2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

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. Since 2004, Virginia Tech has played in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is currently in its Coastal Division.

2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Lane Stadium in the 2016 opener
ACC Coastal Division champion
Belk Bowl champion
Belk Bowl, W 35–24 vs. Arkansas
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 16
Record10–4 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBrad Cornelsen (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorBud Foster (22nd season)
Base defense4–4
Home stadiumLane Stadium
Uniform
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 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

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 312:30 p.m.Liberty*ACCNW 36–1362,234
September 108:00 p.m.vs. No. 17 Tennessee*ABCL 24–45156,990
September 173:30 p.m.Boston College
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ESPNUW 49–060,054
September 2412:30 p.m.East Carolina* 
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA
ACCNW 54–1763,712
October 83:30 p.m.at No. 17 North CarolinaNo. 25ABC/ESPN2W 34–333,000
October 153:45 p.m.at SyracuseNo. 17ESPNUL 17–3133,838
October 207:00 p.m.Miami (FL)
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ESPNW 37–1663,507
October 277:00 p.m.at PittsburghNo. 25ESPNW 39–3640,254
November 53:30 p.m.at DukeNo. 19ESPNUW 24–2138,217
November 123:30 p.m.Georgia TechNo. 14
  • Lane Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
ESPNUL 20–3065,632
November 193:30 p.m.at Notre Dame*NBCW 34–3180,795
November 2612:00 p.m.Virginia
ESPN2W 52–1063,120
December 38:00 p.m.vs. No. 3 ClemsonNo. 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

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Liberty

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1 2 3 4 Total
Flames 6 7 0 0 13
Hokies 7 17 9 3 36

Vs. Tennessee

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1 2 3 4 Total
Hokies 14 0 3 7 24
#17 Volunteers 0 24 7 14 45

Boston College

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1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 0 0 0 0 0
Hokies 14 7 21 7 49

East Carolina

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1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 14 3 17
Hokies 14 24 9 7 54

North Carolina

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1 2 3 4 Total
#25 Hokies 6 7 14 7 34
#17 Tar Heels 0 3 0 0 3

At Syracuse

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1 2 3 4 Total
#17 Hokies 3 0 6 8 17
Orange 7 10 0 14 31

Miami (FL)

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1 2 3 4 Total
Hurricanes 3 6 7 0 16
Hokies 3 13 14 7 37

At Pittsburgh

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1 2 3 4 Total
#25 Hokies 6 10 13 10 39
Panthers 0 14 7 15 36

At Duke

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1 2 3 4 Total
#23 Hokies 7 14 0 3 24
Blue Devils 7 0 7 7 21

Georgia Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
Yellow Jackets 6 14 0 10 30
#18 Hokies 0 0 7 13 20

At Notre Dame

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1 2 3 4 Total
Hokies 0 14 7 13 34
Fighting Irish 10 14 7 0 31

Virginia

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cavaliers 0 0 3 7 10
Hokies 7 21 24 0 52

Vs. Clemson–ACC Championship Game

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1 2 3 4 Total
#19 Hokies 7 7 7 14 35
#3 Tigers 14 7 14 7 42

Vs. Arkansas–Belk Bowl

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1 2 3 4 Total
Razorbacks 17 7 0 0 24
#18 Hokies 0 0 21 14 35

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRVRV2517RV252318RVRV191816
CoachesRVRV19RV252122RVRV181916
CFPNot released19142322Not released

Personnel

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Coaching staff

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Name Position Seasons 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

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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:

Game Opponent Player
Game 1 Liberty Steven Peoples
Game 2 Tennessee Sean Huelskamp
Game 3 Boston College Tim Settle
Game 4 East Carolina Greg Stroman
Game 5 North Carolina Cam Phillips
Game 6 Syracuse Joey Slye
Game 7 Miami Anthony Shegog
Game 8 Pittsburgh Divine Deablo
Game 9 Duke Chuck Clark
Game 10 Georgia Tech Adonis Alexander
Game 11 Notre Dame CJ Carroll
Game 12 Virginia Sam Rogers
Game 13 Clemson Woody Baron
Belk Bowl Arkansas Terrell Edmunds

References

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  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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