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2002 Virginia Tech

10–⁠4 (3–⁠4 Big East), coached by Frank Beamer, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2002, game by game: won vs. Arkansas State 63–7; won vs. No. 14 LSU 26–8; won vs. No. 16 Marshall 47–21; won at No. 19 Texas A&M 13–3; won at Western Michigan 30–0; won at Boston College 28–23; won vs. Rutgers 35–14; won vs. Temple 20–10; lost vs. Pittsburgh 21–28; lost at Syracuse 42–50; lost vs. West Virginia 18–21; won vs. Virginia 21–9; lost at No. 1 Miami 45–56; won vs. Air Force 20–13+56−11Won 63–7 vs. Arkansas State+56Arkansas StateWon 26–8 vs. No. 14 LSU+18No. 14 LSUWon 47–21 vs. No. 16 Marshall+26No. 16 MarshallWon 13–3 at No. 19 Texas A&M+10No. 19 Texas A&MWon 30–0 at Western Michigan+30Western MichiganWon 28–23 at Boston College+5Boston CollegeWon 35–14 vs. Rutgers+21RutgersWon 20–10 vs. Temple+10TempleLost 21–28 vs. Pittsburgh-7PittsburghLost 42–50 at Syracuse-8SyracuseLost 18–21 vs. West Virginia-3West VirginiaWon 21–9 vs. Virginia+12VirginiaLost 45–56 at No. 1 Miami-11No. 1 MiamiWon 20–13 vs. Air Force+7Air Force
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 25vsArkansas StateW 63–⁠788%
Sep 1vs14LSUW 26–⁠854%
Sep 12vs16MarshallW 47–⁠2162%
Sep 21at19Texas A&MW 13–⁠352%
Sep 28atWestern MichiganW 30–⁠070%
Oct 10atBoston CollegeW 28–⁠2358%
Oct 19vsRutgersW 35–⁠1495%
Oct 26vsTempleW 20–⁠1090%
Nov 2vsPittsburghL 21–⁠2869%
Nov 9atSyracuseL 42–⁠5066%
Nov 20vsWest VirginiaL 18–⁠2171%
Nov 30vsVirginiaW 21–⁠965%
Dec 7at1MiamiL 45–⁠5619%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsAir ForceSan Francisco BowlW 20–⁠1368%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Air Force 20–⁠13 in the San Francisco Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big East.

In program history: The 14th-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: 16
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 13
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 22
  16. Wk 16: 18
  17. Final: 18

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 2002.

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
3–⁠4 tied for 4th in Big East
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 3
Points
429–⁠263
Coach
Frank Beamer
Elo
1664 +61 this season
SP+ rating
16.8 No. 18 of 117; offense No. 31, defense No. 25
SRS
12.0 No. 21 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 43
Offensive coordinator
Bryan Stinespring
Defensive coordinator
Bud Foster
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠4

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 37— allowed
Defense0.0own 30— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Marcus Vick DUAL★★★★★No. 22
Cary Wade S★★★No. 670
Mike Imoh APB★★★No. 670
Demetrius Hodges ATH★★No. 898
Brenden Hill WR★★No. 898

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.991
Running backs13.00.800
Receivers32.00.767
Defensive line12.00.767
Defensive backs22.50.783
Athletes and specialists22.00.767
Whole class102.50.796

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2003

The 2003 draft
Rd 4Lee Suggs RBCleveland Browns
Rd 7Willie Pile DBKansas City Chiefs

All-Big East

6 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2002 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2002 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami7–⁠012–⁠12
West Virginia6–⁠19–⁠425
Pittsburgh5–⁠29–⁠419
Virginia Tech3–⁠410–⁠418
Boston College3–⁠49–⁠4
Temple2–⁠54–⁠8
Syracuse2–⁠54–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠71–⁠11

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