The Orange Bowl made it official shortly after the final BCS rankings were announced, selecting Stanford and Virginia Tech to play in this season’s game. The Virginia Tech Hokies were an automatic selection, winning the right to play in the Orange Bowl by virtue of their ACC Championship. Stanford, on the other hand, was an at-large selection, guaranteed a spot in a BCS bowl by virtue of their No. 4 ranking.
The Cardinal head into the Orange Bowl as perhaps the best one-loss team in the country. Stanford’s only loss this season came at the hands of Orange 52-31. Since then, the Cardinal have steam-rolled through the Pac-10, finishing the season at 11-1.
Virginia Tech finished the regular season with a win over Florida State in the ACC Championship Game, 44-33. The Hokies were a perfect 8-0 in the ACC and 10-2 on the season. Virginia Tech’s two losses came in the first two weeks of the season, to Boise State and James Madison. Since week two, the Hokies have cruised through the season, easily rolling through the ACC schedule.
Stanford and Virginia Tech take the field in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, 2011.