# 2021 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

The 2021 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Tech during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hokies were led by sixth-year head coach Justin Fuente, prior to his departure following the Duke game. J. C. Price took over as the interim head coach for the final two games of the regular season and the bowl game. They played their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, competing as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Hokies accepted a bid to the Pinstripe Bowl to face Maryland, where they lost 54–10.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 10 North Carolina | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPN | W 17–10 | 65,632 |
| September 11 | 2:00 p.m. | Middle Tennessee* | No. 19 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCNX/ESPN+ | W 35–14 | 53,680 |
| September 18 | Noon | at West Virginia* | No. 15 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV (rivalry) | FS1 | L 21–27 | 60,222 |
| September 25 | Noon | No. 24 (FCS) Richmond* | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | W 21–10 | 53,174 |
| October 9 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 14 Notre Dame* | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | L 29–32 | 65,632 |
| October 16 | 3:30 p.m. | Pittsburgh | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPN2 | L 7–28 | 58,314 |
| October 23 | 12:30 p.m. | Syracuse | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCRSN | L 36–41 | 57,941 |
| October 30 | 12:00 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA (rivalry) | ACCRSN | W 26–17 | 35,543 |
| November 5 | 7:30 p.m. | at Boston College | | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA (rivalry) | ESPN2 | L 3–17 | 35,637 |
| November 13 | 3:30 p.m. | Duke | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | W 48–17 | 56,730 |
| November 20 | 7:30 p.m. | at Miami | | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (rivalry) | ACCN | L 26–38 | 40,839 |
| November 27 | 3:45 p.m. | at Virginia | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup) | ACCN | W 29–24 | 46,445 |
| December 29 | 2:15 p.m. | vs. Maryland* | | Yankee StadiumThe Bronx, NY (Pinstripe Bowl) | ESPN | L 10–54 | 29,653 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
Source:

## 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 | — | 19 | 15 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Coaches | RV | 21 | 15 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Vs. No. 10 North Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| North Carolina | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Virginia Tech | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA
* Date: Friday, September 3, 2021
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C)
* Game attendance: 65,632
* Referee: Duane Heydt
* TV announcers (ESPN): Jason Benetti, Andre Ware
* Pregame line: North Carolina −5.5
| Statistics | UNC | VT |
| First downs | 18 | 17 |
| Total yards | 354 | 296 |
| Rush yards | 146 | 127 |
| Passing yards | 208 | 169 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 25:01 | 34:59 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| North Carolina | Passing | Sam Howell | 17/32, 208 yards, TD |
| North Carolina | Rushing | Ty Chandler | 10 carries, 66 yards |
| North Carolina | Receiving | Josh Downs | 8 receptions, 123 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 12/19, 169 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Jalen Holston | 13 carries, 49 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tré Turner | 4 receptions, 64 yards |

### vs Middle Tennessee

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Middle Tennessee | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 19 Virginia Tech | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA
* Date: Saturday, September 11, 2021
* Game time: 2:05 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C)
* Game attendance: 53,680
* Referee: Mike Roche
* TV announcers (ACC Network Extra): Bill Roth, Eddie Royal
* Pregame line: Virginia Tech −20
| Statistics | MT | VT |
| First downs | 20 | 23 |
| Total yards | 350 | 375 |
| Rush yards | 67 | 216 |
| Passing yards | 283 | 159 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 31:33 | 28:27 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Middle Tennessee | Passing | Bailey Hockman | 19/32, 207 yards, TD |
| Middle Tennessee | Rushing | Amir Rasul | 14 carries, 39 yards |
| Middle Tennessee | Receiving | Jimmy Marshall | 8 receptions, 111 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 14/24, 142 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Raheem Blackshear | 10 carries, 58 yards, 2 TD |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tré Turner | 4 receptions, 67 yards |

### At West Virginia

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 Virginia Tech | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| West Virginia | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
at Milan Puskar Stadium • Morgantown, WV
* Date: Saturday, September 18, 2021
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 60,022
* Referee: Riley Johnson
* TV announcers (FS1): Corey Provus, Devin Gardner
* Pregame line: West Virginia −2.5
| Statistics | VT | WVU |
| First downs | 19 | 18 |
| Total yards | 329 | 373 |
| Rush yards | 106 | 180 |
| Passing yards | 223 | 193 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 32:03 | 27:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 19/31, 223 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Raheem Blackshear | 10 carries, 47 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Kaleb Smith | 6 receptions, 58 yards |
| West Virginia | Passing | Jarret Doege | 15/26, 193 yards, 2 TD |
| West Virginia | Rushing | Leddie Brown | 19 carries, 161 yards, TD |
| West Virginia | Receiving | Isaiah Esdale | 4 receptions, 46 yards |

