# 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.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Rimington Trophy | Kyle Chung | C | SR |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Ricky Walker | DT | SR |
| Maxwell Award | Josh Jackson | QB | SO |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Ricky Walker | DT | SR |
| Outland Trophy | Ricky Walker | DT | SR |
| Ray Guy Award | Oscar Bradburn | P | SO |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Ricky Walker | DT | SR |
| Manning Award | 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 |
| September 3 | 8:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Florida State | No. 20 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ESPN | W 24–3 | 75,237 |
| September 8 | 2:00 p.m. | William & Mary* | No. 12 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN Extra | W 62–17 | 65,632 |
| September 22 | 3:30 p.m. | at Old Dominion* | No. 13 | Foreman FieldNorfolk, VA | CBSSN | L 35–49 | 20,532 |
| September 29 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 22 Duke | | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC | ESPN2 | W 31–14 | 32,177 |
| October 6 | 8:00 p.m. | No. 6 Notre Dame* | No. 24 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ABC | L 23–45 | 65,632 |
| October 13 | 7:00 p.m. | at North Carolina | | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | ESPNU | W 22–19 | 50,500 |
| October 25 | 7:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (rivalry) | ESPN | L 28–49 | 65,632 |
| November 3 | 3:45 p.m. | No. 24 Boston College | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (rivalry) | ACCN | L 21–31 | 65,632 |
| November 10 | 3:30 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ESPNU | L 22–52 | 44,398 |
| November 17 | 3:30 p.m. | Miami (FL) | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (rivalry) | ESPN | L 14–38 | 62,379 |
| November 23 | 3:30 p.m. | Virginia | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (Commonwealth Cup) | ABC | W 34–31 $^{OT}$ | 60,776 |
| December 1 | 12:00 p.m. | Marshall* | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN Extra | W 41–20 | 31,336 |
| December 31 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. Cincinnati* | | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD (Military Bowl) | ESPN | L 31–35 | 32,832 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||
* ↑ The game between Virginia Tech and East Carolina, originally scheduled for September 15, 2018, was canceled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence. 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.

## 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 |

### William & Mary

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tribe | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| No. 12 Hokies | 17 | 21 | 17 | 7 | 62 |

### At Old Dominion

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Hokies | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Monarchs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 49 |

### At Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| No. 22 Blue Devils | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Fighting Irish | 10 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
| No. 24 Hokies | 3 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 23 |

### At North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 7 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 22 |
| Tar Heels | 6 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 19 |

### Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Yellow Jackets | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| Hokies | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
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 |

### At Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 0 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
| Panthers | 10 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 52 |

### Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hurricanes | 3 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 38 |
| Hokies | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Cavaliers | 0 | 0 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 31 |
| Hokies | 0 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 34 |

### Marshall

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thundering Herd | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
| Hokies | 10 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 41 |

### Vs. Cincinnati (Military Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearcats | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| Hokies | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 31 |

## 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

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |