CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 Virginia Tech

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Big East), coached by Frank Beamer, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 1996, game by game: won at Akron 21–18; won at Boston College 45–7; won vs. Rutgers 30–14; lost at Syracuse 21–52; won vs. Temple 38–0; won vs. Pittsburgh 34–17; won vs. Louisiana 47–16; won vs. East Carolina 35–14; won at No. 18 Miami 21–7; won vs. No. 23 West Virginia 31–14; won vs. No. 20 Virginia 26–9; lost vs. No. 6 Nebraska 21–41+38−31Won 21–18 at Akron+3AkronWon 45–7 at Boston College+38Boston CollegeWon 30–14 vs. Rutgers+16RutgersLost 21–52 at Syracuse-31SyracuseWon 38–0 vs. Temple+38TempleWon 34–17 vs. Pittsburgh+17PittsburghWon 47–16 vs. Louisiana+31LouisianaWon 35–14 vs. East Carolina+21East CarolinaWon 21–7 at No. 18 Miami+14No. 18 MiamiWon 31–14 vs. No. 23 West Virginia+17No. 23 West VirginiaWon 26–9 vs. No. 20 Virginia+17No. 20 VirginiaLost 21–41 vs. No. 6 Nebraska-20No. 6 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7atAkronW 21–⁠1884%
Sep 14atBoston CollegeW 45–⁠764%
Sep 21vsRutgersW 30–⁠1486%
Sep 28atSyracuseL 21–⁠5260%
Oct 12vsTempleW 38–⁠088%
Oct 26vsPittsburghW 34–⁠1788%
Nov 2vsLouisianaW 47–⁠1680%
Nov 9vsEast CarolinaW 35–⁠1464%
Nov 16at18MiamiW 21–⁠751%
Nov 23vs23West VirginiaW 31–⁠1472%
Nov 29vs20VirginiaW 26–⁠969%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs6NebraskaOrange BowlL 21–⁠4140%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Nebraska 41–⁠21 in the Orange Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 15
  4. Wk 4: 19
  5. Wk 5: 18
  6. Wk 6: 18
  7. Wk 12: 25
  8. Wk 13: 21
  9. Wk 14: 17
  10. Wk 15: 17
  11. Wk 16: 15
  12. Wk 17: 10
  13. Final: 13

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1996.

Big East champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Miami and Syracuse

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Big East
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 10
Points
370–⁠209
Coach
Frank Beamer
Elo
1721 +75 this season
SP+ rating
19.7 No. 15 of 111; offense No. 28, defense No. 13
SRS
14.5 No. 18 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Rickey Bustle
Defensive coordinator
Bud Foster
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠4

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1Jim Druckenmiller QBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Torrian Gray DBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 4Antonio Banks DBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 6Cornell Brown LBBaltimore Ravens

All-Big East

6 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

  • Jay HagoodOLCoaches-2
  • T.J. WashingtonOLCoaches-2
  • Myron NewsomeLBCoaches-2
  • Brandon SemonesLBCoaches-2
  • Antonio BanksCBCoaches-2
  • Torrian GraySCoaches-2

From Wikipedia’s 1996 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1996 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech6–⁠110–⁠213
Syracuse6–⁠19–⁠321
Miami6–⁠19–⁠314
West Virginia4–⁠38–⁠4
Pittsburgh3–⁠44–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠55–⁠7
Rutgers1–⁠62–⁠9
Temple0–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.