2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl
In picking Virginia Tech and Tennessee, the selection committee bypassed teams with better or similar records in order to create a matchup appealing to television audiences.
Several players from each team participated in postseason all-star games and a handful were selected to play in the National Football League through the 2010 NFL draft.
[2] Following the conclusion of the 2009 college football regular season, the Chick-fil-A Bowl selection committee bypassed the ACC Championship Game loser, Clemson, in order to pick Virginia Tech, which had the same conference record.
[13] The bowl earned the right to select these teams via its multimillion-dollar payout system, which guarantees a certain amount of money to the participating conferences.
[25] The victory was the start of a four-game win streak that brought Virginia Tech to the end of the regular season and restored its national ranking to No.
[27] After the 2008 season ended, Tennessee fired head coach Phillip Fulmer and replaced him with Lane Kiffin, who promised to turn the program around.
[28] Kiffin made an offseason splash by breaking the social norms among SEC head football coaches and violating a handful of NCAA rules.
[29][30][31] In a season-opening win over Western Kentucky, Kiffin appeared to have made a difference for Tennessee, as the Volunteers had their largest margin of victory in nine years.
[51] In the weeks leading up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the number of controversies surrounding Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin continued to grow.
[61] Tech running back Darren Evans, who tore his left anterior cruciate ligament before the season began, was held out of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, even though his recovery had progressed to the point that he could have participated.
Entering the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Hardesty hoped to match the team's rushing record, but doubted he would be able to because of past knee injuries that made it difficult to run on artificial turf.
[66] Volunteers tight end Luke Stocker, who caught 27 passes for 370 yards and six touchdowns in 2009, was a player Virginia Tech's defense focused on in pregame preparation.
[61] The top individual performer on the defense was linebacker Cody Grimm, who tied for the most forced fumbles in college football during the regular season, with seven.
[70] Cornerback Stephen Virgil, a starter for the Hokies in 10 of their regular-season games, was declared ineligible for the Chick-fil-A Bowl because of poor grades.
[73] Joining Berry in the defensive secondary was Janzen Jackson, who returned to the field following three missed games caused by his alleged involvement in an armed robbery.
[74] Countering Jackson's return, Tennessee lost defensive back Brent Vinson, who was dismissed from the team for reasons unrevealed at the time.
His first pass the game fell incomplete, and his second was intercepted by Virginia Tech defender Rashad Carmichael, who ran it back to the Tennessee 44-yard line.
On the seventh play after the interception, Williams ran the ball forward one yard, crossing the goal line for the game's first touchdown.
[86] Virginia Tech's post-score kickoff was returned to the Tennessee 25-yard line, but the Volunteers failed to gain a first down on their second drive of the game, going three-and-out.
Even then, it took Ryan Williams two plays to gain the momentum needed to cross the goal line for Virginia Tech's second touchdown.
Two plays later, running back Montario Hardesty ran forward four yards into the end zone, halving Virginia Tech's lead.
In an effort to recover the lost field position, Taylor threw a pass downfield, but the ball was intercepted by Tennessee's Janzen Jackson, who returned it to the Tech 48-yard line.
[89] Building on the rushing success of its previous drive, Virginia Tech used fullback Josh Oglesby in tandem with Williams, who also figured prominently in the team's second possession of the half.
Tennessee attempted to move its offense quickly in order to maximize the chances of closing Virginia Tech's lead by scoring fast.
[90] Tech's kickoff was returned to the Tennessee 25-yard line, but on the first play of the Volunteers' drive, Crompton was sacked by Jason Worilds and fumbled the ball.
Three rushing plays failed to gain a first down, but they drained more than two minutes from the game clock, and Tech's Waldron extended the Hokies' lead to 37–14 with a 22-yard field goal.
[84] Williams' performance, coupled with success early in the season, allowed him to set Tech's single-season rushing record with 1,655 yards.
Virginia Tech's John Graves, participating in his first game of the season, had two tackles for loss, including a sack, and forced a fumble.
[98] Tennessee's Morgan Cox, Chris Scott and Dan Williams played in the Senior Bowl, while Jonathan Crompton and Vladimir Richard participated in the Texas vs The Nation game.
[100] Virginia Tech had five players selected: Jason Worilds was picked 52nd overall, followed by Kam Chancellor (133), Ed Wang (140), Brent Bowden (172), and Cody Grimm (210).
