All season, people have been trying to get Frank Beamer to take the bait.

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After each win, as the Hokies climbed in the polls, the questions of whether Tech belonged in the national championship game mounted. Beamer always said he was convinced that in the end, the two best teams would be there.

He was right.

The matter essentially was decided on Nov. 26 during games being played at the same time. The Hokies whipped ranked Boston College, 38-14, while Nebraska just barely slipped by unranked Colorado, 33-30, in overtime, a combination of games that extended Virginia Tech's lead over the No. 3 Cornhuskers in the BCS standings.

That lead was big enough to hold off Nebraska, which didn't gain enough juice from its Big 12 championship victory over Texas to pass the Hokies.

And so Virginia Tech will be playing for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl against Florida State.

"With all the hard work by our coaches and all the hard work by our players I would be devastated if we did not make it,'' Beamer said.

"It's great not only for this university, but for the state of Virginia. We're going to try to put on a great show."

The Hokies, who completed the school's first-ever 11-0 season, face a daunting task in the Seminoles. It's not that the Hokies can't physically match up with FSU. Both teams are terrific against the run. Both have great special teams. And if Tech might have a slight edge with running backs Shyrone Stith and Andre Kendrick, FSU has better receivers.

The difference in this game could be strictly psychological. Tech has never played in a game of this magnitude. For FSU, it's become a yearly occurrence.

Beamer now will have to handle a whole new set of questions. How many media interviews does he grant? How early does he take his team to New Orleans? How does he make sure his players don't get so caught up with the event they forget to play the game?

The answers to those questions could be more difficult than fending off the questions he faced in the last third of the season.

"I think we have a lot of maturity on this football team. The thing this team has done a good job of each week is taking care of the business at hand. … I know they are going to do the same for this game."

The Personnel File

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Michael Vick, Fr., QB. Virginia Tech had the suffocating defense, the scary-good special teams … what it needed was a difference-maker on offense. Enter redshirt freshman Michael Vick, who has been off-the-chart brilliant in his rookie season. "He's the difference-maker," BC coach Tom O'Brien said after Vick shredded his team for 366 total yards. "He's playing at a level that Charlie Ward and Donovan McNabb did in their third and fourth years."

Vick has all the tools as a passer -- his 180.4 passing efficiency rating leads the country -- but is even more dynamic as a make-something-out-of-nothing scrambler. And he rarely seemed rattled, although Florida State is sure to test his mettle.

The stats: Vick completed 90 of 153 passes for 1,840 yards, with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 580 yards and eight scores. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting, the best performance by a freshman since Georgia's Herschel Walker in 1980.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Corey Moore, Sr., DE. Moore is the spokesman of the Virginia Tech defense, which allowed only 10.5 points per game. A vocal leader on and off the field, the small-but-lightning-fast Moore is a pass rusher extraordinaire from his end position, registering 17 sacks -- 6½ more than any other player in the Big East. He is the Big East's defensive player of the year and everybody's All-American.

More Moore: He won the Nagurski Award as the nation's top defender, and also won the Lombardi, given to the best lineman/linebacker in the land.

COACH UPDATE: Frank Beamer (88-59-2 in 13 years at Virginia Tech, 130-82-4 in 19 years as a head coach, including six years at Murray State). Beamer's success at Virginia Tech over the years made him a frequent target of other schools -- such as Clemson and South Carolina last year -- but the Hokies administration improved his contract and hope to keep Beamer in Blacksburg for a long, long time. Beamer Ball isn't a one-year wonder. Virginia Tech is making its seventh consecutive bowl appearance.

STRENGTHS: The Hokies don't let you breathe, able to apply defensive heat from an athletic front and can match up in man coverage (although it will be interesting to see how they handle Peter Warrick). Balance is the word on offense. Even with Vick, Virginia Tech's identity is as a run-first team, and the Hokies do that well behind Shyrone Stith and Andre Kendrick. With those running backs, WR Andre Davis (27.5 yards per catch) on the outside and the thrilling Vick running the show, Virginia Tech is always a big play waiting to happen.

CONCERNS: Sure, Virginia Tech has played big games through the years, but this is the big game … and how the Hokies handle all the bells and whistles of the national championship game might be cause for some concern. The Hokies silenced most of their skeptics by easily handling traditional powers such as Syracuse and Miami, but this will their biggest test -- by far. Can Virginia Tech make the step up?

Noteworthy

GETTING HIS KICKS: The folks who select the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation's best kicker, find it more difficult each week to explain how Virginia Tech kicker Shayne Graham was left off the ballot as a finalist. Graham set a single-season Big East scoring record with 107 points. He also set a conference career scoring record with 372 points.

CATCHES AND SACKS: Sophomore wide receiver Andre Davis set a Virginia Tech receiving record with 962 yards. It's also the third highest total in Big East history. Defensive end Corey Moore had two sacks against Boston College, giving him 17 for the season, a new conference record.

UNBEATEN, AGAIN: Although this is the first time Virginia Tech has gone 11-0, it's not the school's first undefeated season. Tech went 8-0-1 in 1954 and 7-0 in 1918. The Hokies have won three Big East Conference titles in the past five years. The Hokies were 4-0 against Top 25 teams, winning those four games by a combined score of 174-31.

THE BEST FOR LAST: Tech saved some of its most impressive performances for Boston College. The Hokies racked up a season-high 555 total yards. Quarterback Michael Vick completed 11 of 13 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Andre Davis had 172 yards on five catches, the third highest single-game total in Tech history.