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. They competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference in its Coastal Division.

2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Lane Stadium in the 2016 opener
ACC Coastal Division champion Belk Bowl champion
ACC Championship Game, L 35–42 vs. Clemson
Belk Bowl, W 35–24 vs. Arkansas
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 16
Record	10–4 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach	Justin Fuente (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Brad Cornelsen (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Bud Foster (22nd season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Uniform
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	12:30 p.m.	Liberty*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 36–13	62,234
September 10	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 17 Tennessee*		Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, TN (Battle at Bristol) (College GameDay)	ABC	L 24–45	156,990‡
September 17	3:30 p.m.	Boston College		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPNU	W 49–0	60,054
September 24	12:30 p.m.	East Carolina*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	W 54–17	63,712
October 8	3:30 p.m.	at No. 17 North Carolina	No. 25	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ABC/ESPN2	W 34–3	33,000
October 15	3:45 p.m.	at Syracuse	No. 17	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPNU	L 17–31	33,838
October 20	7:00 p.m.	Miami (FL)		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 37–16	63,507
October 27	7:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	No. 25	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN	W 39–36	40,254
November 5	3:30 p.m.	at Duke	No. 19	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ESPNU	W 24–21	38,217
November 12	3:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	No. 14	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPNU	L 20–30	65,632
November 19	3:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	W 34–31	80,795
November 26	12:00 p.m.	Virginia		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ESPN2	W 52–10	63,120
December 3	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Clemson	No. 23	Camping World Stadium Orlando, FL (ACC Championship Game)	ABC	L 35–42	50,628
December 29	5:30 p.m.	vs. Arkansas*	No. 22	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (Belk Bowl)	ESPN	W 35–24	46,902
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[1]

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

Game summaries

Liberty

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

See also: 2016 Liberty Flames football team

Vs. Tennessee

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

Main article: 2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol

See also: 2016 Tennessee Volunteers football team

Boston College

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

See also: 2016 Boston College Eagles football team and Boston College–Virginia Tech football rivalry

East Carolina

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

See also: 2016 East Carolina Pirates football team

North Carolina

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

See also: 2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

At Syracuse

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

See also: 2016 Syracuse Orange football team

Miami (FL)

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

See also: 2016 Miami Hurricanes football team and Miami–Virginia Tech football rivalry

At Pittsburgh

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

See also: 2016 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

At Duke

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

See also: 2016 Duke Blue Devils football team

Georgia Tech

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

See also: 2016 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team and Georgia Tech–Virginia Tech football rivalry

At Notre Dame

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

See also: 2016 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Virginia

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

See also: 2016 Virginia Cavaliers football team and Virginia–Virginia Tech football rivalry

Vs. Clemson–ACC Championship Game

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

See also: 2016 Clemson Tigers football team and 2016 ACC Championship Game

Vs. Arkansas–Belk Bowl

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

See also: 2016 Arkansas Razorbacks football team and 2016 Belk Bowl

Rankings

Further information: 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football 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	—	—	—	RV	RV	25	17	RV	25	23	18	RV	RV	19	18	16
Coaches	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	19	RV	25	21	22	RV	RV	18	19	16
CFP	Not released									19	14	—	—	23	22	Not released

Personnel

Coaching staff

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

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