The 2000 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Tech as a member of the Big East Conference during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 14th-year Frank Beamer, the Hokies compiled an overall record of 11–1, with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, placing second in the Big East. Virginia Tech was invited to the Gator Bowl, where the Hokies defeated Clemson. The team played home game at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Virginia Tech the season ranked sixth in both the AP poll and the Coaches Poll. In one longitudinal statistical measure, the 2000 team ranks as the best team in Tech history.
This was Tech's second straight 11–1 season, tying the record for wins in a season that still stands though the 2024 season. The team's only loss was to the Miami Hurricanes, in a game in which Tech star Michael Vick was only able to play sparingly due to an ankle sprain sustained two weeks earlier. Tech was ranked second in the AP poll at the time, tied for the highest standing in program history. Miami was ranked third, and went on to finish second in the AP poll.
Vick was considered a top Heisman Trophy candidate before he was injured in the first half of the ninth game of the season, against Pittsburgh. The previous year, he finished third in the Heisman voting after leading Tech to the Sugar Bowl for the BCS National Championship Game. Vick had his share of highlights before his injury: his career rushing high of 210 yards against the Boston College Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; racking up 288 yards of total offense and scoring two touchdowns against West Virginia in a 48–20 win; and leading the Hokies back from a 14–0 deficit against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, cementing the victory with a 55-yard run with 1:34 left. Vick finished sixth in the Heisman voting in 2000.
The day following the regular-season finale with Virginia, Beamer visited the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was offered the job to replace fired head football coach Carl Torbush. According to numerous reports, Beamer accepted the job, but in the end he decided to stay with his alma mater. The team was ranked fifth in the final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) ranking, but was snubbed for an at-large spot in the BCS bowls favor of the eighth and 11th ranked teams. After the season, Vick opted to forgo his final two years of college eligibility, and was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the first overall pick of the 2001 NFL draft.
Schedule
Rankings
Preseason prospects Virginia Tech began the 2000 season ranked 11th in the Associated Press pre-season poll after losing in the BCS National Championship game the previous year. Tech's star quarterback Michael Vick was returning at quarterback. He had finished third in voting for the 1999 Heisman that was held before his stellar performance in the championship game. In voting that happened after the bowl game, Vick won the Best College Football Player ESPY Award. However, eight defensive starters, including Nagurski Award winner Corey Moore, had moved on from the team that lead the nation in scoring defense.
Black Coaches Association Classic washout Shortly after the 1999 National Championship game, Tech was selected to play in one of several special "preseason" games allowed at that time, enabling it to play an extra game (12 instead of 11). The game was sponsored by the Black Coaches Association, and to be held in Lane Stadium. ACC member Georgia Tech was later selected to be the opponent. ESPN decided to have a special one-hour preseason special live from Blacksburg immediately preceding the contest. It was the third time in four games that Tech was appearing on Gameday, including the National Championship, and it was the third time in Tech's last four home games that the Gameday crew would be in Blacksburg. ( See College GameDay (football TV program)#Locations). Lee Corso, former Indiana coach, had become famous for his end-of-show picks where he donned the headgear of the team he picked the to win the Gameday contest. He became a huge favorite of the Tech fans the previous year when he not only picked the Hokies to win against Syracuse and Miami when the show was in Blacksburg, but also because he had forecast what seemed like an improbable matchup between then 13th-ranked Tech and Florida State in the National Championship game during the preseason show. At the end of the show, Corso did pick the Hokies to prevail in the game that evening versus Georgia Tech, but he made two picks that were very unpopular with Virginia Tech fans. He predicted Florida State to play Kansas State in the National Championship game and for Seminole quarterback Chris Weinke to win the Heisman. Tech fans booed as word of his pick, made live from the south end zone, made its way through the crowd.
Tech added permanent seats in the North end zone that were finished only shortly before the game was to be played. A then-record 56,276 fans were on hand to see the game. Before the Hokies entered the game through the tunnel from their locker room, a brand new video scoreboard was utilized to play a segment that began with a stormy scene with a lightning strike. A new tradition would be started when the team entered the field accompanied by the Metallica song "Enter Sandman." This was the first time that entrance song was used in what has now become a staple of the Lane Stadium pre-game routine. The crowd jumping did not begin until the following year.
