CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Virginia Tech

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Justin Fuente.

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2018, game by game: won at No. 19 Florida State 24–3; won vs. William & Mary 62–17; lost at Old Dominion 35–49; won at No. 22 Duke 31–14; lost vs. No. 6 Notre Dame 23–45; won at North Carolina 22–19; lost vs. Georgia Tech 28–49; lost vs. No. 24 Boston College 21–31; lost at Pittsburgh 22–52; lost vs. Miami 14–38; won vs. Virginia 34–31; won vs. Marshall 41–20; lost vs. Cincinnati 31–35+45−30Won 24–3 at No. 19 Florida State+21No. 19 Florida StateWon 62–17 vs. William & Mary+45William & MaryLost 35–49 at Old Dominion-14Old DominionWon 31–14 at No. 22 Duke+17No. 22 DukeLost 23–45 vs. No. 6 Notre Dame-22No. 6 Notre DameWon 22–19 at North Carolina+3North CarolinaLost 28–49 vs. Georgia Tech-21Georgia TechLost 21–31 vs. No. 24 Boston College-10No. 24 Boston CollegeLost 22–52 at Pittsburgh-30PittsburghLost 14–38 vs. Miami-24MiamiWon 34–31 vs. Virginia+3VirginiaWon 41–20 vs. Marshall+21MarshallLost 31–35 vs. Cincinnati-4Cincinnati
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3at19Florida StateW 24–⁠342%
Sep 8vsWilliam & MaryW 62–⁠1792%
Sep 22atOld DominionL 35–⁠4978%
Sep 29at22DukeW 31–⁠1436%
Oct 6vs6Notre DameL 23–⁠4545%
Oct 13atNorth CarolinaW 22–⁠1965%
Oct 25vsGeorgia TechL 28–⁠4969%
Nov 3vs24Boston CollegeL 21–⁠3151%
Nov 10atPittsburghL 22–⁠5238%
Nov 17vsMiamiL 14–⁠3849%
Nov 23vsVirginiaW 34–⁠3148%
Dec 1vsMarshallW 41–⁠2047%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsCincinnatiMilitary BowlL 31–⁠3543%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Cincinnati 35–⁠31 in the Military Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 76th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 13
  4. Wk 4: 13
  5. Wk 6: 24
Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 12
Points
388–⁠403
Coach
Justin Fuente
Elo
1516 −77 this season
SP+ rating
3.9 No. 55 of 130; offense No. 41, defense No. 77, special teams No. 54
SRS
−1.4 No. 74 of 130 in FBS
Returning
69% of last season’s EPA, No. 53 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 24 roster talent No. 30 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brad Cornelsen
Defensive coordinator
Bud Foster
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense71st of 130
  • Defense99th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted50th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted110th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0942%1.2271st of 130
Defense0.1742%1.4799th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.17 def		44% off
43% def		—50th off
110th 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 3017% allowed
Defense3.7own 2715% caused

CORE rating -2.8, 89th of 130 (offense 1.8, defense 4.5).

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 yardsRyan Willis QB2,716 yds
Passing touchdownsRyan Willis QB24 TD
Rushing yardsSteven Peoples RB786 yds
Rushing touchdownsSteven Peoples RB6 TD
Receiving yardsDamon Hazelton WR802 yds
Receiving touchdownsDamon Hazelton WR8 TD
TacklesRayshard Ashby LB105 tkl
SacksHoushun Gaines DL4.5 sacks
InterceptionsCaleb Farley DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Dax Hollifield ILB★★★★No. 151
Tre Turner WR★★★★No. 180
Quincy Patterson DUAL★★★★No. 275
Chamarri Conner S★★★★No. 317
Alan Tisdale OLB★★★★No. 365
James Mitchell WR★★★★No. 374

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.905
Running backs23.00.853
Receivers43.50.880
Offensive line43.00.863
Defensive line43.00.860
Linebackers33.70.902
Defensive backs43.30.872
Athletes and specialists43.00.861
Whole class263.20.872

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.

Roster 102

The 2018 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠015–⁠01
Syracuse6–⁠210–⁠315
Pittsburgh6–⁠27–⁠7
NC State5–⁠39–⁠4
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Duke3–⁠58–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠55–⁠7
North Carolina1–⁠72–⁠9
Louisville0–⁠82–⁠10

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