Hokies, Pokes set to meet for the first time since 1972

Connections between the two programs makes the matchup on Dec. 28 highly anticipated

December 8, 2017

BLACKSBURG – In one of the season’s most anticipated bowl games featuring deep ties between the two coaching staffs and one of the top defenses and offenses in the nation, No. 22 Virginia Tech will take on No. 17 Oklahoma State in the Camping World Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 28, at 5:15 p.m. in Orlando.

The game can be seen on ESPN with Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht and Rocky Boiman on the call. All information regarding the game and the week’s events can be found on the bowl central page, located at the top-right of this story.

VIRGINIA TECH VS. OKLAHOMA STATE: INSIDE THE SERIES
• Dec. 28 will see the third all-time meeting in the series between Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.
• It’s been a little more than 45 years since the last time the two teams played on Oct. 14, 1972 in Blacksburg, a 34-32 upset victory for the Hokies over the 19th-ranked Cowboys.
• Oklahoma State’s No. 19 ranking in 1972 was the only time either team was ranked when playing one another.
• Virginia Tech radio analyst Mike Burnop, who was a tight end for the Hokies from 1970-72, played in both of those games against the Cowboys. Burnop caught two passes from QB Don Strock for 30 yards in the 34-32 victory in Blacksburg and registered seven catches for 80 yards in the 1971 contest in Stillwater.
• The backup quarterback to Don Strock in both of those games was current Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians.
• The Hokies are 1-1 vs. teams in the current configuration of the Big 12 in bowl games; a 24-21 loss to Kansas in the Orange Bowl (1/3/08) and a 28-10 victory vs. Texas in the Sugar Bowl (12/31/95).
• Fuente has led his teams to bowl games in each of the last four seasons.
• Fuente is 2-0 all-time in bowl games; featuring the Hokies’ win over Arkansas in the Belk Bowl last season and Memphis’ victory over BYU in the 2014 Miami Beach Bowl.
• Despite guiding the Tigers to the 2015 Birmingham Bowl, Fuente did not coach in the game after accepting the head coaching job at Virginia Tech.

VIRGINIA TECH-OKLAHOMA STATE CONNECTIONS
• The connections between the Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech coaching staffs run deep, starting with the two head coaches.
• Justin Fuente looked up to Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy when he was one of the first passing quarterbacks at the high school level in Oklahoma. By the time Fuente got to Tulsa’s Union HS, he was being recruited by Gundy, who was then a graduate assistant with the Cowboys.
• Virginia Tech offensive line coach Vance Vice played with Gundy at Oklahoma State from 1986-88 where the two won the 1987 Holiday Bowl and 1988 Liberty Bowl alongside Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. Vice is a native of Bristow, Oklahoma.
• Virginia Tech offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brad Cornelsen, a Texhoma, Okla. native, had two separate stints at Oklahoma State working with Gundy.
• Cornelsen worked as a graduate assistant from 2001-02 in Gundy’s first two seasons as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. After a run on the staff at Illinois State, including a three-year period from 2003-06 working with Fuente, Cornelsen returned to Stillwater in 2008 to work for Gundy as a quality control analyst.
• Oklahoma State defensive analyst Bill Clay broke into coaching at Granby HS in Norfolk, Va., in 1965-68 and later went on to coach linebackers at Virginia Tech in 1972, coincidentally, the last season when the Hokies and Pokes played.

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