Rooting for their team clearly represents one of the big passions in the life of our TechSideline.com community members. This site greatly enhances this never-ending passion through information, analysis and most importantly through communal dialog and networking.

Our advertising approach is different in that we make it abundantly clear in a direct and honest way that your company’s commitment of sponsorship dollars is what enables the site to continue existing and improving into the future.

To learn more about advertising on TechSideline.com, please contact [email protected].

TechSideline.com is a vital part of a unique collegiate sports network that reaches nearly 2 million individuals per month. Like TechSideline.com, each site in the SportsWar network is an organically grown community and the emotional home for its fans.

To learn more about SportsWar network sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected] or visit our online media guide- http://www.sportswar.com. 

CarMax: The Way Car Buying Should Be

CarMax is the nation's largest retailer of used cars. Created more than 13 years ago, CarMax brought integrity and transparency to the automotive industry. Their unique no-hassle, no-haggle process was designed to make car buying easy and fun.

Here's where you, the TSL community, can help:  Show CarMax your appreciation of their support of TechSideline.com by choosing CarMax for your next used car purchase. If you've got a CarMax story, feedback or commentary or just a simply want to say "thanks," email it to us at by clicking here and we'll put the emails together and pass them on to CarMax.

And remember, in the future, please consider CarMax first when you're shopping for a used car.

The name of the book is Hokie Games, and it recounts the score and key plays from every Virginia Tech football game played from the start of the 1945 season through the last game of the 2006 season. You can get old scores anywhere, but Hokie Games gives you the flow of the action and the important moments and players, not just a line with point totals and a date on it.

From the Hokie Games web site: Hokie Games is the most complete book ever written about any college sports team, ever. The first Hokie game you ever watched? It's in there. Forgotten classics? Got 'em all. Learn about or relive the '72 game when Don Strock lit up Houston for 527 yards in the air or the 1966 VMI game when Tommy Francisco got into the end zone six times. Remember watching a great game with your kid or your dad? You can relive it. Are the details of the '99 thriller at West Virginia, the one that featured Vick's jaw-dropping run and Graham's clutch kick that kept the national title chances alive a little fuzzy? Hokie Games brings back every detail.

** SPECIAL OFFER FOR TSL READERS **

For the next month in TSLMail, we'll be bringing you two excerpts a week from Hokie Games, enough to whet your appetite for this outstanding collection. Rich Tandler is also making a special offer for TSL readers: pre-order your copy now, and you'll get free shipping, and Rich will personally autograph your copy. To take advantage of this special offer, go to:

http://www.hokiegames.com/tsl.html

Note that when you're checking out, you need to enter the promo code "TSL" in the appropriate box.

Please allow six weeks for delivery, since this is a pre-order.

Now, on to the games ....

Virginia Tech (1-1) 20, Clemson (0-1) 14
September 13, 1986, Clemson, South Carolina

Memorial Stadium—Virginia Tech got some breaks and created many opportunities on its own to beat Clemson for the first time in 32 years by a score of 20-14.

An example of made opportunities came in the first quarter. Tech couldn’t crack the end zone on three tries from the Clemson one but the Hokie defense held, requiring the Tigers to punt from their six. Defensive end Victor Jones blew in almost untouched—so quickly he almost ran by the punter—and smothered the kick.

Teammate Mitch Dove was in the right place at the right time. He was standing in the end zone when the ball bounced into his arms for one of the easiest touchdowns anyone will ever score.

A 29-yard punt gave Clemson a short field to work with, and the Tigers tied it up at 7-7 on Terrence Flagler’s 13-yard touchdown run in the opening moments of the second period.

The Hokies responded immediately. Erik Chapman completed a 34-yard pass to wingback David Everett, sparking a drive that culminated in a 38-yard Chris Kinzer field goal. They held their 10-7 lead into intermission.

After halftime the Hokies went right to work increasing that lead. Driving 49 yards for a touchdown on their first possession, their key play was a 20-yard pass from Chapman to Myron Richardson. The score came on a five-yard pass from Chapman to tight end Steve Johnson, who got lost in coverage and was wide open.

Clemson responded to Tech’s TD with one of its own, driving 80 yards in 13 plays to a one-yard dive into the end zone by Kenny Flowers to make it 17-14 with 4:09 left in the third quarter.

Tech expanded its lead to six with a 31-yard Kinzer field goal, setting up a tense fourth quarter. Clemson had three possessions to try and come back. The Tigers’ best chance was their first one. They drove to the Hokie 20 where they faced fourth and six. Terrance Flagler was open near the first down marker, but dropped Rodney Williams’ pass. The ball went over to Tech on downs.

Clemson’s subsequent two possessions ended up in punts — the Hokies got out of Death Valley very much alive.

Virginia Tech (3-2) 22, Duke (3-2) 21
October 9, 1982, Durham, North Carolina

Wallace Wade Stadium—It was one of those moments so improbable that you couldn’t sell the script to Hollywood. It would be rejected as too farfetched even for fiction.

With 33 seconds left to play, Virginia Tech’s freshman quarterback, who had been benched earlier in the game, threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to a third-string wingback to pull Virginia Tech to within a point of Duke. The quarterback then flipped a two-point conversion to a tight end, giving the Hokies a 22-21 win over the Blue Devils in a game that the Hokies had trailed 21-0 in the second quarter.

Quarterback Todd Greenwood had been pulled after throwing a third-quarter interception deep in Duke territory. He reentered the game with 1:47 left to play with Duke holding a 21-14 lead. From the Duke 13, he completed four straight passes and the Hokies were perched at the Duke 49 with 42 seconds left to play.

The wingback, Allan Thomas, was in the lineup because of his speed. He took off down the sideline and Greenwood cranked up and let loose. It looked like Duke defender Bill Obremskey had a shot at intercepting the pass—or at least knocking it down—but he mistimed his leap and his wave at the ball found only air.

Thomas, who hadn’t had a ball thrown in his direction all year, hauled in the pass and dashed the rest of the way to the end zone. Greenwood found tight end Mike Shaw for the two-point conversion and a 22-21 Hokie lead.

Such a scenario is improbable under any circumstances; when you consider the scenario in the second quarter, with the Hokies down 21-0, it seemed impossible.

Duke QB Ben Bennett led TD drives of 87, 50, and 57 yards to give the Blue Devils what appeared to be a commanding lead. The Tech comeback started before halftime when a Duke fumble at the Blue Devil two set up a one-yard touchdown pass from Greenwood to Mike Shaw.

Tech had another shot early in the third quarter but Greenwood’s pass was intercepted. In came backup Mark Cox, who led an 80-yard TD drive. The payoff came on a 36-yard pass from Cox to Tony McKee.

Cox couldn’t generate much more offense. When the Hokies took over for their last chance, Tech coach Bill Dooley decided to go with Greenwood and stuck Thomas into the game at wingback.

Good call, coach.

** SPECIAL OFFER FOR TSL READERS **

Again, to take advantage of Rich's special offer to TSL readers (free shipping and an autographed copy of Hokie Games), go to:

http://www.hokiegames.com/tsl.html

Note that when you're checking out, you need to enter the promo code "TSL" in the appropriate box.