The 1987 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University as an independent during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Frank Beamer, the Hokies compiled a 2–9 record, scored 203 points, and allowed 300. Virginia Tech played its home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Virginia Tech lost its first three games to No. 10 Clemson, Virginia, and Syracuse. The Hokies defeated Navy, 31–11, on October 3 for Beamer's first victory at Virginia Tech, then lost six consecutive games before closing the season with a 21–20 win over Cincinnati.
Freshman running back Jon Jeffries led the team with 599 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 125 carries. He also returned 22 kickoffs for 561 yards, including a 92-yard touchdown against Clemson. Quarterback Erik Chapman completed 119 of 231 passes for 1,340 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Tight end Steve Johnson had a team-high 38 receptions for 475 yards and three touchdowns, while Myron Richardson caught 28 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns. Placekicker Chris Kinzer led the team with 47 points, making 8 of 17 field-goal attempts and all 23 of his extra-point attempts.
Defensive tackle Scott Hill led Virginia Tech with 177 tackles, six sacks, and seven tackles for loss. Inside linebacker Randy Cockrell recorded 133 tackles and returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown against Navy. Defensive back Carter Wiley had 126 tackles, and Greg Drew had 110 tackles, five tackles for loss, and one sack. Virginia Tech recorded 14 sacks and recovered 16 of its opponents' 32 fumbles during the season.
The Beamer era begins Virginia Tech hired Frank Beamer before the 1987 season to replace Bill Dooley. Beamer had coached Murray State for six seasons from 1981 through 1986, compiling a 42–23–2 record and sharing the 1986 Ohio Valley Conference championship. Dooley had gone 64–37–1 in nine seasons at Virginia Tech (including a forfeit to Temple). Beamer's first Virginia Tech staff included defensive coordinator Ron Zook.
Although the Hokies finished 2–9, all but two of their losses were by two touchdowns or less. Notably, Tech lost 14–13 at Virginia after a two-point conversion attempt failed with 1:24 remaining, and lost 14–7 at Kentucky after holding the Wildcats scoreless over the final three quarters. The Hokies were also tied 13–13 with third-ranked Miami entering the fourth quarter before losing 27–13.
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Game Summaries No. 10 Clemson
Box Score
No. 10 Clemson defeated Virginia Tech 22–10 in Frank Beamer's coaching debut, as the Tigers' rushing attack and defensive pressure controlled the game from start to finish. Wesley McFadden carried 226 yards and two touchdowns on 60 rushing attempts that generated 308 yards on the ground. Michael Dean Perry led a defensive effort that sacked Erik Chapman seven times for 56 yards in losses, limiting Virginia Tech to just 60 total yards and six first downs.
Virginia Tech's only moments of offense came in flashes. Chris Kinzer provided the first points of the Beamer era with a 48-yard field goal at the 1:14 mark of the first quarter, briefly knotting the score at 3–3. The Hokies' lone touchdown came when Jon Jeffries turned a kickoff into a 92-yard sprint down the sideline in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 22–10 with the extra point. Chapman completed just 6 of 17 passes for 37 yards and threw two interceptions in a performance that reflected the gap between a rebuilding program and a top-ten opponent.
Victor Jones led the Virginia Tech defense with 16 tackles and two forced fumbles, and both Randy Cockrell and Greg Drew posted 14 stops apiece.
Virginia
Box Score
Virginia's 14–13 victory in the Commonwealth Cup game turned on Virginia's early scoring and Virginia Tech's failed two-point conversion attempt in the final minute. The victory marked Virginia's 9th win in 10 games against the Hokies.
Keith Mattioli opened the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown reception from Scott Secules at the 5:53 mark of the first quarter. Scott Secules extended Virginia's lead to 14–0 with a 1-yard touchdown run with 13:48 remaining in the second quarter. Earnie Jones cut the deficit to 14–7 with a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:35 remaining in the half. After a scoreless third quarter, Erik Chapman engineered a fourth-quarter drive and found Steve Johnson on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 1:24 remaining. Beamer opted for the win, declining the extra point and attempting a two-point conversion that would give Virginia Tech the lead, but the attempt failed, preserving Virginia's 14–13 victory.
Chapman completed 13 of 26 passes for 187 yards, Jones contributed 60 rushing yards on 13 carries, and the Hokies converted 8 of 18 third-down attempts. The defense forced two turnovers and held Virginia to 197 passing yards from Secules. The loss came within a single play of a road win over a quality opponent in just the second game of the Beamer era.
Syracuse
Box Score
Virginia Tech built a 21–7 halftime lead over Syracuse before the Orangemen — led by Don McPherson — scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to win 35–21 at Lane Stadium. Syracuse outgained Virginia Tech 442 to 213 yards for the game, with the Orangemen's rushing attack generating 256 yards compared to Virginia Tech's minus-1 yard on the ground.
The first half belonged entirely to Virginia Tech. Steve Johnson caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Erik Chapman with 12:15 remaining in the first quarter, and Myron Richardson added a 9-yard touchdown reception with 9:52 left to give the Hokies a 14–0 lead. Michael Owens got Syracuse on the board with a 34-yard touchdown reception from McPherson with 12:35 remaining in the second quarter, but Don Stokes blocked a punt and returned it 0 yards for a touchdown with 9:41 left to extend Virginia Tech's lead to 21–7 at halftime.
