1997 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

1997 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Gator Bowl, L 3–42 vs. North Carolina
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	7–5 (5–2 Big East)
Head coach	Frank Beamer (11th season)
Offensive coordinator	Rickey Bustle (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Bud Foster (3rd season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Seasons ←  1996 1998  →

1997 Big East Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 21 Syracuse $		6	–	1					9	–	4
No. 23 Virginia Tech		5	–	2					7	–	5
Pittsburgh		4	–	3					6	–	6
West Virginia		4	–	3					7	–	5
Miami (FL)		3	–	4					5	–	6
Temple		3	–	4					3	–	8
Boston College		3	–	4					4	–	7
Rutgers		0	–	7					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	12:30 p.m.	at Rutgers		Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ESPN	W 59–19	26,713	[1]
September 13	6:00 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 22	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	W 31–3	50,137	[2]
September 20	6:00 p.m.	at Temple	No. 18	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 23–13	12,056	[3]
September 27	1:00 p.m.	Arkansas State *	No. 14	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 50–0	42,178	[4]
October 4	1:00 p.m.	Miami (OH) *	No. 14	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		L 17–24	42,878	[5]
October 11	12:00 p.m.	Boston College	No. 23	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPN Plus	W 17–7	47,681	[6]
October 25	3:30 p.m.	at No. 21 West Virginia	No. 19	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	CBS	L 17–30	63,649	[7]
November 1	1:00 p.m.	UAB *	No. 23	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 37–0	37,411	[8]
November 8	6:00 p.m.	Miami (FL)	No. 20	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 27–25	53,117	[9]
November 22	3:30 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	No. 19	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		L 23–30	30,144	[10]
November 29	5:30 p.m.	at Virginia *		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 20–34	44,200	[11]
January 1, 1998	12:30 p.m.	vs. No. 7 North Carolina *		Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	NBC	L 3–42	54,116	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	22	18	14	14	23	22	19	23	20	19	19	—	—	—	—
Coaches Poll	25		22	19	14	12	12	21	19	17	22	18	17	15	21	—	—	—

Roster

1997 Virginia Tech Hokies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 64 Gennaro DiNapoli Sr OT 76 Dave Kadela Fr G 69 Matt Lehr Fr RB 28 Ken Oxendine Sr QB 14 Nick Sorensen Fr RB 38 Shyrone Stith So G 75 Todd Washington Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 66 Chad Beasley Fr DB 16 Cory Bird Fr FS 1 Keion Carpenter Jr CB 3 Ike Charlton So DE 96 John Engelberger So LB 43 Michael Hawkes So CB 9 Anthony Midget So DE 56 Corey Moore So CB 20 Pierson Prioleau Jr DT 71 David Pugh Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 17 Shayne Graham So	Head coach Frank Beamer Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Coaching Staff

• Bud Foster - Defensive coordinator
• Rickey Bustle - Offensive coordinator
• J. C. Price - strength and conditioning
• Brent Pry - Graduate assistant

References

1. "Rutgers crushed by Virginia Tech in home opener, 59–19". The Courier-News. August 31, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Hokies beat Orange to a pulp". The Roanoke Times. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Hokies survive scare, down Temple, 23–13". Danville Register and Bee. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Va. Tech in tune with 50–0 win". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Miami shocks Virginia Tech, 24–17". Dayton Daily News. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Va. Tech handles Boston College". Daily Press. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Mountaineers humble Hokies 30–17". Martinsville Bulletin. October 26, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Hokies rip UAB, 37–0". The Daily News Leader. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "No. 20 Virginia Tech escapes Hurricanes 27–25". Press Journal. November 9, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Panthers stun Virginia Tech". The Daily News Leader. November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Cavaliers stoke bowl hopes". The News and Observer. November 30, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "North Carolina makes statement in rout". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.