Football

1995 Sugar Bowl

  1 2 3 4 F
(13) Virginia Tech (10-2)  0 7 7 14 28
(9) Texas (10-2-1) 7 3 0 0 10
  • New Orleans, La. - 70,283
  • Passing: Jim Druckenmiller 266 yds
  • Rushing: Dwayne Thomas 62 yds
  • Receiving: Bryan Still 119 yds

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Virginia Tech scored one of the most stirring victories in the university's athletic history when it came from behind to defeat Texas, 28-10, in the 1995 Nokia Sugar Bowl.

A crowd of 70,283 at the Superdome saw Tech spot the favored Longhorns a 10-0 lead and then race back behind the sensational play of flanker Bryan Still. The momentum changed dramatically when Still returned a punt 60 yards for a Tech touchdown with 2:34 left in the first half. In the second half, it was more of the same.

Still caught a 27-yard pass from quarterback Jim Druckenmiller at the Texas 2-yard line to set up a touchdown run by Marcus Parker that put the Hokies ahead 14-10. Then, Still got behind the Texas defenders and pulled in a 54-yard touchdown pass from Druckenmiller. That play spelled doom for the Longhorns and helped earn Still the game's MVP award.

Tech's defense blitzed Texas into submission. Led by All-America end Cornell Brown, the Hokies sacked Texas quarterback James Brown five times and came up with three pass interceptions. The defense also accounted for Tech's last touchdown when a Brown sack forced a fumble that was picked up and returned 20 yards for a TD by tackle Jim Baron.

The Tech defense, No. 1 in the nation against the rush, held the Longhorns to 226 total yards. Texas stars Ricky Williams and Shon Mitchell were held to 62 and 57 yards, respectively.

Offensively, Tech finished the game with 371 yards of offense. Druckenmiller led the way, completing 18 of 34 passes for 266 yards. Still and tight end Bryan Jennings were each on the receiving end of six passes totaling 119 and 77 yards, respectively.

The win was the 10th straight for Tech, which earned the appearance with its first BIG EAST Conference championship. The Hokies had tremendous fan support at the game. The Tech Ticket Office sold its complete allotment of 15,000 tickets in just four days and it was estimated that nearly 25,000 Tech fans were on hand for the victory.