During the 2003 college football season , Virginia Tech accumulated an 8 – 4 regular-season record that included four losses in the Hokies ' final six regular-season games . As the third-place team in the Big East Conference , Tech accepted a bid to the 2003 Insight Bowl . Facing the Hokies were the California Golden Bears , who went 7 – 6 during the regular season , tying for third place in the Pacific-10 ( Pac-10 )
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2003 Insight Bowl