### vs No. 24 (FCS) Richmond

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 (FCS) Richmond | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Virginia Tech | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA
* Date: Saturday, September 25, 2021
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 59 °F (15 °C)
* Game attendance: 53,174
* Referee: Jeff Heaser
* TV announcers (ACCN): Wes Durham, Roddy Jones
* Pregame line: Virginia Tech −29.5
| Statistics | UR | VT |
| First downs | 15 | 20 |
| Total yards | 237 | 318 |
| Rush yards | 160 | 106 |
| Passing yards | 77 | 212 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 32:42 | 26:46 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Richmond | Passing | Beau English III | 15/23, 77 yards |
| Richmond | Rushing | Aaron Dykes | 12 carries, 58 yards |
| Richmond | Receiving | Jonathan Johnson | 3 receptions, 27 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 17/27, 212 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Jalen Holston | 8 carries, 37 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tré Turner | 6 receptions, 102 yards, TD |

### vs No. 14 Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Notre Dame | 0 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 32 |
| Virginia Tech | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 29 |
at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA
* Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 61 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 65,632
* Referee: Jerry Magallanes
* TV announcers (ACC Network): Dave O'Brien, Tim Hasselbeck
* Pregame line: Notre Dame −1
| Statistics | ND | VT |
| First downs | 21 | 21 |
| Total yards | 401 | 321 |
| Rush yards | 180 | 134 |
| Passing yards | 221 | 187 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 28:27 | 31:33 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Tyler Buchner | 6/14, 113 yards, TD |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 19 carries 81 yards |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Kyren Williams | 5 receptions 26 yards TD |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 15/30, 184 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Braxton Burmeister | 10 carries 49 yards TD |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tré Turner | 6 receptions 80 yards |

### vs Pitt

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Pitt | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| Virginia Tech | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA
* Date: Saturday, October 16, 2021
* Game time: 3:30pm EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 56 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 58,314
* Referee: Stuart Mullins
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Jason Bennetti, Andre Ware
* Pregame line: Pitt −6
| Statistics | PITT | VT |
| First downs | 22 | 13 |
| Total yards | 411 | 224 |
| Rush yards | 208 | 90 |
| Passing yards | 203 | 134 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 38:16 | 21:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Pitt | Passing | Kenny Pickett | 22/37, 203 yards, 2 TD |
| Pitt | Rushing | Israel Abanikanda | 21 carries, 140 yards |
| Pitt | Receiving | Jared Wayne | 6 carries, 94 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 11/32, 134 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Malachi Thomas | 6 carries, 33 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tré Turner | 3 receptions, 73 yards |

### vs Syracuse

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Syracuse | 7 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 41 |
| Virginia Tech | 7 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 36 |
at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA
* Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature : 53 °F (12 °C)
* Game attendance: 57,941
* Referee: Riley Johnson
* TV announcers (Regional Sports Networks): Tom Werme, James Bates
* Pregame line: Virginia Tech −3.5
| Statistics | SU | VT |
| First downs | 25 | 21 |
| Total yards | 550 | 437 |
| Rush yards | 314 | 260 |
| Passing yards | 236 | 177 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 31:14 | 28:46 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Syracuse | Passing | Garrett Shrader | 16/34, 236 yards, 2 TD |
| Syracuse | Rushing | Garrett Shrader | 22 carries 274 yards 3 TD |
| Syracuse | Receiving | Courtney Jackson | 7 receptions 86 yards TD |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 10/20, 177 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Malachi Thomas | 21 carries 151 yards 3 TD |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tayvion Robinson | 3 receptions 57 yards |

### At Georgia Tech

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Virginia Tech | 14 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 26 |
| Georgia Tech | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 17 |
at Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA
* Date: Saturday, October 30, 2021
* Game time: 12:00pm EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature : 56 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 35,543
* Referee: Marcus Woods
* TV announcers (RSN): Tom Werme, James Bates
* Pregame line: Georgia Tech −3.5
| Statistics | VT | GT |
| First downs | 23 | 16 |
| Total yards | 487 | 366 |
| Rush yards | 283 | 183 |
| Passing yards | 254 | 183 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 35:48 | 24:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 15/24, 254 yards, 2 TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Malachi Thomas | 25 carries 103 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tré Turner | 7 receptions 187 yards |
| Georgia Tech | Passing | Jeff Sims | 15/26, 183 yards, 2 TD |
| Georgia Tech | Rushing | Jahmyr Gibbs | 11 carries 113 yards |
| Georgia Tech | Receiving | Adonicas Sanders | 4 receptions 64 yards |

