2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

The 2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Tech during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hokies are led by third-year head coach Justin Fuente and play 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.

2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Military Bowl, L 31–35 vs. Cincinnati
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal Division
2018 record6–7 (4–4 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBrad Cornelsen (3rd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorBud Foster (24th season)
Base defense4–2–5
Home stadiumLane Stadium
(Capacity: 66,233)
Uniform
2018 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
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  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
    1. – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Hokies finished the 2017 season 9–4, 5–3 in ACC play to finish in second place in the Coastal Division. The Hokies received an invitation to the Camping World Bowl, marking the school's 25th consecutive bowl bid, the longest active bowl streak that is recognized by the NCAA.[1][2] There they lost to Oklahoma State 30–21.[3]

Preseason

Award watch lists
Award Player Position Year
Rimington Trophy[4] Kyle Chung C SR
Chuck Bednarik Award[5] Ricky Walker DT SR
Maxwell Award[6] Josh Jackson QB SO
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[7] Ricky Walker DT SR
Outland Trophy[8] Ricky Walker DT SR
Ray Guy Award[9] Oscar Bradburn P SO
Wuerffel Trophy[10] Ricky Walker DT SR
Manning Award[11] 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)
1Miami998 (122)
2Virginia Tech838 (16)
3Georgia Tech654 (8)
4Duke607 (1)
5Pittsburgh420
6North Carolina370 (1)
7Virginia257

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 38:00 p.m.at No. 19 Florida StateNo. 20
ESPNW 24–375,237[12]
September 82:00 p.m.William & Mary*No. 12
ACCN ExtraW 62–1765,632[13]
September 223:30 p.m.at Old Dominion*No. 13
CBSSNL 35–4920,532[14]
September 297:00 p.m.at No. 22 Duke
ESPN2W 31–1432,177[15]
October 68:00 p.m.No. 6 Notre Dame*No. 24
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA
ABCL 23–4565,632[16]
October 137:00 p.m.at North Carolina
ESPNUW 22–1950,500[17]
October 257:30 p.m.Georgia Tech
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ESPNL 28–4965,632[18]
November 33:45 p.m.No. 24 Boston College
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ACCNL 21–3165,632[19]
November 103:30 p.m.at Pittsburgh
ESPNUL 22–5244,398[20]
November 173:30 p.m.Miami (FL)
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ESPNL 14–3862,379[21]
November 233:30 p.m.Virginia
ABCW 34–31 OT60,776[22]
December 1[lower-alpha 1]12:00 p.m.Marshall*
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA
ACCN ExtraW 41–2031,336[25]
December 3112:00 p.m.vs. Cincinnati*
ESPNL 31–3532,832
  • *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.[23] 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.[24]

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
See also: 2018 Florida State Seminoles football team

William & Mary
1 2 3 4 Total
Tribe 0 7 7 3 17
No. 12 Hokies 17 21 17 7 62
See also: 2018 William & Mary Tribe football team

at Old Dominion
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 13 Hokies 7 7 14 7 35
Monarchs 7 7 7 28 49
See also: 2018 Old Dominion Monarchs football team

at Duke
1 2 3 4 Total
Hokies 3 14 7 7 31
No. 22 Blue Devils 7 0 0 7 14
See also: 2018 Duke Blue Devils football team

Notre Dame
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 6 Fighting Irish 10 7 14 14 45
No. 24 Hokies 3 13 0 7 23
See also: 2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

at North Carolina
1 2 3 4 Total
Hokies 7 0 7 8 22
Tar Heels 6 3 7 3 19
See also: 2018 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Georgia Tech
1 2 3 4 Total
Yellow Jackets 14 14 14 7 49
Hokies 14 7 0 7 28
See also: 2018 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team and Georgia Tech–Virginia Tech football rivalry

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
See also: 2018 Boston College Eagles football team and Boston College–Virginia Tech football rivalry

at Pittsburgh
1 2 3 4 Total
Hokies 0 7 8 7 22
Panthers 10 21 7 14 52
See also: 2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Miami (FL)
1 2 3 4 Total
Hurricanes 3 14 21 0 38
Hokies 7 7 0 0 14
See also: 2018 Miami Hurricanes football team and Miami–Virginia Tech football rivalry

Virginia
1 2 3 4OT Total
Cavaliers 0 0 14 170 31
Hokies 0 14 3 143 34
See also: 2018 Virginia Cavaliers football team and Virginia–Virginia Tech football rivalry

Marshall
1 2 3 4 Total
Thundering Herd 6 0 0 14 20
Hokies 10 21 3 7 41
See also: 2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

vs. Cincinnati (Military Bowl)
1 2 3 4 Total
Bearcats 7 7 7 14 35
Hokies 7 7 10 7 31
See also: 2018 Cincinnati Bearcats football team and 2018 Military Bowl

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 a 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 Tre Turner (Fr)
Military Bowl Cincinnati Coleman Fox

Rankings
Further information: 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place 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 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR  
Coaches 17 14 11 10 24 23 RV RV RV RV NR NR NR NR NR  
CFP Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR Not released

References
  1. Times, Andy Bitter | The Roanoke. "Virginia Tech heading to Camping World Bowl in Orlando to play Oklahoma State". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  2. "FSU ekes out bowl streak record, no matter what NCAA says". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  3. "Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State - Game Recap - December 28, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  4. "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  5. "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  6. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  7. "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  8. "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  9. "Ray Guy Award preseason watch list unveiled". July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  10. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  11. "Manning Award: See which quarterbacks made the preseason watch list for 2018". August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  12. "Virginia Tech vs. Florida State - Game Summary - September 3, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  13. "William & Mary vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - September 8, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  14. "Virginia Tech vs. Old Dominion - Game Summary - September 22, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  15. "Virginia Tech vs. Duke - Game Summary - September 29, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  16. "Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - October 6, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  17. "Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina - Game Summary - October 13, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. October 13, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  18. "Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - October 25, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. October 25, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  19. "Boston College vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 3, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. November 3, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  20. "Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 10, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. November 10, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  21. "Miami (FL) vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 10, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. November 17, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  22. "Virginia vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 23, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. November 23, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  23. Niziolek, Mike (September 11, 2018). "East Carolina football cancels game against Virginia Tech". Virginia Tech Insider via The Roanoke Times. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  24. "Hokies schedule Herd to keep bowl streak alive". ESPN.com.
  25. "Marshall vs. Virginia Tech - Game Summary - November 23, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
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