2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Military Bowl, L 31–35 vs. Cincinnati
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Record	6–7 (4–4 ACC)
Head coach	Justin Fuente (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Brad Cornelsen (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Bud Foster (24th season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Uniform
Seasons

2018 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson x$#^		8	–	0					15	–	0
No. 15 Syracuse		6	–	2					10	–	3
NC State		5	–	3					9	–	4
Boston College		4	–	4					7	–	5
Wake Forest		3	–	5					7	–	6
Florida State		3	–	5					5	–	7
Louisville		0	–	8					2	–	10
Coastal Division
Pittsburgh x		6	–	2					7	–	7
Georgia Tech		5	–	3					7	–	6
Miami (FL)		4	–	4					7	–	6
Virginia		4	–	4					8	–	5
Virginia Tech		4	–	4					6	–	7
Duke		3	–	5					8	–	5
North Carolina		1	–	7					2	–	9
Championship: Clemson 42, Pittsburgh 10
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Tech during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hokies were led by third-year head coach Justin Fuente and played their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia as members of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Virginia Tech finished the season with a losing record, the first season since the 1991 and 1992 football seasons when Virginia Tech experienced two such seasons back to back.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Award	Player	Position	Year
Rimington Trophy[1]	Kyle Chung	C	SR
Chuck Bednarik Award[2]	Ricky Walker	DT	SR
Maxwell Award[3]	Josh Jackson	QB	SO
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[4]	Ricky Walker	DT	SR
Outland Trophy[5]	Ricky Walker	DT	SR
Ray Guy Award[6]	Oscar Bradburn	P	SO
Wuerffel Trophy[7]	Ricky Walker	DT	SR
Manning Award[8]	Josh Jackson	QB	SO

ACC media poll

The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018.

Media poll (Coastal)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Miami	998 (122)
2	Virginia Tech	838 (16)
3	Georgia Tech	654 (8)
4	Duke	607 (1)
5	Pittsburgh	420
6	North Carolina	370 (1)
7	Virginia	257

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	8:00 p.m.	at No. 19 Florida State	No. 20	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN	W 24–3	75,237	[9]
September 8	2:00 p.m.	William & Mary*	No. 12	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN Extra	W 62–17	65,632	[10]
September 22	3:30 p.m.	at Old Dominion*	No. 13	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	CBSSN	L 35–49	20,532	[11]
September 29	7:00 p.m.	at No. 22 Duke		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN2	W 31–14	32,177	[12]
October 6	8:00 p.m.	No. 6 Notre Dame*	No. 24	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ABC	L 23–45	65,632	[13]
October 13	7:00 p.m.	at North Carolina		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ESPNU	W 22–19	50,500	[14]
October 25	7:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 28–49	65,632	[15]
November 3	3:45 p.m.	No. 24 Boston College		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ACCN	L 21–31	65,632	[16]
November 10	3:30 p.m.	at Pittsburgh		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPNU	L 22–52	44,398	[17]
November 17	3:30 p.m.	Miami (FL)		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 14–38	62,379	[18]
November 23	3:30 p.m.	Virginia		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ABC	W 34–31 ^OT	60,776	[19]
December 1[a]	12:00 p.m.	Marshall*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN Extra	W 41–20	31,336	[22]
December 31	12:00 p.m.	vs. Cincinnati*		Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Military Bowl)	ESPN	L 31–35	32,832
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

1. The game between Virginia Tech and East Carolina, originally scheduled for September 15, 2018, was canceled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.^[20] Seeking bowl eligibility, Tech scheduled Marshall, who also had a game canceled due to Hurricane Florence, which was contingent upon the Hokies defeating rival Virginia, which they did.^[21]

Coaching staff

Name	Title	Joined Staff
Justin Fuente	Head coach	2016
Bud Foster	Associate head coach, Defensive coordinator, & Linebackers	1987
Adam Lechtenberg	Assistant head coach, executive director of player development	2018
Zohn Burden	Running backs	2015
Brad Cornelsen	Offensive coordinator, Quarterbacks	2016
Brian Mitchell	Cornerbacks	2016
James Shibest	Special teams coordinator, Tight Ends	2016
Tyrone Nix	Safeties	2018
Vance Vice	Offensive line	2016
Holmon Wiggins	Wide receivers	2016
Charley Wiles	Defensive line	1996

