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2009 Virginia Tech

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Frank Beamer, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2009, game by game: lost vs. No. 5 Alabama 24–34; won vs. Marshall 52–10; won vs. No. 19 Nebraska 16–15; won vs. No. 9 Miami 31–7; won at Duke 34–26; won vs. Boston College 48–14; lost at No. 19 Georgia Tech 23–28; lost vs. North Carolina 17–20; won at East Carolina 16–3; won at Maryland 36–9; won vs. NC State 38–10; won at Virginia 42–13; won vs. Tennessee 37–14+42−10Lost 24–34 vs. No. 5 Alabama-10No. 5 AlabamaWon 52–10 vs. Marshall+42MarshallWon 16–15 vs. No. 19 Nebraska+1No. 19 NebraskaWon 31–7 vs. No. 9 Miami+24No. 9 MiamiWon 34–26 at Duke+8DukeWon 48–14 vs. Boston College+34Boston CollegeLost 23–28 at No. 19 Georgia Tech-5No. 19 Georgia TechLost 17–20 vs. North Carolina-3North CarolinaWon 16–3 at East Carolina+13East CarolinaWon 36–9 at Maryland+27MarylandWon 38–10 vs. NC State+28NC StateWon 42–13 at Virginia+29VirginiaWon 37–14 vs. Tennessee+23Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vs5AlabamaL 24–⁠3451%
Sep 12vsMarshallW 52–⁠1080%
Sep 19vs19NebraskaW 16–⁠1560%
Sep 26vs9MiamiW 31–⁠767%
Oct 3atDukeW 34–⁠2675%
Oct 10vsBoston CollegeW 48–⁠1467%
Oct 17at19Georgia TechL 23–⁠2852%
Oct 29vsNorth CarolinaL 17–⁠2078%
Nov 5atEast CarolinaW 16–⁠357%
Nov 14atMarylandW 36–⁠975%
Nov 21vsNC StateW 38–⁠1084%
Nov 28atVirginiaW 42–⁠1377%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsTennesseeChick-fil-A BowlW 37–⁠1465%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tennessee 37–⁠14 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 13
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 15
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 22
  11. Wk 11: 20
  12. Wk 12: 16
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 11
  15. Wk 15: 12
  16. Final: 10
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 4
Points
414–⁠203
Coach
Frank Beamer
Elo
1732 +87 this season
SP+ rating
27.8 No. 4 of 120; offense No. 12, defense No. 10, special teams No. 3
SRS
20.1 No. 4 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 25
Offensive coordinator
Bryan Stinespring
Defensive coordinator
Bud Foster
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense28th of 120
  • Defense40th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted16th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted44th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0840%1.0128th of 120
Defense0.0234%1.0440th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.03 def		41% off
35% def		—16th off
44th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 353% allowed
Defense-0.1own 282% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsTyrod Taylor QB2,311 yds
Passing touchdownsTyrod Taylor QB13 TD
Rushing yardsRyan Williams 1,655 yds
Rushing touchdownsRyan Williams 21 TD
Receiving yardsJarrett Boykin 835 yds
Receiving touchdownsJarrett Boykin 5 TD
InterceptionsKam Chancellor 2 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Logan Thomas PRO★★★★No. 52
David Wilson RB★★★★No. 91
Jayron Hosley CB★★★★No. 194
Lanford Collins SDE★★★No. 377
Nubian Peak RB★★★No. 865

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

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.974
Running backs23.50.908
Offensive line12.00.789
Defensive line23.00.872
Linebackers12.00.789
Defensive backs33.30.866
Athletes and specialists13.00.841
Whole class113.10.868

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 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 2Jason Worilds OLBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 5Kam Chancellor SSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Edward Wang OTBuffalo Bills
Rd 6Brent Bowden PTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Cody Grimm STampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 118

The 2009 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia Tech7–⁠111–⁠313
Virginia Tech6–⁠210–⁠310
Clemson6–⁠29–⁠524
Miami5–⁠39–⁠419
Boston College5–⁠38–⁠5
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Florida State4–⁠47–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke3–⁠55–⁠7
NC State2–⁠65–⁠7
Virginia2–⁠63–⁠9
Maryland1–⁠72–⁠10

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