BLACKSBURG, VA – NOVEMBER 9: Running back Deshawn McClease #33 of the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrates his touchdown. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images)
BLACKSBURG (HokiesSports.com) – Head coach Justin Fuente has guided the Hokies to a 27th consecutive bowl appearance as Virginia Tech (8-4) will face Kentucky (7-5) in the Belk Bowl at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The contest will mark the first meeting between the two schools since 1987.
This year’s game will be Tech’s second trek to the Belk Bowl under Fuente. The Hokies completed the largest second-half comeback in school history in the 2016 Belk Bowl. Trailing 24-0 to Arkansas at halftime of that contest, Tech rattled off 35 unanswered points for a 35-24 victory over the Razorbacks.
Tech’s current bowl streak of 27 consecutive seasons is the nation’s longest active streak and is the third-longest streak in college football history behind Nebraska’s 35-year streak (1969-2002) and Michigan’s 33-year stretch of consecutive bowls (1975-2006). Tech’s current bowl streak began with a 45-20 win over Indiana in the 1993 Independence Bowl under head coach Frank Beamer.