The lightning strike on the video board proved prophetic. As the teams were lined up for the opening kickoff (Tech's kicker Carter Worley actually had his hand in the air signaling his readiness to kick) a giant lightning bolt lit up the Blacksburg sky. Dan Blum, the referee, ran onto the field waving his hands over his head and blowing his whistle. The teams were quickly instructed to move to the locker rooms with field access at the south end of the stadium. The game was eventually canceled for the night about an hour later as the initial deluge was followed by a more serious storm that lasted until about two hours after the game was originally called. Due to involvement of an external sponsor of the game, there was serious discussion about holding the game on Friday night December 1, the night before several college conference championships were scheduled to be played. Georgia Tech said that it would not play on that date, and for a short period another team was being recruited to play in Blacksburg on that date. By the weekend of the next game, the game was off.
Regular season summary Tech breezed through its first five games, never trailing while beating Akron, East Carolina, Rutgers, Boston College and Temple. In a home rivalry game against West Virginia, the Mountaineers took the lead right before half and led for a total of 2 minutes and 8 seconds before being blown out in the second half by a 48–20 score. In those six games, Tech outscored its opponents by over 28 points per game.
Tech traveled to Syracuse in the seventh game of the year in an attempt to win its first away game against Syracuse since 1986. The Orange led 14–0 after the first quarter, and didn't relinquish the lead until late in the third quarter. Tech came back to win 22–14.
In the following game against Pittsburgh, Vick sprained his ankle in the first half and had to miss the rest of that game, won on a late field goal by Carter Warley after a drive engineered by backup quarterback Dave Meyer. Vick was unable to start against the Miami Hurricanes—the Hokies' lone loss of the season. He was ineffective in the Miami loss, and then sat out the win game against Central Florida played in Orlando. In the Commonwealth Cup, Virginia led at the end of the first quarter, before Tech came back for a three touchdown win.
Lee Suggs was the sparkplug for the Tech offense. He ran for 1,207 yards in the 11 game regular season (bowl games did not count in official NCAA statistics until 2002). He led the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with 28 touchdowns, five more than the second best in the country.
Suggs was a unanimous choice for the All Big East team, and co-Offensive MVP, a title he shared with Antonio Bryant of Pittsburgh and Santana Moss of Miami. Tech also placed offensive guard Dave Kadela on the first-team offensive unit. Defensive lineman David Pugh, (who had 57 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks and an interception)and linebacker Ben Taylor (who led the team with 103 tackles and had seven tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions) were first-team defense. Vick and offensive tackle Matt Lehr were on the second team offense. Chad Beasley, Ronyell Whitaker, and Cory Byrd were on the second team defense. Placekicker Carter Warley and punt/kickoff returner André Davis were second team specialists.
Hokies miss out on BCS at-large bowl bid
The previous December, Tech had emerged from the complex BCS ranking formula as the second-ranked team and was automatically given a chance to play Florida State in the National Championship. Tech placed fifth in the BCS standings, the top-ranked team that did not win its conference, but was not selected for one of two at-large spots for which it was eligible.
In 2000, the BCS involved four bowl games, and champions from six conferences were automatically guaranteed one of the eight spots. Notre Dame was guaranteed a spot in one of the four games only if it finished ranked in the top eight. However, the only mandate for these selections were that the teams had to be among the top 12 in the BCS rankings and had to have nine regular season wins. Once the championship game participants was determined, the other three bowls selected from the remaining conference champion, with the traditional affiliations being the primary constraint. They did not have to choose the top ranked team that remained.
Miami beat Florida State in the regular season, and was ranked second in the AP (writers) poll behind Oklahoma. It ranked third in the BCS behind the Seminoles and Oklahoma in the final standings. The AP voters were not contractually bound to name the winner of the national championship game as its top team in the final poll so the Hurricanes had a legitimate argument that it could win a split national Championship with another win in its bowl game and a Florida State win in the Orange Bowl. A matchup of Miami at BCS-3 and Washington at BCS-4 was not possible because the Rose Bowl was contractually obligated to take the traditional Pac-10 versus Big Ten matchup if those two teams were still available. A rematch against Tech at BCS-5 was out. Oregon State was BC-6 and Florida BCS-7. Florida was contractually obligated to the Sugar Bowl, and that bowl eventually negotiated to have Miami play against the Gators who had won the 1997 National Championship. The two Florida-based teams had not met since 1987. This left the Fiesta Bowl with two at-large bids.
Notre Dame had not played in one of BCS-affiliated bowls since 1995, and because of its national appeal, was a heavy favorite to get one of the spots. In fact, many writers at the time actually thought the Irish were guaranteed a spot in the BCS bowls because it had finished in the top 12. In the final week, Tech athletic director Jim Weaver reportedly lobbied to have the Fiesta choose a Notre Dame versus Miami matchup and give the Sugar Bowl the choice between the Hokies and Beavers. That was not to be.