Game summaries

At Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Hokies	10	7	0	7	24
No. 19 Seminoles	0	3	0	0	3

William & Mary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tribe	0	7	7	3	17
No. 12 Hokies	17	21	17	7	62

At Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Hokies	7	7	14	7	35
Monarchs	7	7	7	28	49

At Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	3	14	7	7	31
No. 22 Blue Devils	7	0	0	7	14

Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Fighting Irish	10	7	14	14	45
No. 24 Hokies	3	13	0	7	23

At North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	7	0	7	8	22
Tar Heels	6	3	7	3	19

Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Yellow Jackets	14	14	14	7	49
Hokies	14	7	0	7	28

Georgia Tech scored 7 touchdowns on the night, which is the most in Lane Stadium since the 1970s. They accomplished this feat 100% on the ground, racking up over 460 yards without completing a single pass. This game also marked the second straight time the backup QB for GT got the start on the road in the GT-VT series. GT is now 4–1 against the Hokies over the last 5 years.

Boston College

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Eagles	7	0	14	10	31
Hokies	7	7	0	7	21

At Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	0	7	8	7	22
Panthers	10	21	7	14	52

Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hurricanes	3	14	21	0	38
Hokies	7	7	0	0	14

Virginia

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Cavaliers	0	0	14	17	0	31
Hokies	0	14	3	14	3	34

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	6	0	0	14	20
Hokies	10	21	3	7	41

Vs. Cincinnati (Military Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bearcats	7	7	7	14	35
Hokies	7	7	10	7	31

Honorary #25 Beamer Jersey

Since the start of the 2016 season, during the week before each game, Head Coach Justin Fuente selects an outstanding player to wear the #25 jersey in honor of former head coach, Frank Beamer, who wore #25 as a player for Virginia Tech. The jersey represents hard work, toughness, good sportsmanship and being an exemplary teammate. At first, the distinction was intended strictly for special teams players, but has since been expanded to include all team members.

The players honored in the 2018 season are:

Game	Opponent	Player
Game 1	Florida State	Ricky Walker (2)
Game 2	William & Mary	Eric Kumah
Game 3	Old Dominion	Jovonn Quillen (2)
Game 4	Duke	Oscar Bradburn (2)
Game 5	Notre Dame	Khalil Ladler
Game 6	North Carolina	Chamarri Conner (Fr)
Game 7	Georgia Tech	Dax Hollifield (Fr)
Game 8	Boston College	Dalton Keene
Game 9	Pittsburgh	Divine Deablo
Game 10	Miami	Steven Peoples (2)
Game 11	Virginia	Ricky Walker (3)
Game 12	Marshall	Tré Turner (Fr)
Military Bowl	Cincinnati	Coleman Fox

Rankings

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

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	20	12	13	13	RV	24	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	17	14	11	10	24	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

References

1. "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
2. "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
3. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
4. "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
5. "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
6. "Ray Guy Award preseason watch list unveiled". July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
7. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
8. "Manning Award: See which quarterbacks made the preseason watch list for 2018". August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
9. "Virginia Tech vs. Florida State - Game Summary - September 3, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
10. "William & Mary vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - September 8, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
11. "Virginia Tech vs. Old Dominion - Game Summary - September 22, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
12. "Virginia Tech vs. Duke - Game Summary - September 29, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
13. "Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - October 6, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
14. "Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina - Game Summary - October 13, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. October 13, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
15. "Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - October 25, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. October 25, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
16. "Boston College vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 3, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. November 3, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
17. "Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 10, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. November 10, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
18. "Miami (FL) vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 10, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. November 17, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
19. "Virginia vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 23, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. November 23, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
20. Niziolek, Mike (September 11, 2018). "East Carolina football cancels game against Virginia Tech". Virginia Tech Insider via The Roanoke Times. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
21. "Hokies schedule Herd to keep bowl streak alive". ESPN.com.
22. "Marshall vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 23, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.

External links

Media related to 2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football team at Wikimedia Commons