Regardless of how VTPhreak4evr is perceived on this website, you cannot deny that his highlight film of every game since 1993 is impressive and very handy. One of my favorite things to do is go back and watch the highlights of these old games that many of us still talk about to this day (2007 ACC Championship) and ones that have probably been forgotten [2004 Western Michigan (hahaha)]. That leads to me ask this: as a Hokie fan, what season (post-2000 since 1995 and 1999 would almost definitely take the cake for all of us) do you have the fondest memories of?
For me personally, it has to be either the 2004 season or the 2007 season. I bring up 2004 because the program was in a very dark place at the beginning. 2001-2003 all saw complete meltdowns towards the end of the season, and Tech was too far removed from Michael Vick at that point to be able to rely on the media to give them any credit. They were picked by some media outlets to finish as low as 8th out of 11 teams in the ACC before the season started, and after starting the season 2-2, things didn't look too promising, especially after being dominated by NC State at home (score says 17-16, but if I recall correctly, NC State had at least 8 sacks that afternoon). As we all know, Tech ended up winning the ACC outright and nearly knocked off undefeated Auburn (who really should have been in the National Championship over Oklahoma) in the Sugar Bowl.
The reason I mention 2007 as well is for several reasons. 1) It was the first season football was played after the April 16 tragedy. Football was a way the Tech community was brought together after this horrific tragedy (R.I.P. to the 32 victims who lost their life that spring). 2) It was Tyrod Taylor's first season in Blacksburg, and he's one of my favorite Hokies of all-time, and most Hokie fans would agree. 3) That season was an absolute rollercoaster in terms of emotions. We went from watching the team get absolutely manhandled on the road by LSU 48-7 to watching Matt Ryan break the hearts of every Hokie in the country that Thursday night to watching the team beat UVA on the road to earn a bid to the ACCCG to watching Tech get their revenge against the Eagles in the ACCCG and almost play for the National Championship. Unfortunately, that season ended in disappointment after being beaten by an overmatched but better-prepared Kansas team (I can't believe I just said that) in the Orange Bowl.
Remember, the season you mention has to be post-2000.
Comments
That 07 team also got a very vindicating win in Lane against Bowden and Florida State. Great season, even if they went away from Ore at the end of the Orange Bowl....
Yeah, that was really Tyrod's coming-out party. He had some good games up to that point, but he dominated that evening.
Kansas was no better than Cincy when we played them. We should have crushed Kansa by simply pounding Ore. They couldnt stop him but our coaches sure could. I was embarrassed for our coaches after that game. Reesing? Give me a break.
04 and 07 were both very memorable seasons. I just remember Bryan Randall becoming such a great team leader during that 04 season. At the beginning of the year, no one was very high on us, Marcus was suspended, and no one gave us much of a shot without him. He became one of my favorite Hokies that year, leading us to a conference title and BCS bowl in our first year in the ACC. Everyone thought it would be FSU and Miami's to lose, but we proved we were the power in the ACC.
For me personally it was 2008. Freshman year. Was never a big fan of any football to that point but I loved band and I figured I'd give it a shot. Started off horribly with a sweltering loss to ECU in Charlotte.
But! Ending the season with an ACC Championship and a BCS bowl victory is one great way to cap it all off, and it will probably remain my most memorable season until we win it all.
2004 to me takes the cake. Something about that season really felt special, I guess it was a lot of reasons for it. As mentioned above we were kind of counted out. Uva had momentum from beating us the year before and all the magic of Groh's recruiting. We played in some big games that year and won a lot of them. That UVa game was really a good game and was very important for the future of the program. The success we had for the next 8 or so years was because of that GT, UVa and Miami wins that year. We also beat a top 10 West Va. team and played USC and Auburn really tough. That Hokie team may have had the hardest schedule of any other and we fared very well. The players were very likeable on that team and they just kept winning.
'04 Highlights
The UVA ones are the best, especially Hyman's TD's. It jus seemed like we would never score that day and then boom. The fan base, with low expectations and not really the best start to the season believed that year and the team upheld their end.