### At Boston College

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Virginia Tech | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Boston College | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
at Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA
* Date: Friday, November 5, 2021
* Game time: 7:30pm EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature : 45 °F (7 °C)
* Game attendance: 35,637
* Referee: Duane Heydt
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Jason Bennetti, Eric MacLain
* Pregame line: Virginia Tech −2.5
| Statistics | VT | BC |
| First downs | 12 | 22 |
| Total yards | 235 | 346 |
| Rush yards | 162 | 234 |
| Passing yards | 73 | 112 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 23:04 | 36:56 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Knox Kadum | 7/16, 73 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Malachi Thomas | 13 carries 70 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tayvion Robinson | 4 receptions 44 yards |
| Boston College | Passing | Phil Jurkovec | 7/13, 112 yards |
| Boston College | Rushing | Patrick Garwo | 30 carries 116 yards |
| Boston College | Receiving | Zay Flowers | 3 receptions 55 yards |

### vs Duke

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Duke | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 7 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 48 |
at Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA
* Date: Saturday, November 13, 2021
* Game time: 3:30 pm EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature : 39 °F (4 °C)
* Game attendance: 56,730
* Referee: Mike Roche
* TV announcers (ACC Network): Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich
* Pregame line: Virginia Tech −10.5
| Statistics | DUKE | VT |
| First downs | 20 | 23 |
| Total yards | 343 | 573 |
| Rush yards | 196 | 297 |
| Passing yards | 147 | 276 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 33:20 | 26:40 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Duke | Passing | Riley Leonard | 7/16, 84 yards |
| Duke | Rushing | Jordan Moore | 17 carries, 113 yards |
| Duke | Receiving | Jake Marwede | 1 reception, 33 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 9/15, 215 yards, 3 TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Raheem Blackshear | 12 carries, 117 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tayvion Robinson | 4 receptions, 78 yards |

### At Miami

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Virginia Tech | 3 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 26 |
| Miami | 14 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 38 |
at Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL
* Date: Saturday, November 20, 2021
* Game time: 7:30 pm EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C)
* Game attendance: 40,839
* Referee: Duane Heydt
* TV announcers (ACCN): Wes Durham, Roddy Jones
* Pregame line: Miami −7
| Statistics | VT | MIA |
| First downs | 18 | 21 |
| Total yards | 375 | 411 |
| Rush yards | 227 | 54 |
| Passing yards | 148 | 357 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 33:38 | 26:22 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 14/17, 109 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Connor Blumrick | 20 carries 132 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tré Turner | 5 receptions 44 yards |
| Miami | Passing | Tyler Van Dyke | 19/33, 357 yards, 3 TD |
| Miami | Rushing | Thaddius Franklin Jr. | 9 carries 36 yards |
| Miami | Receiving | Charleston Rambo | 7 receptions 116 yards |

### At Virginia

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Virginia Tech | 7 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 29 |
| Virginia | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
at Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA
* Date: Saturday, November 27, 2021
* Game time: 3:30 pm EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 50 °F (10 °C)
* Game attendance: 46,445
* Referee: Jeff Flanagan
* TV announcers (ACCN): Anish Schroff, Mike Golic Jr.
* Pregame line: Virginia −7
| Statistics | VT | UVA |
| First downs | 20 | 26 |
| Total yards | 464 | 474 |
| Rush yards | 320 | 55 |
| Passing yards | 114 | 419 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 31:18 | 28:42 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Virginia Tech | Passing | Braxton Burmeister | 6/14, 141 yards, TD |
| Virginia Tech | Rushing | Raheem Blackshear | 18 carries 169 yards |
| Virginia Tech | Receiving | Tayvion Robinson | 3 receptions 89 yards |
| Virginia | Passing | Brennan Armstrong | 29/45, 405 yards, TD |
| Virginia | Rushing | Wayne Taulapapa | 5 carries 23 yards |
| Virginia | Receiving | Billy Kemp IV | 8 receptions 102 yards |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
| 5 | 177 | James Mitchell | TE | Detroit Lions |
| 6 | 189 | Amaré Barno | LB | Carolina Panthers |
| 6 | 209 | Luke Tenuta | OT | Buffalo Bills |
| 6 | 215 | Lecitus Smith | OG | Arizona Cardinals |