Virginia Tech’s opponent for the Discover Orange Bowl has been set. The Hokies will take on the Stanford Cardinal, who are ranked #4 in the BCS standings after an 11-1 season. They earned an automatic at-large berth for finishing in the top four of the BCS standings.
Stanford had a great season under head coach Jim Harbaugh. The Cardinal have one of the top players in the country in Heisman finalist Andrew Luck, who is projected by many to be the #1 pick in April’s NFL Draft. Luck finished seventh nationally in pass efficiency with a 166.1 rating. He completed 70.2% of his passes for 3,051 yards, with 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in 349 attempts. Luck is a mobile quarterback who also ran for 438 yards and averaged 8.6 yards per carry. He was sacked just five times on the season.
Other offensive weapons for Stanford include running back Stepfan Taylor, who rushed for 1,023 yards and 15 touchdowns. Wide receiver Doug Baldwin is Stanford’s biggest threat through the air, with 56 catches for 824 yards and nine touchdowns.
Stanford averaged 467.3 yards per game and 40.3 points per game. They are one of the top offensive football teams in the country.
The Cardinal are no slouch defensively either. They pitched three shutouts this year against UCLA, Washington and Oregon State. They allowed just 17.8 points per game and 325.8 yards per game.
Stanford’s only loss of the season came at Oregon 52-31 back on October 2, and the Ducks are playing for the National Championship.
The Discover Orange Bowl will kick off at 8:00pm on ESPN on Monday, January 3.
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