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Kansas looks for first win on New Year's Day

Jan 3, 2008 - 3:38 PM No. 8 Kansas (11-1) vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech (11-2) 8:00 pm EST Orange Bowl January 3

MIAMI (Ticker) -- After winning a school-record 11 games this season, Kansas will try to make more history when it faces fifth-ranked Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

The eighth-ranked Jayhawks, who climbed as high as No. 2 this year, are looking to win a New Year's Day bowl game for the first time in the program's 117-year history.

Kansas is playing in only its third New Year's Day game and first since 1969, when it lost to Penn State, 15-14, in the Orange Bowl.

The Jayhawks' only other New Year's Day appearance resulted in a 20-14 loss to Georgia Tech in the 1948 Orange Bowl.

Kansas enjoyed a storybook year under coach Mark Mangino and was in position to play for the national championship until suffering a 36-28 loss to Missouri in its regular-season finale.

That defeat also cost Kansas a berth in the Big 12 championship, but the Jayhawks still earned a spot in a BCS game. Missouri, which fell to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, was overlooked for a BCS contest.

Kansas outscored its opponents by an average of more than 28 points, ranking second behind Hawaii in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring (44.3) and fifth in scoring defense (16.0). The Jayhawks led the FBS with a plus-1.58 turnover margin.

Sophomore Todd Reesing ranked fourth in the Big 12 in passing yards (3,259) and touchdowns (32). His favorite target was Marcus Henry, the Big 12's fifth-leading receiver who caught 52 receptions for 994 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Kansas features a balanced offense, as Brandon McAnderson was fourth in the Big 12 in rushing with 1,050 yards and 16 TDs.

Virginia Tech is no stranger to January contests, making its seventh appearance in a January 1 or later bowl game since 1998.

But while the Hokies are playing in their 15th straight bowl game, they have dropped three of their last four, including a 31-24 defeat to Georgia in last year's Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

Virginia Tech comes into this contest riding a five-game winning streak, which includes a 30-16 victory over Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

Down the stretch, the Hokies played as well as anyone and will try to slow down the Jayhawks behind a physical defense that ranked fifth in the FBS against the run, yielding only 86 yards per game.

Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon passed for only 1,636 yards but limited his mistakes, throwing only three interceptions. Brandon Ore rushed for 876 yards, the fifth-best mark in the ACC.

The Hokies will be looking to end the best four-year stretch in school history on a high note. Virginia Tech's senior class is 42-10, with the Hokies joining Southern California as the only teams to win at least 10 games in each of the last four seasons.

With 209 victories, Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer is the third-winningest active coach in the FBS, trailing only Florida State's Bobby Bowden (373) and Penn State's Joe Paterno (372).