5. Virginia Tech Hokies – 1998
Lost to Temple Owls 28-24
9-3 (5-2 Big East); No. 23 AP; No. 19 Coaches; W Music City Bowl
Yes, the year Tennessee football won the national championship, there was another team who finished in the top 25 and suffered what is clearly one of the biggest upsets in college football history from a gambling perspective.
Frank Beamer’s Virginia Tech Hokies started the year unranked and made it to 5-0, winning three road games against the Clemson Tigers, Miami Hurricanes and Boston College Eagles. Then the Temple Owls came town. Now, yes, Temple was also in the Big East, which was technically a BCS conference.
But they had not won more than three games a season in a decade, and they had not had a winning record since 1986. Meanwhile, they entered this game 0-6. So VT was a 35.5 favorite at home. Then the Owls fell behind 17-0.
However, Temple mounted a comeback. They scored 28 of the game’s finale 35 points to pull off a shocker and win 28-24. For the season, they would go 2-9 with this being one of their only wins. But the Hokies would rebound.
VT was a play away from winning the Big East, losing it to Syracuse, whom UT ironically beat to open the season that year. But overall, they would go 9-3, finishing off the season with a 38-7 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Music City Bowl. Over the next two seasons, they would go 22-2 with back to back top six finishes and play for the national title in 1999.