The Cincinnati Bearcats Will Play The Virginia Tech Hokies In The Military Bowl
By Chris Bains
The Cincinnati Bearcats will travel to Annapolis, Maryland to face the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Military Bowl on December 27th and 1 pm EST.
UC last faced Virginia Tech in a pseudo-home game for the Hokies in 2012. It was a back and forth affair that came down to Cincinnati’s final drive, in which quarterback Munchie Legaux hit wide receiver Damon Julian for a 39-yard touchdown to put the Bearcats ahead for good. Let’s just relive that moment for any VaTech fans reading this post:
As far as bowl games are concerned, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati are dead even. The two hooked up during the 2008 Orange Bowl, UC’s first BCS bowl game in their school history. Tony Pike hit Mardy Gilyard for a touchdown Cincinnati’s their opening drive but it was all Virginia Tech from then on out. The Hokies, behind a stout and turnover hungry defense, stymied the Bearcats en route to a 20-7 victory. Before that, the first ever matchup between the two teams was the 1947 Sun Bowl in which Cincinnati won 18-6.
Cincinnati and Virginia Tech are tied 5-5 in their series.
This will be the Bearcats’ first visit to the Military Bowl. Cincinnati has had the pleasure of traveling to the South in recent postseason games (Belk x2, Liberty, Sugar, Orange). With this bowl in Maryland a couple of days after Christmas, I’m not sure how strong the UC contingent will be despite a solid reputation.