis, but eight of those nine previous games against Navy came in 1915 or earlier.
• Virginia Tech is 1-0 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, blanking the Midshipmen 14-0 in 1995.