CFB Bowl Preview: GoBowling.com Military Bowl – Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6) at Tulane Green Wave (11-2)

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VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES NOTES:

KEY STORYLINES

EXPERIENCED TECH VETERANS

• The Hokies have plenty of experience on the roster with OL Kaden Moore (36 career games, 36 starts) along with OL Parker Clements (34 career games, 30 starts). • DT Norell Pollard (60 career games, 47 starts) and DT Mario Kendricks (55 career games, 19 starts) anchor the defensive line. • Three other returning Tech defenders have appeared in 30+ games for the Hokies: LB Alan Tisdale (51 career games, 33 starts), DB Nasir Peoples (47 career games, 31 starts) and LB Keonta Jenkins (43 career games, 21 starts).

2023 SCHEDULE NOTES

• For the second straight season, the Hokies opened with Old Dominion. The Monarchs made their third trip to Blacksburg and first since 2019 on Sept. 2. • The Hokies faced two Big Ten teams for the first time in the regular season, hosting Purdue on Sept. 9 before visiting Rutgers on Sept. 16. It was the first meeting with the Boilermakers since 2015 when the Hokies won in West Lafayette, 51-24. Tech last played Rutgers during the 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, winning 13-10 in Orlando. The Hokies and the Scarlet Knights met 12 times as Big East foes between 1992 and 2003. • Virginia Tech traveled to Marshall for the first time since 2011 on Sept. 23. • Tech and Florida State met in Tallahassee on Oct. 7. It was just the third regular season meeting between the two since the Hokies joined the ACC in 2004. The Hokies and the Seminoles met twice in the ACC Championship Game (2005, 2010). The last previous matchup took place at Florida State in the 2018 season opener, a 24-3 win for the Hokies. • With the ACC’s elimination of divisional play in 2023, the Hokies did not face Miami, Duke, North Carolina, or Georgia Tech. • After playing three games in North Carolina during the 2022 season, Tech did not visit the Tar Heel State in 2023. Wake Forest (Oct. 14) and NC State (Nov. 18) played in Lane Stadium this season.

HOKIES FACE TULANE IN POSTSEASON • Virginia Tech and Tulane will meet for the 10th time when they take the field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in the 2023 Military Bowl presented by GoBowling.com. • The matchup dates to 1956. In the overall series history, Virginia Tech leads, 5-4, including wins during three of the last four meetings. • The two sides last met in Blacksburg in 1989 – a 30-13 Virginia Tech win.

TECH BOWLING AGAIN

• The Hokies are making their 35th postseason bowl game appearance in history dating back to 1947. • Six Virginia Tech head coaches have coached in a bowl game, which includes interim head coach J.C. Price in the Hokies’ most recent bowl appearance (2021 Pinstripe Bowl). • Head Coach Brent Pry will vie to start his bowl record on the right side, which Tech’s last two full-time head coaches were able to do. Pry has coached in 14 bowl games over the course of his career as an assistant or graduate assistant, including two with the Hokies (1995 Sugar Bowl, 1996 Orange Bowl).

FAMILIAR STAGE IN ANNAPOLIS

• The Hokies are familiar with the Military Bowl, having played in the game twice previously. • Tech is 1-1 in the bowl game and, ironically, played Cincinnati twice (2014, 2018), beating the Bearcats, 33-17, in the 2014 game while Cincinnati returned the favor with its 37-31 triumph in 2018. • Sixteen players on the Tech roster are from the Washington, D.C. metro area, also known as the DMV (D.C., Md., Va.)

WELCOME TO SACKSBURG

• Tech’s defense finished second in the ACC in sacks with 38 on the season and ranked eighth in the country. • Tech is averaging 3.17 sacks per game. • The Hokies finshed the regular season third in the ACC in TFLs with 88 on the year. • Antwaun Powell-Ryland leads the Hokies with nine and a half sacks this season. APR tallied four sacks in the game against Wake Forest on Oct. 14. • The 6-foot-3, 244-pound specimen earned secondteam All-ACC honors after an impressive regular season. Powell-Ryland recorded the most sacks by a Hokie since 2014 (9.5) and led the team in TFLs (13.5), forced fumbles (three) and quarterback hurries (seven).

HOKIES SHOW GROWTH IN 2023

• The Hokies improved in several areas this season over 2022. Tech tallied a 5-3 record in the ACC, the Hokies’ best mark since 2019. • The five conference wins were all by 17 or more points. The Hokies were one of eight Power Five teams to do so. • The offense improved from 119th (313.5 ypg) nationally in 2022 to 64th this season (386.3 ypg). • The 28.6 points per game this season ranked 55th in the country and was the Hokies’ most points per game since 2016. • Tech’s offense registered 158 missed tackles forced. Bhayshul Tuten recorded 61 of those for a new school record. • The offense tallied 1,379 rushing yards after contact as a team. • Eight Hokies earned All-ACC honors at the end of the regular season.

