[Editor’s Note: Jeff is still on hiatus, so Tobye is handling the Top 5 This week.]
Ho hum. Spring practice is over. The Draft is over. The college football pre-season magazines haven’t come out yet. So what’s a Football Girl to do?
Well, I decided to make a few lists to keep myself occupied and focused for the upcoming season. Full disclaimer alert: These are strictly my opinion, not based on any fact or scientific evidence, and they only apply to games that actually occurred in my football lifetime (approximately 1990ish to present). I’m not going to bust out any games from the Don Strock years. So, here goes:
Football Girl’s Top 5 VT Comebacks
1. UVA, 1995
Ahhh, an oldie but a goodie. And a game I actually attended. With my UVA brother. Sweet times. Here’s the USA Today recap, but the quick details are this: Down 29-14 (usually insurmountable odds for the Hokies), Jim Druckenmiller led VT to 22 unanswered points in the 4th quarter and capped off a season that found VT beating Texas in the Sugar Bowl. (Fun fact: UVA played several QB’s in the game, one of them being none other than Mike Groh, son of Al, and future failed offensive coordinator for the Cavs.)
Check it out here:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9DGblm4vbM]
2. Nebraska, 2009
I have only one thing to say about this one: “Tyrod did it, Mikey! Tyrod did it!”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4WGOZVTCK4]
Well, two things. Note that hanging all over Tyrod on the last play is no other than Ndamukong Suh, who I think was probably the most dominant defensive player in college football last year. To me, that makes it even more impressive.
3. Georgia Tech, 2004
The second of the improbable comebacks to grace the list. And this one was really improbable. Down 20-12 heading into the last five minutes of the game, a Hokie team led by Bryan Randall set about one of the greatest comebacks ever, and proved that Randall could play with the best of them when he needed to. He would later be named ACC player of the year. Here’s a quick bite of the recap from Tech Sideline:
Down 20-12 and hanging by a thread, Virginia Tech exploded for 22 points in the last 5:28 of the game to exit Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium with a huge 34-20 ACC win over the Yellow Jackets. The fourth-quarter outburst was keyed by freshmen, as Eddie Royal caught an 80-yard TD pass, Josh Morgan scored from 51 yards out, and Roland Minor ran an interception back 64 yards with less than a minute to go.
The win was VT’s first when trailing after three quarters since the 2000 win over Pittsburgh. The Hokies burned Georgia Tech’s 18th-ranked defense for 446 yards, including 304 yards passing by Randall, who completed 18-of-31 for 3 TDs and 1 interception. Randall was 3-for-5 for 159 yards and 2 TDs in the fourth quarter alone. He added 64 yards rushing on 9 carries and was only sacked once for a 3-yard loss, as the Hokies used the short passing game and 3-step drops to perfection. Mike Imoh carried 22 times for 77 yards.
Un-freaking believable. What a feel good season 2004 was.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YUjA32MPn8]
4. Miami, 2004
And this one wasn’t really so much of a comeback as a wrestling away a victory from a deadlock. (Did that make any sense? Probably not, but it sounded good in my head at least.) In their inaugural season in the ACC, the Hokies, picked by many to finish 6th, found themselves playing Miami to determine the defacto ACC champion. It was a hard fought, low scoring affair, muddled with injuries, fumbles and blocked punts, but Bryan Randall again managed to pull it out, again connecting with Eddie Royal for the go ahead score. Then, credit the Hokie defense for making sure the Canes didn’t have a chance in heck of getting anywhere near the goal line again. I’ll say it again: Ahh, 2004.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E07W15p5Q0c]
5. WVU, 1999
Needs no introduction, and if I have to explain why it was so important, you shouldn’t even be allowed to call yourself a Hokie. I could watch this all day long.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm3nfLFTmaU]
I was in Lynchburg, VA, at the Marine Corps Ball during this game. I was watching it in the hotel room, and when it came time to go to the dinner, I refused to go. The Football Husband and our friends were incredulous, but there was no way in Hades that I was missing the end of this one. I paced the hotel room alone in my fancy dress, talking to my mom and dad on the phone the entire time because I was so damn nervous. When Shayne Graham kicked that field goal, it was truly one of the happiest moments of my life. (Wow, hope that’s not as lame as it sounds.) This is when I realized that Hokie football wasn’t just something I kind of liked, but it was an obsession. A good obsession.
So, hope you enjoyed my first Top 5 list. Stay tuned for more, when the muse strikes.