2004 - called my dad from school as a senior at VT; he was not a football guy, whatsoever. For that reason, I wasn't that big on it either yet. Told him that I wanted to go down to NO for the Sugar Bowl. He spent 40 years in the restaurant business, from Boston, and was pretty tough; not mean, but Boston Irish. They don't say much, but don't argue.
He picked up the phone, I gave him my weak pitch, and he responded "you have to go, once in a lifetime. I'll buy the ticket." Only time in my life my jaw "dropped."
He passed a few years back, and the reason I've gotten so into VT football over the years was because of that call, and that game. Kind of a gift from him to me in hindsight from a guy that never cared that much about 11v11.
Okay, I've seen at least two references to playing Auburn tough, and granted, it's been over 10 years, but I remember that game sucking for 3 and a half quarters, with Tech finally getting some life in the fourth, but falling about 30 seconds too short.
I suppose holding Auburn to 16 was decent, but we should have been able to beat that.
The rest of that season was awesome...especially dancing at the U when we won the conference.
Yeah, if Jesse Allen hasn't dropped that pass, we might have won that game. And if Josh Hyman hadn't been called for pass interference, we might have beaten USC. And if Brandon Pace had hit that field goal against NC State, we would have won that game. It seems as if every loss that season rode on 1 play that really could have went the other way.
I still maintain that Pace was only good when the score didn't depend on his kick. If we were ahead, or down by more than 4 points, the FG would go through. But if we were within three, and needed the score to get a tie or lead, it missed.
It was a typical big game for us. We outgained them and had the advantage in TOP. Dropped an open TD pass on 4th down, missed a 23 yd field goal in the 4th quarter. Its hard to beat a 12-0 team doing that. Even after all that the defense got the ball enough, even being down 16 in the 4th, to win the game. Our defense got some turnovers and made some plays against a very talented Auburn O.
We just couldnt run the ball, our RB talent wasnt the best that year and it showed against the best defense we played. The line could get some blame as well. It was a valiant effort by the team and I think everyone was proud of how we played but just once again so close.
2004...underdogs...BR...Jim Davis swatting down passes at the OB for the ACC crown...Hyman, Royal, Clowney, Harper on the DEEP ball...8-straight...
Also, I first started following the Hokies...wait for it...the 1999 Boston College game. Then I went to boot camp in 2000, was in Naval Nuclear Power training for 2001, and first ship in 2002. 2004 was the first year I remember actually paying full attention to the team, and it was a good year.
Sigh... I loved that era 2004-2007. There was something about watching those games and you just expected us to score when we were on defense.
2004 was special. Bryan Randall was such a class act and had choked so many close games in earlier seasons. Marcus was nipping at his heels and with his suspension, Randall came out and led with such poise.
That wasn't the greatest Hokie team of all time, but it has a place in my heart with work horse players like Imoh, Humes, James Anderson, and Burchette
The 2009 season is the one I look back at most fondly of my undergrad years. Yeah the loss to bama sucked, and we didn't win the ACC, but there were so many highlights. Miami rain game. Hail Mary to Danny Coale against Nebraska. Curb stomping Tennessee in the chik-fil-a bowl. I loved that season
Yeah, that team actually rose to #4 at one point in the rankings. Unfortunately, the loss to GT carried over to UNC and they lost 2 straight. I thought we were heading for another 2001-2003 collapse, where the team would break the top 5, then lose like 4 of their last 5 games. But they recovered nicely, beating ECU, Maryland, UVA, and Tennessee, all in dominating fashion. And I'll never forget how RMFW's was the most exciting player we had seen since Michael Vick.
And yet another season like 2004...and 2007...and 2010...where we're left wondering "what if..." and "if only...".
Yeah, and just so happens that our "what ifs" and "if onlys" happen to be "if only we hadn't lost to James Madison" and other complete mishaps like that.
I agree that the 2009 team was very memorable. The specifics of the season weren't since we didn't win the division (i vividly remember the game that made me start hating GT) but that team was super-talented on both sides of the ball (guys like Worilds and Kam on D with RMFW, Wilson, Tyrod, Boykin, Coale, etc on O), and a healthy RMFW was so much fun to watch, like when he dragged the NC State safety 10 yards into the end zone. It probably helped that it was my freshman year so it was the first taste of VT football I got. We certainly had a team that could beat anyone that year - they just couldn't quite get it done against bama and then the GT and UNC debacle later on.
