Hokie History: Miami

In 2011, Hokie fans got to witness a matchup against Miami that is undoubtably a fan favorite win in the Hokies recent history. Miami visited the Hokies, ranked 21st in the country at the time. This game showcased the arm talent and athleticism of former Hokie Quarterback Logan Thomas. Thomas now plays for the Commanders as their starting tight end, but back in the day Thomas was leading a ranked Hokies team to 11 wins and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl.

Early in the game, Virginia Tech controlled the tempo and played tough defense, giving them a 21-7 lead at halftime. Miami surged back in the second half behind the running game of future NFL stud Lamar Miller. Miami came back, eventually taking the lead 35-31 on a 30 yard Touchdown run from Miller. With 2 minutes and 51 seconds to go, Logan Thomas moved the ball down the field with help from star running back David Wilson. With 20 yards to go and under a minute left, Logan Thomas went up the middle and cut through the defense to take the lead 38-35. This late game drive sent the Hokie fans in Lane Stadium into a frenzy. Miami got the ball with 47 seconds left on the clock. After a poor drive the Hurricanes were left with a fourth down and 5 seconds to go. Miami took a timeout to talk over a potential miracle play, and once the timeout was called Enter Sandman was queued on the loudspeakers and the rest is history. Once the crowd started jumping the game was all but over for the Hurricanes. Many Hokie fans view this game as the loudest and most hyped crowd ever seen in Lane Stadium. After a failed attempt by Miami's offense the Hokies came away with the win. Once again, Enter Sandman played on the speakers and the crowd went crazy for an important ACC win.

This game goes down as one of the most memorable and hyped games in the Hokie's history.

See the ending of this legendary game in 2011 below.

Series Overview

The Hokies hold a 15-24 (.384) record against Miami in the series history, giving the Hurricanes a considerable lead in this East Coast rivalry. In the time since Miami and Virginia Tech became conference opponents, the matchup has been much more evenly matched, with the conference record sitting at 15-15 (.500) for both teams.

These two teams have had a similar trajectory in becoming Power 5 schools. Both VT and Miami were members of a Southern Conference, the Big East, and now the ACC. This gives the rivalry a little more punch as these teams have almost grown up together in their quest to being top teams in College Football. Both of these programs saw great success in the late 1990's and early 2000's, however both teams have been underwhelming this season considering expectations on the programs.

The Hokies lost in the first twelve games in this series from the years 1953-1994. In the time since Tech's first win against Miami the Hokies record is 15-12. In the last 10 meetings the Hokies are 3-7 against Miami, which shows that Miami has gotten the better of the Hokies in recent history.

The first time that Virginia Tech and Miami played each other was in 1953. The Hurricanes shut out the Hokies 26-0 to win the first of the many meetings between the teams.

The two programs come into this game with 2 wins and many disappointing losses, which gives this rivalry meeting a different feeling this year. Going into this season we thought this game could have implications on the Coastal division of the ACC. Now we go into this hate week focusing on our disappointment in our team towards the program of Miami.

Miami @ Virginia Tech 2011

See the Hokies host Miami this Saturday at 12:00pm on ESPN3.

Look below for the Sons of Saturday Miami preview with Special Guest Danny Boy Cane.

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