MIAMI (AP) — In four years, the Stanford Cardinal have gone from 1-11 to 11-1. They’re ranked No. 5 and preparing to play No. 12 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Monday night.
The Hokies (11-2) made it to Miami thanks to a turnaround of their own. Ranked No. 10 at the start of the season, they opened with a loss at Boise State and a shocking defeat at home against lower-tier James Madison, all in a span of five days.
Tech regrouped to sweep the next 11 games, including all eight in the Atlantic Coast Conference to win the title for the fourth time since joining the league in 2004.
The Hokies’ poor start was a shocker, and not just because of the loss to lower-division James Madison. They hadn’t been 0-2 since 1995.
