Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State spent the first two months of the college football season positioning themselves for a shot at the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs.
But the No. 22 Hokies and No. 19 Cowboys used November to prove why they didn't belong, which is why they'll spend their postseason playing each other in the Camping World Bowl on Thursday in Orlando, Fla.
Both teams got to 9-3 in similar ways, starting 7-1 and then losing twice in November. Virginia Tech's losses occurred in consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference games at Miami and Georgia Tech, while Oklahoma State dropped home games to Oklahoma and Kansas State two weeks apart.