2005 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

2005 Virginia Tech Hokies football
ACC Coastal Division champion
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 35–24 vs. Louisville
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
Record11–2 (7–1 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBryan Stinespring (4th season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorBud Foster (11th season)
Base defense4–4
Home stadiumLane Stadium
Seasons
← 2004
2006 →
2005 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 23 Florida State xy$   5 3     8 5  
No. 18 Boston College x   5 3     9 3  
No. 21 Clemson   4 4     8 4  
Wake Forest   3 5     4 7  
NC State   3 5     7 5  
Maryland   3 5     5 6  
Coastal Division
No. 7 Virginia Tech x   7 1     11 2  
No. 17 Miami (FL)   6 2     9 3  
Georgia Tech   5 3     7 5  
North Carolina   4 4     5 6  
Virginia   3 5     7 5  
Duke   0 8     1 10  

Championship: Florida State 27, Virginia Tech 22
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2005 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer.

Virginia Tech began the season ranked #7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and #8 in the Associated Press Poll after going 10-3 (7-1 ACC) in 2004 and winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

The 2005 Hokies compiled an 11–2 overall record, including a 7–1 mark during the regular season in Atlantic Coast Conference. The lone regular season conference loss came at home in a 27–7 loss to Miami. Miami was upset late in the season by Georgia Tech, in a game that had previously been postponed due to Hurricane Wilma[1] and so Virginia Tech won the Coastal Division of the ACC outright.

Following the regular season, the Hokies faced Atlantic Division champion Florida State in the ACC football championship game. After a defensive struggle in the first half and a 3-3 halftime tie, Florida State broke the game open in the third quarter, piling up 24 unanswered points. A fourth quarter Tech rally fell short and the Hokies lost 27–22.

The Hokies concluded the season at the 2006 Gator Bowl against Louisville, scoring 22 unanswered fourth quarter points to defeat the #16 Cardinals 35–24.[2]

ESPN's College GameDay visited Blacksburg twice during the season – for the Georgia Tech game on September 24, after Hurricane Rita forced the program to move from Baton Rouge,[3] and for the Miami game on November 5.

Tech's defense began the season with question marks in the secondary, having lost three starters and one key backup to graduation.[4] Depth became a critical issue when two backup cornerbacks were arrested in the spring [5] Despite the question marks, Tech finished third nationally in pass defense (154.23 yards per game)[6] and first nationally in total defense (247.62 yards per game).[7]

Hokie fans at College GameDay
  1. ^ "Tech-Miami Game Postponed". RamblinWreck.com. October 19, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  2. ^ Robertson, Jimmy (January 3, 2006). "Hokies rally to knock off Louisville and win Gator Bowl". hokiesports.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  3. ^ "ESPN College GameDay Returns to Blacksburg". hokiesports.com. September 21, 2005. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  4. ^ "Virginia Tech Hokies". College Football 2005. Athlon Sports. p. 72.
  5. ^ Stewart, Will (May 28, 2005). "Theodore Miller Arrested". techsideline.com. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  6. ^ "IA National Team Report – Pass Defense". Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  7. ^ "IA National Team Report – Total Defense". NCAA. Retrieved July 9, 2007.