Virginia Tech Hokies Football - Va Tech Football

The Virginia Tech Hokies football team; represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They previously competed in the Big East. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium, located in Blacksburg, Virginia with a seating capacity of over 65,000 fans. Lane Stadium is considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country, being voted number one in ESPN's "Top 20 Scariest Places to Play". Also, it was recognized in 2005 by Riv als.com as having the best home-field advantage in the country. It is currently the 31st largest stadium in college football.

The Hokies currently have the longest official bowl game streak in the country, having participated in the postseason every year since 1993. Florida State has a longer current streak, but due to NCAA sanctions, officially, FSU's streak ended in 2006. In 121 seasons, the Hokies have won over 700 games, appeared in 29 bowl games and played in the 2000 BCS National Championship. The program has also claimed ten conference titles (2 South Atlantic, 1 Southern, 3 Big East & 4 ACC ) and produced eight All-Americans.

History

Early years (1892â€"1911)

Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech) first played football on October 21, 1892 against St. Albans Lutheran Boys School (Radford, Virginia). The game took place on a plowed off wheat field that was "about as level as a side of Brush Mountain". The Hokies won their first game 14â€"10, but were defeated 10â€"0 eight days later on a return trip to Radford. The first several VAMC teams wore cadet gray and black, but in 1896 the colors were changed to Burnt Orange and Chicago Maroon â€" a color combination that was unique among educational institutions at the time.

The 1899, 1901, and 1903 teams lost only to rival Virginia. Star player Hunter Carpenter returned to Virginia Tech in 1905, after a year at the University of North Carolina, for a last shot at beating Virginia. Carpenter helped lead VPI to a 9â€"1 record, the best in school's history up to that time. He was never named to the All-America team only because Walter Camp, who named the team at the time, said he would never name a player who he had not seen play.

The 1909 team claim a southern championship. This is the first season the team was referred to in print as the "Gobblers", which became the official nickname in 1912.

SAIAA years (1912â€"1921)

At the end of the 1911 season, VPI joined the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA). They won the conference in 1916 and 1918. After 1921, the SAIAA was dissolved and six of its schools became founding members of the Southern Conference.

SoCon years (1922â€"1963)

From 1925 to 1928, Tech was led by Frank Peake and the "Pony Express" backfield. He was joined by Scotty MacArthur, Herbert "Mac" McEver and Tommy Tomko. In 1927, during a 6 to 0 upset of the Colgate Red Raiders in New York, Peake ran for nearly 200 yards and scored the game's only points. During one three-game stretch, he accumulated rushing and return yardage of 306, 314 and 353 yards. He was credited with gaining 1,761 yards in eight games. 930 were from scrimmage, and 831 on punts and kickoffs. In 1928 the game against Virginia he came off the sideline with an injured hip to return a punt for a touchdown.

In 1932, Tech upset Georgia 7â€"6. Bill Grinus blocked the tying extra point.

Virginia Tech's first post-season bowl appearance was in the 1947 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas against the University of Cincinnati. Tech had a 3â€"3â€"3 record that year, and was the third choice after Border Conference champions Hardinâ€"Simmons University and runner-up Texas Tech Red Raiders both declined the bowl invitation. Tech lost that game 18â€"6.

Another first for the Gobblers came in 1954 when they had their first, and only, unbeaten season in school history. The team was 8â€"0â€"1 and finished ranked 16th in the Associated Press post-season football poll. The team's lone blemish was a 7â€"7 tie against William & Mary in Blacksburg, Virginia. Despite the team's success, it did not appear in a post-season bowl game. The 1963 team captured Tech's only outright SoCon championship.

Independent years (1964â€"1990)

In the 1970s, Tech briefly adopted an aggressive passing offense under head coach Charlie Coffey; quarterback Don Strock set virtually every passing record in the Hokies' book and would hold many for thirty years or more. Success, though, remained elusive. In the early 1980s, football coach and athletic director Bill Dooley spearheaded a campaign for a new look and name for the mascot, which debuted at the 1981 football game against Wake Forest. The turkey-like figure was referred to as "the Hokie mascot", "the Hokie", and "the Hokie bird" (derived from the "Old Hokie" cheer), which resulted in changing the official designation of the Virginia Tech mascot to the Hokies.

Dooley led the Hokies to the program's first-ever bowl win, in the 1986 Peach Bowl over NC State, but he also earned the program NCAA sanctions that led to his resignation that very offseason (after which he promptly sued the school). Though many hoped for recently departed Maryland coach Bobby Ross, athletic director Dutch Baughman turned to Hokie alumnus and defensive back from 1966 to 1968, Frank Beamer. Beamer had worked his way up the assistant coaching ladder since his 1969 graduation before spending six seasons in the head job at Murray State. Among the assistants Beamer brought with him from the Racers was linebackers coach Bud Foster, who had joined Beamer's first Murray State staff as a graduate assistant immediately upon his own graduation there.