The second half was a different game entirely. Chris Barnes scored on a 4-yard run with 6:59 remaining in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 21–14, and Tommy Kane caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from McPherson with 1:16 left in the quarter to tie the game at 21–21. Robert Drummond broke the tie with a 51-yard touchdown run with 10:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Kane added an 11-yard touchdown reception with 7:07 left to cap the scoring. Chapman finished with 214 passing yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions, while Richardson led the receivers with five catches for 99 yards.
Navy
Box Score
Virginia Tech defeated Navy 31–11 at Lane Stadium for Frank Beamer's first victory as a college head coach.
The Hokies scored on their first possession and never trailed. Sean Donnelly opened the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run with 3:53 remaining in the first quarter. Frank Schenk got Navy on the board with a 20-yard field goal with 12:03 remaining in the second quarter, but Erik Chapman extended Virginia Tech's lead to 14–3 at halftime with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Myron Richardson with 3:33 left in the half. Jon Jeffries broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run with 13:06 remaining in the third quarter — the longest scrimmage play by any Hokie all season — to increase the margin to 21–3. Chris Kinzer added a 39-yard field goal with 9:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Randy Cockrell intercepted a Navy pass and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown with 3:08 left. Navy added a late touchdown when Carl Jordan caught an 8-yard pass from Alton Grizzard with 3 seconds remaining, but the 2-point conversion failed. Jeffries rushed 15 times for 128 yards and a touchdown, and the defense forced three Navy turnovers.
South Carolina
Box Score
Sterling Sharpe was the most dangerous player on the field at Williams-Brice Stadium, carrying the South Carolina rushing attack for three touchdowns while Todd Ellis took full advantage of a Hokie secondary that could not keep pace with the Gamecocks' balanced attack. South Carolina accumulated 502 total yards — 351 of them through the air — in front of 73,150 fans, and the margin was never genuinely in doubt after the game's opening quarter.
Ryan Bethea opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown reception from Todd Ellis with 12:45 remaining in the first quarter, and Sterling Sharpe added a 3-yard touchdown run with 7 seconds left to make it 14–0. Earnie Jones finished a sustained second-quarter drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 9:21 remaining to cut the deficit to 14–7, but Sharpe responded with another 3-yard touchdown run with 3:51 left in the half. Chris Kinzer connected on a 19-yard field goal as time expired at halftime to send the teams to the locker room at 21–10. The Hokie defense created its own opportunities — recovering three South Carolina fumbles — but could not translate the turnovers into points before the Gamecocks pulled decisively away in the second half with four field goals and another Sharpe touchdown.
Chapman completed 16 of 31 passes for just 101 yards, was sacked three times, and threw two interceptions against a defense that smothered the Hokie passing game all afternoon. Jones led the offense with his 4-yard scoring run, and Steve Johnson caught seven passes for 30 yards as the Gamecocks dared Virginia Tech to throw short. South Carolina outgained the Hokies 502 to 187 yards — a gap that told the story of an afternoon in which the visitors were simply outmanned.
East Carolina
Box Score
Virginia Tech's homecoming game against East Carolina was a contest the Hokies had controlled for three quarters before the Pirates scored twice in the final period to take a 32–23 victory at Lane Stadium. The offense generated 392 yards — one of its better outputs of the season — and the defense kept things competitive through the critical middle quarters.
Virginia Tech scored on its first two possessions to build a 10–0 first-quarter lead. Chris Kinzer opened the scoring with a 49-yard field goal with 9:25 remaining, and Chapman followed with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Myron Richardson with 4:10 left in the quarter. Travis Hunter cut the deficit to 10–7 with a 1-yard touchdown run with 14:16 remaining in the second quarter, but Chapman extended Virginia Tech's lead to 17–7 with a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 8:23 left in the half. Chuck Berleth connected on field goals of 40 and 34 yards to cut Virginia Tech's lead to 17–17 at halftime. Hunter gave East Carolina its first lead with a 35-yard touchdown run with 11:36 remaining in the third quarter, but Chapman answered with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Karl Borden with 4:57 left in the quarter. The two-point conversion that followed was unsuccessful, keeping Virginia Tech ahead 23–19.
The fourth quarter produced nothing for Virginia Tech. Hunter added a 6-yard touchdown run with 9:21 remaining, and Travis Hunter connected with Tim James on a 74-yard touchdown pass with 4:10 left to cap the scoring. Jon Jeffries had been the engine of the Hokie ground game all day, carrying 27 times for 129 yards, and Chapman completed 11 of 21 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. The numbers were good enough to win most games — but East Carolina's offense, which had been moving the ball all afternoon, would not be stopped when it mattered most.
Tulane
Box Score
The highest-scoring game of Virginia Tech's 1987 season ended in a 57–38 defeat at the Louisiana Superdome, where Tulane's Terrence Jones threw for 362 yards and three touchdowns and the Green Wave used a second-half kickoff return to break the contest open. Virginia Tech trailed 30–7 at halftime and 43–17 as the third quarter wound down before mounting a spirited late rally that produced three fourth-quarter touchdowns in a losing cause.