CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Virginia Tech

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Justin Fuente, then J.C. Price (interim).

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2021, game by game: won vs. No. 10 North Carolina 17–10; won vs. Middle Tennessee 35–14; lost at West Virginia 21–27; won vs. Richmond 21–10; lost vs. No. 14 Notre Dame 29–32; lost vs. Pittsburgh 7–28; lost vs. Syracuse 36–41; won at Georgia Tech 26–17; lost at Boston College 3–17; won vs. Duke 48–17; lost at Miami 26–38; won at Virginia 29–24; lost vs. Maryland 10–54+31−44Won 17–10 vs. No. 10 North Carolina+7No. 10 North CarolinaWon 35–14 vs. Middle Tennessee+21Middle TennesseeLost 21–27 at West Virginia-6West VirginiaWon 21–10 vs. Richmond+11RichmondLost 29–32 vs. No. 14 Notre Dame-3No. 14 Notre DameLost 7–28 vs. Pittsburgh-21PittsburghLost 36–41 vs. Syracuse-5SyracuseWon 26–17 at Georgia Tech+9Georgia TechLost 3–17 at Boston College-14Boston CollegeWon 48–17 vs. Duke+31DukeLost 26–38 at Miami-12MiamiWon 29–24 at Virginia+5VirginiaLost 10–54 vs. Maryland-44Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs10North CarolinaW 17–⁠1049%
Sep 11vsMiddle TennesseeW 35–⁠1470%
Sep 18atWest VirginiaL 21–⁠2749%
Sep 25vsRichmondW 21–⁠1082%
Oct 9vs14Notre DameL 29–⁠3240%
Oct 16vsPittsburghL 7–⁠2848%
Oct 23vsSyracuseL 36–⁠4170%
Oct 30atGeorgia TechW 26–⁠1745%
Nov 5atBoston CollegeL 3–⁠1748%
Nov 13vsDukeW 48–⁠1772%
Nov 20atMiamiL 26–⁠3839%
Nov 27atVirginiaW 29–⁠2440%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsMarylandPinstripe BowlL 10–⁠5456%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Maryland 54–⁠10 in the Pinstripe Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 90th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 19
  2. Wk 3: 15
Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
308–⁠329
Coach
Justin Fuente, then J.C. Price (interim)
Elo
1471 −61 this season
SP+ rating
2.4 No. 70 of 130; offense No. 85, defense No. 54
SRS
0.0 No. 71 of 130 in FBS
Returning
56% of last season’s EPA, No. 95 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 45 roster talent No. 39 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brad Cornelsen
Defensive coordinator
Justin Hamilton
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense59th of 130
  • Defense89th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted68th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted96th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1542%1.2559th of 130
Defense0.1843%1.3689th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.18 def		42% off
42% def		—68th off
96th 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
Offense3.4own 2815% allowed
Defense3.7own 2616% caused

CORE rating -3.7, 80th of 130 (offense -2.7, defense 1.1).

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 yardsBraxton Burmeister QB1,960 yds
Passing touchdownsBraxton Burmeister QB14 TD
Rushing yardsRaheem Blackshear RB760 yds
Rushing touchdownsRaheem Blackshear RB6 TD
Receiving yardsTre Turner WR675 yds
Receiving touchdownsTayvion Robinson WR5 TD
TacklesDax Hollifield LB92 tkl
SacksDax Hollifield LB4.5 sacks
InterceptionsJermaine Waller DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

D.J. Harvey CB★★★★No. 334
Jack Hollifield LB★★★No. 583
Kenji Christian RB★★★No. 707
Jaden Keller ATH★★★No. 707
Elijah Howard RB★★★No. 729

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.860
Running backs43.00.860
Receivers43.00.853
Offensive line33.00.835
Defensive line33.00.855
Linebackers33.00.856
Defensive backs73.00.843
Athletes and specialists43.00.863
Whole class293.00.852

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 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 5James Mitchell TEDetroit Lions
Rd 6Amare Barno OLBCarolina Panthers
Rd 6Luke Tenuta OTBuffalo Bills
Rd 6Lecitus Smith OGArizona Cardinals

Roster 124

The 2021 roster

124 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2021 portal
Jordan Williams DT★★★from Clemson
Tae Daley S★★★from Vanderbilt
Johnny Jordan OC★★★from Maryland
Connor Blumrick PRO★★★from Texas A&M
Jared Cole RB★★★from Massachusetts
C.J. McCray OLBfrom Marshall
Will Ross Kfrom South Carolina

Transfers out 19

Doug Nester OG★★★★to West Virginia
Bryan Hudson OC★★★to Louisville
Hendon Hooker PRO★★★to Tennessee
Alec Bryant DE★★★★to Illinois
Quincy Patterson II QB★★★★to North Dakota State
Darryle Simmons WR★★★no new school on file
DaShawn Crawford DL★★★to Southern Miss
Elijah Bowick WR★★★to North Carolina A&T
Evan Fairs WR★★★no new school on file
Justin Beadles DE★★★to Houston
Robert Wooten DE★★★to Texas Tech
T.J. Jackson OT★★★to Ohio

And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Pittsburgh7–⁠111–⁠313
Wake Forest7–⁠211–⁠315
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠314
NC State6–⁠29–⁠320
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠46–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Louisville4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠45–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠56–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠66–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Duke0–⁠83–⁠9

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