Big East years (1991â€"2003)

Virginia Tech joined the Big East Conference for football play in 1991 (later joined for all sports in 2000).

The 13th ranked Hokies defeated the 9th ranked Texas Longhorns in the 1995 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Virginia Tech's most successful football season was in 1999. The Hokies, led by redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Vick went 11â€"0 through the regular season. On November 3, the Hokies came from behind to win over the West Virginia Mountaineers when Vick led a desperate last minute drive that culminated in a dramatic Shayne Graham game winning field goal. The 22â€"20 victory has since become known as the "Miracle in Morgantown."

On January 4, 2000, the Hokies faced the Florida State Seminoles in the 2000 Sugar Bowl for the national championship. A back and forth game, the Hokies trailed 28â€"7 late in the second quarter but came back to take a 29â€"28 lead at the start of the fourth. However, they were not able to hold on and the Seminoles won 46â€"29.

The following season, in 2000, the Hokies were again contenders for the national championship, but a loss to #3 Miami in early November, in a game in which Michael Vick was limited because of an injury, cost them a trip to the Orange Bowl. The Hokies later went on to defeat the Clemson Tigers 41â€"20 in the 2001 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.

Early ACC Years

At the start of the 2004 season, the Hokies faced the #1 and eventual national champion USC Trojans in the BCA Classic played at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. The Hokies kept the game close, but eventually lost 24â€"13. The regular season ended with the Hokies winning the ACC championship in their first year in the conference and a return to the Sugar Bowl and a match-up with the Auburn Tigers. Auburn, the SEC champion and one of three undefeated teams (USC and Oklahoma being the other two), took a 16â€"0 lead into the fourth quarter. Led by senior quarterback Bryan Randall, the Hokies scored 13 points but fell just short of the comeback when the Tigers recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.

The 2005 season saw many ups and downs, but would end in disappointment. Taking over for Bryan Randall was Marcus Vick, younger brother of Hokies great Michael Vick. The Hokies started off the season 8â€"0, including victories over West Virginia and ACC rivals Georgia Tech and Boston College. Going into the tenth week of the season, the Hokies were ranked 3rd in the country behind USC and Texas and would face the 5th ranked Miami Hurricanes at home. In anticipation of the match-up, ESPN's College Gameday would broadcast the game nationally from Blacksburg on ESPN. The Hurricanes controlled the game and limited Marcus Vick to only 90 yards passing to win 27â€"7.

Marcus Vick led the Hokies and went on to win the ACC Coastal Division title, but lost in the ACC Championship Game to Florida State. The Hokies again trailed the Seminoles by double digits at halftime, 27â€"3, but a Vick led comeback brought the score to 27â€"22 with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter. The Hokies were unable to recover the onside kick and lost their chance at a BCS Bowl berth.

The Hokies closed the season against the upstart Louisville Cardinals in the 2006 Gator Bowl. Virginia Tech won 35â€"24, but the game would become infamous for a play that would contribute to Vick's expulsion from the team. Late in the first half, with the Hokies trailing 17â€"10, Vick was tackled by Cardinals defensive end Elvis Dumervil. After the play, Vick stomped on Dumervil's leg, apparently out of anger. Four days after the game, Virginia Tech officials learned of two misdemeanor charges of speeding and driving on a suspended or revoked driver's license that Vick received on December 17, 2005. Vick, who was forced to sit out the 2004 football season by the university due to previous legal incidents in his college career, was dismissed from the team on January 6, 2006, with the university citing "a cumulative effect of legal infractions and unsportsmanlike play.".

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Sean Glennon was set to take over for Vick in the 2006 season. Although consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College knocked the Hokies out of contention for the ACC Championship Game, the Tech team finished the season strong, winning six in a row and being invited to the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. In the annual ACC vs SEC match-up, the Hokies played the Georgia Bulldogs. At halftime the Hokies led 21â€"3, but four second half Glennon turnovers helped the Bulldogs in coming back and winning 31â€"24.

After the April 2007 Virginia Tech shootings that stunned the campus and nation, the remainder of Tech's spring practice was canceled. The Hokies, led by running back Brandon Ore on offense and linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi looked to be in contention for a berth in the National Championship. The 2007 home opener against the East Carolina Pirates was the subject of College GameDay, and the Hokies prevailed in an emotional, albeit shaky, game 17â€"7. They then traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to play the LSU Tigers. In a game that saw Glennon replaced by true freshman quarterback Tyrod Taylor, the Hokies were completely dominated, only managing 149 total yards against the Tigers' 598. Taylor scored the only touchdown of the night after an 8-play, 65-yard drive.

