2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

Last updated

2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Virginia Tech Hokies logo.svg
2016 Lane Stadium Panoramic.jpg
Lane Stadium in the 2016 opener
ACC Coastal Division champion
Belk Bowl champion
Belk Bowl, W 35–24 vs. Arkansas
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 16
Record10–4 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen (1st season)
Offensive scheme Spread
Defensive coordinator Bud Foster (22nd season)
Base defense 4–4
Home stadium Lane Stadium
Uniform
Virginia tech football unif.png
Seasons
  2015
2017  
2016 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson xy$#  7 1   14 1  
No. 21 Louisville x  7 1   9 4  
No. 8 Florida State  5 3   10 3  
NC State  3 5   7 6  
Wake Forest  3 5   7 6  
Boston College  2 6   7 6  
Syracuse  2 6   4 8  
Coastal Division
No. 16 Virginia Tech xy  6 2   10 4  
North Carolina  5 3   8 5  
No. 20 Miami (FL)  5 3   9 4  
Pittsburgh  5 3   8 5  
Georgia Tech  4 4   9 4  
Duke  1 7   4 8  
Virginia  1 7   2 10  
Championship: Clemson 42, Virginia Tech 35
  • # College Football Playoff champion
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Tech in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hokies were led by first-year head coach, Justin Fuente and played their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. They competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference in its Coastal Division.

Contents

The Hokies finished the 2016 season with a regular season record of 9–3, winning its sixth ACC Coastal Division title. The Hokies played Clemson in the ACC Championship Game; Clemson won the game, 42–35.

Virginia Tech played Arkansas in the Belk Bowl on December 29, 2016. Arkansas took a 24–0 lead into halftime. However, in the second half, several Arkansas turnovers along with defensive adjustments, allowed Virginia Tech to score 35 unanswered points and win, 35–24. The comeback was the greatest in the team's 124-year history.

The Hokies finished the season with a record of 10–4, and ranked #16 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 312:30 p.m. Liberty * ACCN W 36–1362,234
September 108:00 p.m.vs. No. 17 Tennessee * ABC L 24–45 156,990
September 173:30 p.m. Boston College
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ESPNU W 49–060,054
September 2412:30 p.m. East Carolina *Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA
ACCNW 54–1763,712
October 83:30 p.m.at No. 17 North Carolina No. 25 ABC/ESPN2 W 34–333,000
October 153:45 p.m.at Syracuse No. 17ESPNUL 17–3133,838
October 207:00 p.m. Miami (FL)
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ESPN W 37–1663,507
October 277:00 p.m.at Pittsburgh No. 25ESPNW 39–3640,254
November 53:30 p.m.at Duke No. 19ESPNUW 24–2138,217
November 123:30 p.m. Georgia Tech No. 14
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ESPNUL 20–3065,632
November 193:30 p.m.at Notre Dame * NBC W 34–3180,795
November 2612:00 p.m. Virginia
ESPN2 W 52–1063,120
December 38:00 p.m.vs. No. 3 Clemson No. 23ABCL 35–4250,628
December 295:30 p.m.vs. Arkansas *No. 22ESPNW 35–2446,902
Schedule Source: [1]

‡ – Current NCAA record for largest attendance for a collegiate football game.

Game summaries

Liberty

1234Total
Flames670013
Hokies7179336

Vs. Tennessee

1234Total
Hokies1403724
#17 Volunteers02471445

Boston College

1234Total
Eagles00000
Hokies14721749

East Carolina

1234Total
Pirates0014317
Hokies14249754

North Carolina

1234Total
#25 Hokies6714734
#17 Tar Heels03003

At Syracuse

1234Total
#17 Hokies306817
Orange71001431

Miami (FL)

1234Total
Hurricanes367016
Hokies31314737

At Pittsburgh

1234Total
#25 Hokies610131039
Panthers01471536

At Duke

1234Total
#23 Hokies7140324
Blue Devils707721

Georgia Tech

1234Total
Yellow Jackets61401030
#18 Hokies0071320

At Notre Dame

1234Total
Hokies01471334
Fighting Irish10147031

Virginia

1234Total
Cavaliers003710
Hokies72124052

Vs. Clemson–ACC Championship Game

1234Total
#19 Hokies7771435
#3 Tigers14714742

Vs. Arkansas–Belk Bowl

1234Total
Razorbacks1770024
#18 Hokies00211435

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP RVRV2517RV252318RVRV191816
Coaches RVRV19RV252122RVRV181916
CFP Not released19142322Not released

Personnel

Coaching staff

NamePositionSeasons at
Virginia Tech
Alma Mater
Justin Fuente Head coach 0 Murray State (1999)
Bud Foster Associate head coach/Defensive coordinator/Inside Linebackers 29 Murray State (1981)
Galen Scott Assistant head coach/Safeties 0 Illinois State (2001)
Zohn Burden Running backs 1 VMI (2006)
Brad Cornelsen Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks 0 Missouri Southern State (2000)
Brian Mitchell Cornerbacks 0 BYU (1995)
James Shibest Special teams coordinator/Tight ends 0 Arkansas (1987)
Vance Vice Offensive line 0 Oklahoma State (1990)
Holmon Wiggins Wide receivers 0 New Mexico (2003)
Charley Wiles Defensive line 20 Murray State (1987)
Reference: [2]

Honorary #25 Beamer Jersey

At the start of the 2016 season, Head Coach Justin Fuente began a tradition of selecting an outstanding special teams player to wear the #25 jersey in honor of former head coach, Frank Beamer, who wore #25 as a player for Virginia Tech.

The players honored in the 2016 season are:

GameOpponentPlayer
Game 1LibertySteven Peoples
Game 2TennesseeSean Huelskamp
Game 3Boston College Tim Settle
Game 4East Carolina Greg Stroman
Game 5North Carolina Cam Phillips
Game 6Syracuse Joey Slye
Game 7MiamiAnthony Shegog
Game 8Pittsburgh Divine Deablo
Game 9Duke Chuck Clark
Game 10Georgia Tech Adonis Alexander
Game 11Notre DameCJ Carroll
Game 12Virginia Sam Rogers
Game 13ClemsonWoody Baron
Belk BowlArkansas Terrell Edmunds

References

  1. "2016 Virginia Tech Hokies Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  2. "Football Staff". Virginia Tech Athletics. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.

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