# 2006 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

The 2006 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer. The team tallied a 10–3 record, going 10–2 during the regular season before losing 31–24 in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs.

## Preseason

Virginia Tech began the season ranked #16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and #17 in the Associated Press Poll after going 11–2 (7–1 ACC) in 2005 and winning the Coastal division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
See also 2006 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 1:30 p.m. | Northeastern* | No. 17 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPN360 | W 38–0 | 66,233 |
| September 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at North Carolina | No. 16 | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | ESPN | W 35–10 | 57,000 |
| September 16 | 12:00 p.m. | Duke | No. 14 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | Raycom/LFS | W 36–0 | 66,233 |
| September 23 | 12:00 p.m. | Cincinnati* | No. 11 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPNU | W 29–13 | 66,233 |
| September 30 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 24 Georgia Tech | No. 11 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (Battle of the Techs) | ABC | L 27–38 | 66,233 |
| October 12 | 7:30 p.m. | at Boston College | No. 22 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA (rivalry) | ESPN | L 3–22 | 44,500 |
| October 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Southern Miss* | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPNU | W 36–6 | 66,233 |
| October 26 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 10 Clemson | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPN | W 24–7 | 66,233 |
| November 4 | 8:00 p.m. | at Miami (FL) | No. 23 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, Florida (rivalry) | ABC | W 17–10 | 41,504 |
| November 11 | 3:30 p.m. | Kent State* | No. 20 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPNU | W 23–0 | 66,233 |
| November 18 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 14 Wake Forest | No. 19 | Groves StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | ESPN2 | W 27–6 | 36,723 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | Virginia | No. 17 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA (Commonwealth Cup) | Raycom/LFS | W 17–0 | 66,233 |
| December 30 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. Georgia* | No. 14 | Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA (Chick-fil-A Bowl) | ESPN | L 24–31 | 75,406 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Northeastern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northeastern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Virginia Tech | 21 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 38 |

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Virginia Tech | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| North Carolina | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Duke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Virginia Tech | 13 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 36 |

### Cincinnati

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| • Virginia Tech | 5 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 29 |

### Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Georgia Tech | 21 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 38 |
| Virginia Tech | 7 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 27 |

### Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Virginia Tech | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Boston College | 0 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 22 |

### Southern Miss

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Southern Miss | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • Virginia Tech | 7 | 12 | 3 | 14 | 36 |

### Clemson

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Clemson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Virginia Tech | 7 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 24 |

### Miami

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Virginia Tech | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |

### Kent State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kent State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Virginia Tech | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 23 |

### Wake Forest

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Virginia Tech | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 27 |
| Wake Forest | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |

### Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Virginia Tech | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 |

### Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Georgia | 3 | 0 | 10 | 18 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 0 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 24 |

## 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 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 21 | 22 | RV | RV | 23 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 19 |
| Coaches | 16 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 17 | RV | RV | 24 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 18 |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 11 | 19 | 18 | — | — | 24 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 15 | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | 25 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 15 | Not released |

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Position | Name | First year at VT | First year in current position |
| Head coach | Frank Beamer | 1987 | 1987 |
| Associate head coach and running backs coach | Billy Hite | 1978 | 2001 |
| Offensive coordinator and tight ends | Bryan Stinespring | 1990 | 2006 (offensive coordinator since 2002) |
| Defensive coordinator and inside linebackers | Bud Foster | 1987 | 1995 |
| Offensive Line | Curt Newsome | 2006 | 2006 |
| Wide Receivers | Kevin Sherman | 2006 | 2006 |
| Strong Safety, Outside Linebackers, and Recruiting Coordinator | Jim Cavanaugh | 1996 | 2002 |
| Quarterbacks | Mike O'Cain | 2006 | 2006 |
| Defensive backs | Torrian Gray | 2006 | 2006 |
| Defensive Line | Charley Wiles | 1996 | 1996 |

### Roster
## Discipline issues

Virginia Tech penalties by game :
| Opponent | Tech Penalties | Opponent penalties |
| Northeastern | 7 (56 yards) | 10 (78 yards) |
| @ North Carolina | 7 (55 yards) | 1 (10 yards) |
| Duke | 9 (85 yards) | 7 (43 yards) |
| Cincinnati | 7 (52 yards) | 9 (75 yards) |
| Georgia Tech | 5 (28 yards) | 8 (83 yards) |
| Boston College | 9 (88 yards) | 9 (60 yards) |
| Southern Miss | 5 (41 yards) | 7 (45 yards) |
| Clemson | 3 (22 yards) | 1 (5 yards) |
| Miami | 3 (15 yards) | 8 (62 yards) |
| Kent State | 5 (50 yards) | 9 (71 yards) |
| Wake Forest | 6 (65 yards) | 3 (27 yards) |
| Virginia | 3 (29 yards) | 6 (45 yards) |
The first half of Virginia Tech's season was characterized by a lack of discipline for the Hokies, both on and off the field.
* Safety Aaron Rouse was penalized twice against Duke for roughing the passer. His second hit on Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis was a helmet-to-sternum hit that whiplashed his head with such force that it gave him a concussion. Duke's backup quarterback said of Tech, "They are a fast team. I'm lucky to come out in one piece. ... The roughing of the passer, the late hits, they were coming for us."
* DE Chris Ellis and WR Josh Morgan were arrested late Saturday night after the Hokies' victory over Cincinnati and charged with resisting arrest and obstructing justice. Morgan was also charged with disorderly conduct. Both players were suspended for the following game, a home loss to Georgia Tech and were later sentenced to one year of probation and 100 hours of community service.
* WR Josh Hyman was suspended for the Boston College game after an arrest for driving under the influence.
* During the ESPN broadcast of the Boston College game, announcer Kirk Herbstreit became angry when cameras showed Tech players Vince Hall and Aaron Rouse arguing on the sidelines and showed linebacker Brendan Hill dancing on the sidelines with Tech trailing late in the game. The video of Herbstreit's rant was shown to the Tech team in Sunday meetings following the game.
Tech's discipline troubles came to a head when the Hokies were blown out in consecutive weeks by Georgia Tech and Boston College. Beamer responded by cracking down on trash-talking, personal fouls, and other negative behaviors. The team responded and committed no personal fouls and only two defensive penalties total in the three games following the BC loss.

## Defense

Virginia Tech finished the regular season leading the nation in total defense, scoring defense, and pass defense. This was the second year in a row that defensive coordinator Bud Foster's unit had led the nation in total defense.