Taylor continued to start until an injury removed him from a 43â€"14 blowout of Duke. In a Thursday night match-up with Boston College, Glennon reclaimed his starting position. In a game plagued by rain storms and wet conditions, the Hokies took a 10â€"0 lead late into the fourth quarter. However, Eagles quarterback Matt Ryan spurred a late Boston College comeback, leading two TD drives in the final five minutes for a 14â€"10 win. Despite the devastating loss, Virginia Tech rebounded to win the remainder of its regular season games and claim the Coastal Division crown. A rematch with Boston College in the ACC Championship Game saw Tech fall behind early, tie the game by halftime, and then grind out a tense 30â€"16 win to advance to the Orange Bowl in Miami.

After twenty-nine seasons as head coach of Virginia Tech, legendary coach Frank Beamer retired following the conclusion of the 2015 season. He coached the Hokies to 23 consecutive postseason games, a national championship appearance and seven conference championship titles. Beamer now serves on the staff of the Virginia Tech athletic director.

Justin Fuente era

On November 27, 2015, former Memphis Head Coach Justin Fuente was named the new head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies. Justin took over the team from the retiring, legendary coach Frank Beamer, following the 2015 Independence Bowl game. The Hokies finished Fuente's first year in 2016 with a regular season record of 9-3, winning its sixth Coastal Division title. The Hokies played Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. Clemson won the game, 42-35.

Hokies defense

Beamerball

During Beamer's tenure at Virginia Tech, putting points on the scoreboard has become a full team effort with the offensive, defensive and special teams units. Often when the team scores one or more non-offensive touchdowns, the style of play is described as "Beamerball". Since Beamer's first season in 1987, a player at every position on the defensive unit has scored at least one touchdown, and 35 different players have scored touchdowns on Virginia Tech's special teams.

Lunch pail defense

Sometime before the 1995 season, defensive coordinator Bud Foster wanted to give his defense something to rally around, an identity. A battered metal lunch pail was chosen as a symbol of a no-name, blue-collar defense. Each week a list of goals in put in the lunch pail and a player is chosen to have the honor of carrying the lunch pail onto the sidelines. The Lunch Pail Defense Foundation was founded to fund academic scholarships for students from the area near Blacksburg, Virginia.

Current coaching staff

Championships

Conference championships

Conference Affiliations

• 1892â€"97: Independent
• 1898: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• 1899â€"1911: Independent
• 1912â€"21: South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• 1922â€"64: Southern Conference
• 1965â€"90: Independent
• 1991â€"2003: Big East
• 2004â€"present: ACC

The 1905 team, though independent, went 9â€"1 and lost its only game to northern Navy. It won all its southern games and scored a victory over Army and therefore claims a Southern championship.

Divisional championships

Virginia Tech won the ACC Championship in its inaugural season in the league in 2004. In 2005, the ACC Conference created two divisions, the Atlantic and Coastal, and a championship game between the divisions was established. Virginia Tech has appeared in the ACC Championship Game as the winner of the Coastal Division six times. Virginia Tech won the Coastal division in 2005 and played Florida State in the ACC Championship. Florida State won, 27-22. During the 2007 season, the Hokies once again took the Coastal division to set up a rematch of their earlier loss to Boston College. Virginia Tech prevailed 30â€"16. History repeated itself in 2008, when the Hokies defeated Boston College by a score of 30â€"12 after having lost to the Eagles during the regular season. In 2010 Virginia Tech went undefeated in league play, defeating Atlantic Division winner Florida State in the league championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina, 44â€"33. In 2011 Virginia Tech lost to Cle mson for a 2nd time that season, their only two season losses.

Bowl games

Virginia Tech has played in 29 bowl games. The Hokies have appeared in several Gator, Peach, Sugar, and Orange Bowls. Their overall record in bowl games is 12â€"17.

Rivalry trophy games

• Black Diamond Trophy â€" West Virginia Mountaineers
• Commonwealth Cup â€" Virginia Cavaliers

Individual award winners

Players

Sammy Baugh Trophy (quarterback)

• Don Strock â€" 1972

Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defense)

• Corey Moore â€" 1999

Dave Rimington Trophy (center)

• Jake Grove â€" 2003

Lombardi Award (lineman or linebacker)

• Corey Moore â€" 1999

Outland Trophy (interior lineman)

• Bruce Smith â€" 1984

Coaches

Paul "Bear" Bryant Award

• Frank Beamer â€" 1999

George Munger Award

• Frank Beamer â€" 1999

Joseph V. Paterno Award

• Frank Beamer â€" 2010

Broyles Award (assistant coaches)

• Bud Foster â€" 2006

Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award

• Frank Beamer 1999

First overall selections in the NFL Draft

• 1985 â€" Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills
• 2001 â€" Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcons

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of January 13, 2015

Further reading

References

External links

• Official website