A collection of links on the Orange Bowl blowout.
Face the Nation
THE CURIOUS INDEX, 1/4/2011 (EDSBS)
"If you didn't see Jim Harbaugh on his BOSSFIENDIN' streak last night, let's recap. First he set fire to the Virginia Tech Hokies in the second half and was throwing deep late to bump the margin of certain victory up to a healthy 40-12. Stanford could do that because their offensive line was caught in glorious slow motion last night laying waste to the Hokie defense, and because their defensive line mauled Tyrod Taylor with shocking frequency."
Stanford goes out on top (Dr. Saturday)
"The defense, seemingly outclassed by Tyrod Taylor's shiftiness in the first half, repeatedly swarmed him in the second, finishing with eight sacks. The Hokies' 12 points on 288 total yards were both season lows by fairly wide margins, the sixth time this season the Cardinal D has held an opposing offense to its worst output of the year on the scoreboard. Any way you serve it, Virginia Tech looked more like the sixth-place team in the Pac-10 in the second half than a major conference champion."
Dream Ends Abruptly for Hokies (Pre-Snap Read)
"What we learned last night: don’t try to out-punch Stanford on equal footing, but instead block and parry like a fencer, not a heavyweight champ. For one half, Virginia Tech stood toe-to-toe with the Cardinal, with its quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, largely outplaying Stanford’s star, Andrew Luck. Looks can be deceiving. It became clear over the final 30 minutes that it wasn’t Virginia Tech playing up to its competition but rather Stanford playing down; once the Cardinal shook off the cobwebs, the Orange Bowl was over. In the process, Virginia Tech’s dream season ends in rather disappointing fashion — though the road to the B.C.S. remains one of Frank Beamer’s proudest achievements."
Virginia Tech Beat Writers
Stanford a league above Hokies, ACC (Aaron McFarling)
"Sun Life Stadium began to empty before the fourth quarter even began. It was still just a two-touchdown game at that point, a manageable margin in college football, but the large Virginia Tech contingent already had gotten its answer. Stanford was stronger, tougher, faster. Better."
Wrapping up VT's big letdown (Kyle Tucker)
"And that LSU game was the worst I’ve ever seen Virginia Tech’s defense play. Last night’s performance was right up there. While Stanford’s QB, Andrew Luck, is a legitimate No. 1 NFL pick ... he didn’t have to be when the Hokies left his tight end wide open for three long touchdowns – and gave up 116 rushing yards on two carries, on of which was by the third-string tailback."
Complete analysis to wrap up the Orange Bowl (Darryl Slater)
"The blowout, and it was very much that, also prevented Tech’s seniors from winning more games than any class in school history. The class ended up 42-13 – certainly nothing to be ashamed of – and tied the classes of 2007 and 2008 for the most wins. The class of 2009 had 41."
Hokies miserable in Miami (Randy King)
"The book on Virginia Tech's football season started with two awful chapters for Hokie fans. The final chapter wasn't worth a hoot, either. Harboring strong hope this was their time to finally knock off a top-five opponent for a change, the Hokies hung tight for a half before finally getting buried in a second-half avalanche and got hammered 40-12 by No. 5 Stanford in the Orange Bowl on Monday night."
Hokies remarkable win streak ends with a thud (Mark Giannotto)
"This is not to down play Virginia Tech's fantastic win streak, either. It takes real talent and a ton of guts to right the ship in the manner these Hokies did. But ultimately, they wanted to finish this season considered as one of the nation's elite. The second half Monday proved that just isn't in the cards at this point."
What happened with Tech's pass protection? (Norm Wood)
"Running back Darren Evans, quarterback Tyrod Taylor and right guard Jaymes Brooks all said they'd never seen Stanford show on film many of the alignments and shifts it used up front against Tech. With Tech trailing by 21 or more points for the final 13 minutes of the game, the Hokies were forced to throw to try to get back in the game. That's when Stanford really dropped the hammer on Taylor, sacking him four times the rest of the way."
Virginia Tech Bloggers
Getting this loss off my chest (The Key Play)
"When I look back on the 2010 season I’ll remember a good, but not great team that continued a tradition of being excellent, but not elite. That’s a brutally honest statement, but it’s the truth. I’ll remember Tyrod Taylor gutting it out in the 4th quarter of the Orange Bowl when everyone else around him looked defeated, and that will always make me sad."
Stanford Overwhelms Tech in the Second Half (Tech Sideline)
"Standouts defensively were defensive tackle John Graves and cornerback Jayron Hosley. Graves had a tackle for loss and a sack, and also stuffed a few other Stanford runs at the line of scrimmage. He played a good game, but overall Tech's young, undersized front seven was blocked by a big, experienced Stanford offensive line."
Stanford Bloggers
Jeremy Stewart Shines in Stanford Win (Rule Of Tree)
"It was the Hokies, not the Cardinal, who were supposed to have the incredible running back depth, but the two-headed monster of Stewart and Taylor, who combined for 213 of Stanford's 247 rushing yards, stole the show from Virginia Tech's three-man rotation of Darren Evans, Ryan Williams and David Wilson. That Stanford was able to run the ball against Virginia Tech was hardly a surprise, but Stewart's big night was as unexpected as it was impressive."
Stanford 40, Virginia Tech 12 (Go Mighty Card)
"Luck and the offense got all the glory, but I think the real story of the game was Shayne Skov and the dominant Stanford defense. Much of the talk heading into the night surrounded Virginia Tech's trio of NFL-bound running backs, but they were stifled all night, as the Hokies only managed 66 yards rushing. Tyrod Taylor dazzled in the first half, but he was sacked eight times, and after that Howell interception, he and the Hokies never threatened."