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2020 Virginia Tech

5–⁠6 (5–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Justin Fuente.

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2020, game by game: won vs. NC State 45–24; won at Duke 38–31; lost at No. 8 North Carolina 45–56; won vs. Boston College 40–14; lost at Wake Forest 16–23; won at Louisville 42–35; lost vs. No. 25 Liberty 35–38; lost vs. No. 9 Miami 24–25; lost at Pittsburgh 14–47; lost vs. No. 4 Clemson 10–45; won vs. Virginia 33–15+26−35Won 45–24 vs. NC State+21NC StateWon 38–31 at Duke+7DukeLost 45–56 at No. 8 North Carolina-11No. 8 North CarolinaWon 40–14 vs. Boston College+26Boston CollegeLost 16–23 at Wake Forest-7Wake ForestWon 42–35 at Louisville+7LouisvilleLost 35–38 vs. No. 25 Liberty-3No. 25 LibertyLost 24–25 vs. No. 9 Miami-1No. 9 MiamiLost 14–47 at Pittsburgh-33PittsburghLost 10–45 vs. No. 4 Clemson-35No. 4 ClemsonWon 33–15 vs. Virginia+18Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 26vsNC StateW 45–⁠2471%
Oct 3atDukeW 38–⁠3161%
Oct 10at8North CarolinaL 45–⁠5643%
Oct 17vsBoston CollegeW 40–⁠1461%
Oct 24atWake ForestL 16–⁠2350%
Oct 31atLouisvilleW 42–⁠3552%
Nov 7vs25LibertyL 35–⁠3859%
Nov 14vs9MiamiL 24–⁠2551%
Nov 21atPittsburghL 14–⁠4744%
Dec 5vs4ClemsonL 10–⁠4522%
Dec 12vsVirginiaW 33–⁠1552%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Virginia 33–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The tied 57th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 20
  2. Wk 4: 20
  3. Wk 6: 19
  4. Wk 7: 23
  5. Wk 8: 19
Record
5–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠5 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 19
Points
342–⁠353
Coach
Justin Fuente
Elo
1549 −5 this season
SP+ rating
13.7 No. 17 of 130; offense No. 12, defense No. 38
Returning
62% of last season’s EPA, No. 71 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 72 roster talent No. 34 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brad Cornelsen
Defensive coordinator
Justin Hamilton
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense24th of 127
  • Defense100th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted101st of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2148%1.2324th of 127
Defense0.2147%1.33100th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.17 def		49% off
45% def		—23rd off
101st 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
Offense3.7own 3015% allowed
Defense4.2own 2717% caused

CORE rating 3.2, 56th of 127 (offense 9.3, defense 6.1).

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 yardsHendon Hooker QB1,344 yds
Passing touchdownsHendon Hooker QB9 TD
Rushing yardsKhalil Herbert RB1,183 yds
Rushing touchdownsHendon Hooker QB9 TD
Receiving yardsTayvion Robinson WR588 yds
Receiving touchdownsJames Mitchell TE4 TD
TacklesChamarri Conner DB81 tkl
SacksAmare Barno DL6.5 sacks
InterceptionsDivine Deablo DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Alec Bryant WDE★★★★No. 358
Robert Wooten WDE★★★No. 588
Tyree Saunders WR★★★No. 804
Justin Beadles WDE★★★No. 1043
Jalen Hampton RB★★★No. 1063

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.850
Receivers43.00.849
Offensive line23.00.841
Defensive line43.30.870
Linebackers12.00.768
Defensive backs23.00.844
Whole class153.00.848

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 1Caleb Farley CBTennessee Titans
Rd 1Christian Darrisaw OTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 3Divine Deablo SLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 6Khalil Herbert RBChicago Bears

Roster 127

The 2020 roster

127 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Notre Dame9–⁠010–⁠25
Clemson8–⁠110–⁠23
Miami7–⁠28–⁠322
North Carolina7–⁠38–⁠418
NC State7–⁠38–⁠4
Pittsburgh5–⁠56–⁠5
Boston College5–⁠56–⁠5
Virginia Tech5–⁠55–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠55–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠44–⁠5
Georgia Tech3–⁠63–⁠7
Louisville3–⁠74–⁠7
Florida State2–⁠63–⁠6
Duke1–⁠92–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠91–⁠10

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