2007 ACC Championship Game

2007 Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game
Conference Championship
1234 Total
Virginia Tech 016014 30
Boston College 7900 16
DateDecember 1, 2007
Season2007
StadiumJacksonville Municipal Stadium
LocationJacksonville, Florida
MVPQB Sean Glennon, Virginia Tech
FavoriteVirginia Tech by 5
RefereeJack Childress
Halftime showDr Pepper "Million Dollar Throw"
Attendance53,212[1]
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersBrad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire and Bonnie Bernstein
Nielsen ratings4.1
ACC Championship Game
 < 2006  2008
2007 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 10 Boston College x   6 2     11 3  
No. 21 Clemson   5 3     9 4  
Wake Forest   5 3     9 4  
Florida State   4 4     7 6  
Maryland   3 5     6 7  
NC State   3 5     5 7  
Coastal Division
No. 9 Virginia Tech x$   7 1     11 3  
Virginia   6 2     9 4  
Georgia Tech   4 4     7 6  
North Carolina   3 5     4 8  
Miami (FL)   2 6     5 7  
Duke   0 8     1 11  
Championship: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 16
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game featured the Boston College Eagles and the Virginia Tech Hokies in a regular-season college football game that determined the conference's champion for the 2007 season. Virginia Tech defeated Boston College 30–16 to win the ACC football championship. The game, held at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, was a rematch of a regular-season game that took place on October 25, in Blacksburg, Virginia. In that game, Boston College, courtesy of a late-game comeback by quarterback Matt Ryan, won 14–10.

Following the loss, Virginia Tech won five straight games to win the Coastal Division of the ACC, while Boston College stumbled, losing two games before defeating the Clemson Tigers to win the Atlantic Division and representation in the Championship Game. Most pre-game media coverage of the event cast the game as an opportunity for Virginia Tech to avenge its earlier loss. In addition, the winner of the game would be awarded an automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series 2008 Orange Bowl game in Miami, Florida on January 3, 2008. Despite Boston College's earlier win over Virginia Tech, spread bettors favored Virginia Tech by five points.

In the opening quarter of the game, the Eagles took a 7–0 lead on a 51-yard fumble return for a touchdown. The Eagles' offense dominated the first half of the game statistically, but failed to add to its early lead until the second quarter, when a field goal made it 10–0. Virginia Tech answered with a touchdown of their own, but Boston College responded with a seven-play, 74-yard touchdown drive of its own. Then came perhaps the most pivotal play of the game. During the extra point kick following the Boston College touchdown, Virginia Tech's Duane Brown blocked the kick, which was caught by the Hokies' cornerback Brandon Flowers, who returned it 75 yards for a defensive two-point conversion.

The play changed the momentum of the game. Virginia Tech added a tying touchdown before halftime, and after a scoreless third quarter, two Matt Ryan interceptions resulted in 14 points for Virginia Tech and a 30–16 Virginia Tech win. With the victory, the Hokies earned their second Atlantic Coast Conference football championship in four years and their first Orange Bowl bid since 1996.

  1. ^ Official number of tickets sold. Estimates of actual attendance are far lower.