2005
The last time we were legitimately in the national conversation. 2 visits from College GameDay and a game of #5 vs #3 on Saturday night in Lane. It truly is a shame that team failed itself like it did against Miami and FSU, as it was probably the most talented team we've ever fielded, and probably could have won it all had they been able to put the pieces together.
Gameday vs GT turned out good that year! Crazy, two gamedays in one year.
Yeah, Tech actually handed a really good WVU team their only loss that year, killed GT, knocked off a tough NC State team, beat a top 15 BC team by 20, and spanked UVA. Unfortunately that excellent season ended with a comeback win against a Louisville team that Tech was clearly better than, and who can forget the stomp?
Yes to all of those things. 2005 was my first year out of the dorms and in an apartment and I had a kick ass roommate and kick ass friends and had a blast that year. That was one of those semesters where you reminisce about it in montage form.
That was definitely a fun season. I think the losses to Miami and especially Florida St were so decimating emotionally that it took away from that year for me.
What a day, driving back from Jacksonville, listening to us about to upset #1 Duke in basketball when a half court buzzer beater foiled that. It was a silent ride the rest of the way.
The GT game was awesome, it seemed like that day lasted forever with Gameday etc. The Louisville game, even though a win was a let down. We didnt play like a top 10 team, just left a sour taste. Kind of how that whole season went.
Another reason I like 2004...we actually win that game. [Duke b-ball]
'04 is the best. Its really kinda tempered my expectations for this year realizing how mentally tough that team was. Those wins down the stretch were unbelievable, and they just made it happen. Even playing the top 2 teams in the country, we were in the game the whole time.
If Brewer pulls a Randall, we might be ok this year. We have talent, and senior talent, but they just need to learn to win. Im not sure this team knows how to dig deep and win. It was several games in '04 where it didnt look good and they pulled it out. GT, UVa, Miami, UNC were all close games and could have gone the other way at some point.
Young guys are going to have to step up as well, look at all the freshman and r-freshman that made impacts in '04. Royal, Morgan, Hyman, Hall, Adibi all made game saving plays sometime during the season.
I'll never forget that Duke basketball game. Something told me we were going to win that game. I don't know what. I was young at the time, just then getting into Hokie basketball, and I just remember asking my friends who they thought would win the game because I had this weird feeling. And that was at a time when my parents sent me to bed and wouldn't let me stay up for games, so I woke up early the next morning and watched the whole thing on TiVo.
That may have been the first Hokie b-ball game I watched. I just heard on the radio or 'net or something that it was happening, and said "why not, Duke's pretty good," and was surprised at the outcome.
2004 for me, personally. Sophomore year. Sat in the SEZ for the NC state game so we were the first to know Pace missed that kick. It only got better from there, though. Ended the season with road trip to miami to watch us clinch the ACC title. Then went down to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. One of those frustrating losses where we seemed to be outplayed the whole game, but somehow kept it close. Effin Brandon Pace...
2013
What?
Yup, 2013.
Due to various reasons, I almost never got to watch a game. I almost always had to listen to them on the radio. The few games I actually got to watch were things like the Fuck You Matt Ryan game and The bowl game against Kansas. I also got to see Hosely get his first 2 INT and declared that by his moves he'd be a standout that year. Won me a beer that year. Good bet.
In order to force the schedule so I could actually see some games, I bought 4 season tickets.
2013 was the first year I could watch the bulk of the games because I was there. Nobody to tailgate with, the first few games were awkward but with skill at a grill and fresh beer to back it up, one makes friends fast. It was a lifestyle change.
That season actually got off to a great start. Played #1 Alabama way closer than the score indicated, won like 6 straight, and then lost to Duke and things really hit the fan after that.
