Pursuit of dozen Ws brings Cardinal, Hokies to Orange Bowl
By Bud L. Ellis
When Stanford and Virginia Tech take the field at Sun Life Stadium on Jan. 3 for the Orange Bowl, both teams will try to win their 12th game of the season.
But the paths taken to the verge of a dozen victories were quite different for each squad.
Stanford (11-1) fell only to national finalist Oregon in its fifth game of the season, rebounding to win the next seven in a row by an average of 22 points per game to finish second in the Pac-10 Conference. Virginia Tech (11-2) lost twice in the first six days of the season, then reeled off 11 consecutive victories to claim the Atlantic Coast Conference title.
Offense won’t be a problem for either team; both are ranked in the top 20 in the nation in points scored and rushing yards. The No. 5-ranked Cardinal are averaging 40.3 points per game (eighth in the nation), while the 11th-ranked Hokies are scoring at a 35.5 point per game clip (19th in the country).
Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Luck has completed 70.2 percent of his passes this season, totaling 3,051 yards through the air with 28 touchdowns. Luck also has 438 rushing yards, averaging 8.6 yards per carry. Running back Stepfan Taylor has 15 rushing touchdowns and 1,023 yards on the ground, averaging nearly five yards per carry.
Virginia Tech has a dynamic quarterback in its own right in Tyrod Taylor, who has passed for 2,521 yards and 23 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 637 yards and three scores. Running back Darren Evans has rushed for 11 touchdowns and 817 yards.
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Monday, December 6, 2010 at 7:32 pm by bud
Tags: Andrew Luck, Atlantic Coast Conference, Darren Evans, Heisman Trophy, Orange Bowl news, Orange Bowl schedule, Orange Bowl tickets, Pac-10 Conference, Stanford Cardinal, Stepfan Taylor, Sun Life Stadium, Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech Hokies
