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2005 Virginia Tech

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Frank Beamer, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Virginia Tech, 2005
Photo: User:B, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2005, game by game: won at NC State 20–16; won at Duke 45–0; won vs. Ohio 45–0; won vs. No. 15 Georgia Tech 51–7; won at West Virginia 34–17; won vs. Marshall 41–14; won at Maryland 28–9; won vs. No. 13 Boston College 30–10; lost vs. No. 5 Miami 7–27; won at Virginia 52–14; won vs. North Carolina 30–3; lost vs. No. 22 Florida State 22–27; won vs. No. 16 Louisville 35–24+45−20Won 20–16 at NC State+4NC StateWon 45–0 at Duke+45DukeWon 45–0 vs. Ohio+45OhioWon 51–7 vs. No. 15 Georgia Tech+44No. 15 Georgia TechWon 34–17 at West Virginia+17West VirginiaWon 41–14 vs. Marshall+27MarshallWon 28–9 at Maryland+19MarylandWon 30–10 vs. No. 13 Boston College+20No. 13 Boston CollegeLost 7–27 vs. No. 5 Miami-20No. 5 MiamiWon 52–14 at Virginia+38VirginiaWon 30–3 vs. North Carolina+27North CarolinaLost 22–27 vs. No. 22 Florida State-5No. 22 Florida StateWon 35–24 vs. No. 16 Louisville+11No. 16 Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atNC StateW 20–⁠1660%
Sep 10atDukeW 45–⁠078%
Sep 17vsOhioW 45–⁠087%
Sep 24vs15Georgia TechW 51–⁠766%
Oct 1atWest VirginiaW 34–⁠1754%
Oct 8vsMarshallW 41–⁠1485%
Oct 20atMarylandW 28–⁠965%
Oct 27vs13Boston CollegeW 30–⁠1073%
Nov 5vs5MiamiL 7–⁠2766%
Nov 19atVirginiaW 52–⁠1460%
Nov 26vsNorth CarolinaW 30–⁠385%
Dec 3vs22Florida StateACC Championship GameL 22–⁠2773%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs16LouisvilleGator BowlW 35–⁠2453%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Louisville 35–⁠24 in the Gator Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 3
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 8
  12. Wk 12: 7
  13. Wk 13: 5
  14. Wk 14: 5
  15. Final: 7

ACC Coastal champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanJimmy Williams, DB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 3
Points
440–⁠168
Coach
Frank Beamer
Elo
1768 +122 this season
SP+ rating
25.5 No. 6 of 118; offense No. 20, defense No. 4
SRS
19.7 No. 5 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 20
Offensive coordinator
Bryan Stinespring
Defensive coordinator
Bud Foster
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense34th of 119
  • Defense36th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1043%0.9434th of 119
Defense0.0433%1.0936th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 342% allowed
Defense-0.3own 272% 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 2005 class

Victor Harris CB★★★★No. 39
Deveon Simmons OLB★★★★No. 90
Ike Whitaker DUAL★★★★No. 123
Robert Norris OT★★★No. 829
Cordarrow Thompson DT★★★No. 829

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

The 2005 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.922
Receivers12.00.744
Offensive line13.00.811
Defensive line13.00.811
Linebackers14.00.963
Defensive backs14.00.983
Athletes and specialists12.00.722
Whole class73.10.851

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 2006

The 2006 draft
Rd 2Jimmy Williams DBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 2Darryl Tapp DESeattle Seahawks
Rd 3James Anderson LBCarolina Panthers
Rd 5Jeff King TECarolina Panthers
Rd 6Jonathan Lewis DTArizona Cardinals
Rd 7Justin Hamilton DBCleveland Browns
Rd 7Jimmy Martin OTSan Diego Chargers
Rd 7Will Montgomery OGCarolina Panthers
Rd 7Cedric Humes RBPittsburgh Steelers

All-ACC

5 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2005 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2005 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech7–⁠111–⁠27
Miami6–⁠29–⁠317
Boston College5–⁠39–⁠318
Florida State5–⁠38–⁠523
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠5
Clemson4–⁠48–⁠421
North Carolina4–⁠45–⁠6
NC State3–⁠57–⁠5
Virginia3–⁠57–⁠5
Maryland3–⁠55–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠54–⁠7
Duke0–⁠81–⁠10

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