2005 Sugar Bowl - Postgame Effects

Postgame Effects

With the win, Auburn finished the season undefeated, with 13 wins and zero losses. Virginia Tech's loss gave it a final record of 10–3.

The victory gave Auburn fans hope that if Oklahoma won the 2005 BCS National Championship Game, a split national championship would result. By contract, the winner of the BCS National Championship Game is voted number one in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. In contrast, the Associated Press poll has no such restriction. Auburn's thin margin of victory over Tech put the prospect of split national title in doubt, though not out of reach. USC's blowout 55–19 victory over Oklahoma, however, made it likely that USC would be the overwhelming choice for first place. When the final college football polls of the season were released, USC was voted number one by a large margin, though three voters in the Associated Press poll voted Auburn first. More than three years after the game, ESPN sportswriter Ted Miller rated the game second on his list of victims of the BCS system, just behind USC being left out of the championship game in 2003.

The Tigers lost 18 players due to graduation, and several juniors elected to enter the 2005 NFL Draft as well. During the first round of the draft, Auburn had four players selected: Ronnie Brown, with the second overall pick, Carnell Williams (fifth), Carlos Rogers (ninth), and Jason Campbell (25th). Virginia Tech had three players selected in the 2005 draft: Eric Green (75th), Vincent Fuller (108th), and Jon Dunn (217th). Virginia Tech's appearance in the Sugar Bowl helped its recruiting efforts in the state of Virginia, with eight of the state's top recruits (ranked by the Roanoke Times newspaper), pledging to attend Tech.

The visiting fans of Auburn and Virginia Tech injected tens of millions of dollars into the New Orleans economy, despite high food, travel, and lodging costs that forced some fans to cut discretionary spending during their trips.