FELTON A BIG PLAY THREAT

• Norfolk State transfer WR Da’Quan Felton has amassed 667 receiving yards on 38 catches with eight touchdowns this season. • Felton has led the team in receiving yardage in six contests, including the last five weeks of the regular season. • Felton’s speed downfield has been on display, with receptions going for 62, 54, 39, 34, 70, 42 and 84 yards, respectively.

TUGBOAT TUTEN

• Running back Bhayshul Tuten finished the season as one of the Hokies’ most valuable offensive players. The North Carolina A&T transfer ran for 727 yards and eight touchdowns, adding 25 catches, 220 yards and two more scores in the passing game. • The New Jersey native was also a weapon in the kick return game. Tuten averaged 30.6 yards per return and took two back for touchdowns, one against Florida State and another against Virginia in the regular season finale on his way to second team All-ACC honors as a all-purpose player. • He is one of five FBS players to return two kicks for scores in 2023. • The junior rolled up 1,436 all-purpose yards this season to lead the team.

SCORING STREAK IS ALIVE

• The 55 points against Virginia marked the 369th consecutive game during which Virginia Tech has scored. • The Hokies are in fourth place in both the all-time and active streak lists.

RED ZONE EFFICIENCY

• The Hokies have scored on 39 of 45 trips inside the red zone in 2023 for an 87 percent efficiency rate. • Of those scores, 22 have been touchdowns and 17 have been field goals.

PAGING DR. LOVE

• Redshirt freshman kicker John Love has had a solid season, connecting on 20 of his 22 field goal attempts. • Love nailed a career long kick of 47 yards against Virginia on Nov. 25. • The Spartanburg, South Carolina, native is a perfect 39 for 39 on PATs and leads the team in scoring with 99 points.

DRONES STRIKE

• Redshirt sophomore QB Kyron Drones took over the starting job in week three and rallied the Hokies as he gained his first experience as a starting signal caller. • Drones finished the season with 1,993 passing yards and 15 touchdowns with only three interceptions. • He rushed for 642 yards on 146 rushing attempts and four touchdowns.

OFFENSIVE LINE MAKES STRIDES

• The Hokies’ offensive line took major steps in 2023. The group paved the way for a 252 yard rushing outing and protected for 248 passing yards for 500 yards of total offense on Nov. 25 at Virginia. • The line protected for 600 yards of total offense against Boston College on Nov. 11. • The group protected for 528 yards of total offense (318 rushing, 210 passing) against Syracuse on Oct. 21. • Center Kaden Moore played 791 snaps, including 412 pass blocking snaps, allowing just one sack. • Tackle Parker Clements recorded 764 snaps with 405 pass blocking snaps, allowing three sacks.

HOLLOWAY AMONG TOP PUNT RETURNERS

• Sophomore Tucker Holloway is the top punt returner in the ACC and is ranked eighth in the country with 19 returns for a total of 258 yards. • Holloway averages 13.6 yards per return with a long of 66 yards this season.

TRANSFERS MAKE AN IMPACT

• The transfer portal proved itself this season with several new faces having an impact. • Transfers scored 36 of Tech’s 40 touchdowns this season. • RB Bhayshul Tuten leads the way with eight rushing touchdowns, while Da’Quan Felton is the team leader in receiving scores with eight. • Kyron Drones has recorded 15 touchdown passes.

STRONG IN THE SECONDARY

• Cornerback Dorian Strong put together a solid fourth season in a Hokie uniform. • The junior allowed completions on just nine of the 32 passes (28%) thrown his way for 83 yards. • He intercepted three passes and broke up seven more, tops in the nation among players who had at least 300 defensive snaps with a 10.7 NFL passer rating against. •Strong was named a third team All-ACC selection and a second team All-American by On3.

POSITION CHANGES

• Several Hokies changed positions in 2023. including Jaylen Jones who moved from wide receiver to safety, while Kaden Moore moved to center from right guard, where he started 24 games and played 1,417 snaps.

TULANE GREEN WAVE NOTES:

Tulane’s Bowl History

The Green Wave is 7-8 all time in 15 bowl appearances but has won five of its last seven contests.

Green Wave In National Rankings

The program is now #23 in the Associated Press Top 25 and #24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

23-4

Tulane is 23-4 in its last 27 games over the last two seasons. No Tulane team has ever won 20 or more games over a two-year period of time. The 23 victories since the start of the 2022 season ranks fourth nationally behind Georgia (27), Michigan (26) and Washington (24).

Road Warriors

Tulane has won a school-record 10 consecutive road games and currently has the third-longest road winning streak nationally, trailing only Georgia (15) and Michigan (11).