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2016 Virginia Tech

10–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Justin Fuente, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2016, game by game: won vs. Liberty 36–13; lost vs. No. 17 Tennessee 24–45; won vs. Boston College 49–0; won vs. East Carolina 54–17; won at No. 17 North Carolina 34–3; lost at Syracuse 17–31; won vs. Miami 37–16; won at Pittsburgh 39–36; won at Duke 24–21; lost vs. Georgia Tech 20–30; won at Notre Dame 34–31; won vs. Virginia 52–10; lost vs. No. 3 Clemson 35–42; won vs. Arkansas 35–24+49−21Won 36–13 vs. Liberty+23LibertyLost 24–45 vs. No. 17 Tennessee-21No. 17 TennesseeWon 49–0 vs. Boston College+49Boston CollegeWon 54–17 vs. East Carolina+37East CarolinaWon 34–3 at No. 17 North Carolina+31No. 17 North CarolinaLost 17–31 at Syracuse-14SyracuseWon 37–16 vs. Miami+21MiamiWon 39–36 at Pittsburgh+3PittsburghWon 24–21 at Duke+3DukeLost 20–30 vs. Georgia Tech-10Georgia TechWon 34–31 at Notre Dame+3Notre DameWon 52–10 vs. Virginia+42VirginiaLost 35–42 vs. No. 3 Clemson-7No. 3 ClemsonWon 35–24 vs. Arkansas+11Arkansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsLibertyW 36–⁠1381%
Sep 10vs17TennesseeL 24–⁠4539%
Sep 17vsBoston CollegeW 49–⁠068%
Sep 24vsEast CarolinaW 54–⁠1766%
Oct 8at17North CarolinaW 34–⁠334%
Oct 15atSyracuseL 17–⁠3174%
Oct 20vsMiamiW 37–⁠1656%
Oct 27atPittsburghW 39–⁠3645%
Nov 5atDukeW 24–⁠2165%
Nov 12vsGeorgia TechL 20–⁠3074%
Nov 19atNotre DameW 34–⁠3144%
Nov 26vsVirginiaW 52–⁠1084%
Dec 3vs3ClemsonACC Championship GameL 35–⁠4226%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsArkansasBelk BowlW 35–⁠2453%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arkansas 35–⁠24 in the Belk Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 25
  2. Wk 7: 17
  3. Wk 9: 25
  4. Wk 10: 23
  5. Wk 11: 18
  6. Wk 14: 19
  7. Wk 15: 18
  8. Final: 16

ACC Coastal champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
490–⁠319
Coach
Justin Fuente
Elo
1641 +92 this season
SP+ rating
15.2 No. 22 of 128; offense No. 37, defense No. 21, special teams No. 45
SRS
12.1 No. 17 of 128 in FBS
Returning
75% of last season’s EPA, No. 43 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 42 roster talent No. 36 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brad Cornelsen
Defensive coordinator
Bud Foster
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense51st of 128
  • Defense28th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted55th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted16th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1347%1.0851st of 128
Defense0.0339%1.1328th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.01 def		47% off
37% def		—55th off
16th 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
Offense3.6own 3415% allowed
Defense3.1own 2822% caused

CORE rating 11.6, 18th of 128 (offense 3.1, defense -8.4).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJerod Evans QB3,552 yds
Passing touchdownsJerod Evans QB29 TD
Rushing yardsJerod Evans QB846 yds
Rushing touchdownsJerod Evans QB12 TD
Receiving yardsIsaiah Ford WR1,094 yds
Receiving touchdownsBucky Hodges TE7 TD
TacklesAndrew Motuapuaka LB114 tkl
SacksKen Ekanem DE7.5 sacks
InterceptionsTerrell Edmunds S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Divine Deablo WR★★★No. 436
Josh Jackson DUAL★★★No. 445
Khalil Ladler CB★★★No. 455
Reggie Floyd ATH★★★No. 517
Eric Kumah WR★★★No. 558

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.877
Receivers43.00.867
Offensive line43.00.834
Defensive line43.00.831
Linebackers33.00.833
Defensive backs13.00.876
Athletes and specialists33.00.859
Whole class203.00.848

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 2017

The 2017 draft
Rd 6Chuck Clark SBaltimore Ravens
Rd 6Bucky Hodges TEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 6Sam Rogers FBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 7Isaiah Ford WRMiami Dolphins

Roster 117

The 2016 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson7–⁠114–⁠11
Louisville7–⁠19–⁠421
Virginia Tech6–⁠210–⁠416
Florida State5–⁠310–⁠38
Miami5–⁠39–⁠420
North Carolina5–⁠38–⁠5
Pittsburgh5–⁠38–⁠5
Georgia Tech4–⁠49–⁠4
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
NC State3–⁠57–⁠6
Boston College2–⁠67–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
Duke1–⁠74–⁠8
Virginia1–⁠72–⁠10

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