2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

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.

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 ← 2017 2019 →

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

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

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	4	OT	Total
Cavaliers	0	0	14	17	0	31
Hokies	0	14	3	14	3	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	Tré 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
— = 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