2012 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

The 2012 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by 26th year head coach Frank Beamer and played their home games at Lane Stadium. They were a member of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Russell Athletic Bowl where they defeated Rutgers in overtime.

2012 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Russell Athletic Bowl champion
Russell Athletic Bowl, W 13–10 OT vs. Rutgers
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Record	7–6 (4–4 ACC)
Head coach	Frank Beamer (26th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bryan Stinespring (11th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Bud Foster (18th season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 10 Florida State xy$		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 11 Clemson x		7	–	1					11	–	2
NC State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Wake Forest		3	–	5					5	–	7
Maryland		2	–	6					4	–	8
Boston College		1	–	7					2	–	10
Coastal Division
Georgia Tech xy		5	–	3					7	–	7
North Carolina†		5	–	3					8	–	4
Miami (FL)‡		5	–	3					7	–	5
Virginia Tech		4	–	4					7	–	6
Duke		3	–	5					6	–	7
Virginia		2	–	6					4	–	8
Championship: Florida State 21, Georgia Tech 15
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant † North Carolina ineligible for ACC title, championship game, and bowl game due to NCAA sanctions.[1] ‡ Miami ineligible for ACC title, championship game, and bowl game due to self-imposed sanctions.[1] Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	8:00 p.m.	Georgia Tech	No. 15	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (Battle of the Techs)	ESPN	W 20–17 OT	65,632
September 8	1:30 p.m.	Austin Peay*	No. 15	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN3	W 42–7	65,632
September 15	12:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh*	No. 13	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPNU	L 17–35	48,032
September 22	12:00 p.m.	Bowling Green*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPNU	W 37–0	65,632
September 29	3:30 p.m.	vs. Cincinnati*		FedExField Landover, MD	ESPNU	L 24–27	46,026
October 6	12:30 p.m.	at North Carolina		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCN	L 34–48	54,000
October 13	12:30 p.m.	Duke		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 41–20	65,632
October 20	12:00 p.m.	at No. 14 Clemson		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	ABC/ESPN2	L 17–38	83,338
November 1	7:30 p.m.	at Miami (FL)		Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 12–30	37,219
November 8	7:30 p.m.	No. 8 Florida State		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	L 22–28	65,632
November 17	12:30 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	ACCN	W 30–23 OT	34,266
November 24	12:00 p.m.	Virginia		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ESPNU	W 17–14	65,632
December 28	5:30 p.m.	vs. Rutgers*		Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL (Russell Athletic Bowl)	ESPN	W 13–10 OT	48,127
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Entering the 2012 season, Virginia Tech was ranked No. 16 in the AP and No. 20 Coaches' Preseason Polls.^[2] The Hokies rose all the way to No. 13 by Week 3, before dropping out of the polls completely after a 35-17 loss to Pitt.

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	16	15	13	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	20	18	13	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Harris	Not released						—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released
BCS	Not released							—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released