What about 2010? Tyrod's senior season. We had the absolute worst start to a season. Maybe ever (I mean, first Boise, and then the JMU debacle... ugh). Left for dead. Then we rallied to run unbeaten through the ACC. David Wilson was electric. Kick returns. Jayron pick-sixes all day. Tyrod being Tyrod-ey. It was a high-octane VT offense with speed all over the field. Shame it ended like it did in the Orange Bowl, but the ride was certainly a lot of fun.
09 for me. First time we fielded a competent offense, still had a good defense, had memorable games throughout (Nebraska at home, Miami rain game, exciting opening against Alabama). We didn't win coastal of anything, but Tennessee game was entertaining.
Man, I loved the 2010 season if it wasn't for that damn start to the season. I'll say 2010 was my favorite team since I got to watch them all season as a sophomore.
2007 was probably the most memorable season for me, simply because 2008 included a very, very bad game.
My vote is for 2004 as well.
should have beat USC, and played them lights out, then the come from behind win against GT, followed by winning the ACC in the first year.
2011. It was my first season really following Tech football and it was an amazing season by all accounts. It sucked we couldn't get it done against Clemson and Michigan but we dominated otherwise, and we still had Wilson and Coale. Also it was our last 10 win season before we fell of the national map..
Um, Danny Coale caught the ball that gave us more points than Michigan. I'd say we got it done.
2004 was a special year. That was the first year I started buying alumni season tickets.
2010 was also a great year, that was the year I saw every game except the Miami (in Miami) game.
2004, was the best. I was a HokieHaven subscriber back then, the constant degrading of BR was nonstop because he wasn't a Vick. It was nice to see he and the team get to the Sugar Bowl. I was a PAT, I don't even know if that is used anymore in forums.
2007 for me...just to have something normal after 4/16 that brought the community together (even as something as unimportant at football) and gave us a brief distraction from the daily hell that a lot of us were going through was needed. I bet if you talk to the coaching staff, they'll tell you that was the most important football season they've ever coached.
Based on football only: 2004. Jwillhokiealum is absolutely right that VT was in a dark place at the start of the 2004 season. The 2003 year started out with high hopes, but after the blowout loss to West Virginia, which I will never forget, our season pretty much went down the toilet (minus a win against a top five Miami), losing 5 out of our last seven games.
2004 was our first year for football in the ACC. At the start, many people felt we didn't belong. We had to pull out all the stops to even get in the ACC and then the 2003 season cemented in a lot of people's minds that we were the "Chokies." In 2004, we had top ranked USC scheduled for our first game, and everyone expected a blowout loss. We kept it close until a bad pass interference penalty against us that gave USC the edge and eventual win. We beat Western Michigan and Duke and then lost to NC State by missing a last second field goal to put us at 2-2. Up next was West Virginia who was undefeated and ranked #7. After 2003 no one gave us much of a chance. The game itself was tight until we blocked a field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown, sealing the win (back when we still did that).
We won a couple more against Wake Forest and Florida A&M and then came up against Georgia Tech. We trailed for most of the game, finding us down 14-0 early and then 20-12 with little more than 5 minutes left. We then scored 22 unanswered to beat the Jackets. This was Eddie Royal's coming out game.
We then beat North Carolina in a squeaker and blew out Maryland at home. This set up a match-up against UVA at home where both of us were ranked. The first half was close, but we pulled away in the end. This was the game that started the decade of dominance against UVA.
This set up a defacto ACC championship game against Miami at Miami that we ended up winning. Considering that everyone expected Miami to the class of the ACC, and considered us to be the also-ran, winning the ACC in our first year in the league was special.
Bryan Randall really stepped up that year and made it a lot of fun going through the season.
I think that Maryland game is my all-time favorite. Frank Beamer's mother had died that morning, and the team responded by playing one of the best games in the history of Virginia Tech football. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Tech has beaten a 1-A/FBS school that bad since then, and certainly not a Power 5 team.
It was 55-6, and the closest I see is GT in 2005, 51-7.
After that, the only times we even hit 50 were 2009 Marshall, 2010 WF, and 2011 App State.
2005 52-14 over UVA!
I think he was just referring to D1 caliber teams..
This needs to be promoted.
Our ownage of Miami began to blossom....
Reminds me of a song they used to play:
Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days