# 2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

The 2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Tech during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hokies were led by fourth-year head coach Justin Fuente and played their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. They competed as members of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Hokies lost to arch rival Virginia for the first time since 2003. The loss cost the Hokies the Coastal Division and a trip to the Orange Bowl.

## Preseason
### Preseason media poll

In the preseason ACC media poll, Virginia Tech was predicted to finish in third in the Coastal Division.
Media poll (Coastal Division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Virginia | 1003 (82) |
| 2 | Miami (FL) | 992 (55) |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | 827 (20) |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 691 (8) |
| 5 | Duke | 566 (6) |
| 6 | North Carolina | 463 (1) |
| 7 | Georgia Tech | 302 (1) |

## Schedule

In non-conference play, Virginia Tech played home games against Old Dominion of Conference USA, Furman of the Southern Conference, and Rhode Island of the Colonial Athletic Association, as well as a road game against Notre Dame, a football independent. In ACC play, the Hokies will play the other members of the Coastal Division as well as Boston College and Wake Forest from the Atlantic Division.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 4:00 p.m. | at Boston College | | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA (rivalry) | ACCN | L 28–35 | 35,213 |
| September 7 | 12:00 p.m. | Old Dominion* | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPNU | W 31–17 | 57,282 |
| September 14 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 16 (FCS) Furman* | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | W 24–17 | 52,314 |
| September 27 | 7:00 p.m. | Duke | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPN | L 10–45 | 59,537 |
| October 5 | 3:30 p.m. | at Miami (FL) | | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (rivalry) | ESPN | W 42–35 | 53,183 |
| October 12 | 4:00 p.m. | Rhode Island* | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | W 34–17 | 51,716 |
| October 19 | 3:30 p.m. | North Carolina | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCRSN | W 43–41 $^{6OT}$ | 65,632 |
| November 2 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 16 Notre Dame* | | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | L 20–21 | 77,622 |
| November 9 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 19 Wake Forest | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | W 36–17 | 65,632 |
| November 16 | 3:30 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA (rivalry) | ACCRSN | W 45–0 | 43,263 |
| November 23 | 3:30 p.m. | Pittsburgh | | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ESPN2 | W 28–0 | 55,936 |
| November 29 | 12:00 p.m. | at Virginia | No. 24 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup) | ABC | L 30–39 | 52,619 |
| December 31 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. Kentucky* | | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, North Carolina (Belk Bowl) | ESPN | L 30–37 | 44,138 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
Source:

## Game summaries
### At Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Eagles | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 35 |

### Old Dominion

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Monarchs | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Hokies | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### Furman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 (FCS) Paladins | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Hokies | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 24 |

### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 0 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 45 |
| Hokies | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |

### At Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 21 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 42 |
| Hurricanes | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 35 |

### Rhode Island

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 17 |
| Hokies | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 34 |

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | 4OT | 5OT | 6OT | Total |
| Tar Heels | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 |
| Hokies | 7 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 43 |
Starting with the 2019 season, every overtime period starting with the fifth overtime consists solely of one two-point attempt per team from the three yard line.

### At Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| No. 16 Fighting Irish | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
After poor performances against USC and Michigan, Notre Dame stepped up defensively against Virginia Tech. The hokies were held to their lowest total yards game since 2015 and lowest yards per play since 2016 in what was billed as "one of the best group effort performances" ever seen by Sports Illustrated sportswriter Bryan Driskell. Yet, Notre Dame still needed a late touchdown to win the game by a final score 21-20 and Notre Dame extended their home winning streak to 16 games.

### Wake Forest

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Demon Deacons | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Hokies | 3 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 36 |

### At Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 14 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 45 |
| Yellow Jackets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hokies | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

### At Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Hokies | 3 | 3 | 21 | 3 | 30 |
| Cavaliers | 13 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 39 |

### vs Kentucky (Belk Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 10 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 30 |
| Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 37 |

## 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 2019 season are:
| Game | Opponent | Player(s) |
| Game 1 | Boston College | Tyree Rodgers |
| Game 2 | Old Dominion | Divine Deablo (2) |
| Game 3 | Furman | Dylan Rivers |
| Game 4 | Duke | Oscar Bradburn (3) |
| Game 5 | Miami | Jarrod Hewitt |
| Game 6 | Rhode Island | Devon Hunter |
| Game 7 | North Carolina | Rayshard Ashby |
| Game 8 | Notre Dame | Armani Chatman |
| Game 9 | Wake Forest | Divine Deablo (3) |
| Game 10 | Georgia Tech | Khalil Ladler (2) |
| Game 11 | Pittsburgh | James Mitchell |
| Game 12 | Virginia | Dalton Keene (2) & Rayshard Ashby (2) |
| Belk Bowl | Kentucky | Brian Johnson |

## 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 | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | RV | — | |
| Coaches | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | RV | |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | Not released |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 3 | 101 | Dalton Keene | TE | New England Patriots |