| 2000 Virginia Tech Hokies football | |
|---|---|
 | |
Gator Bowl champion | |
Gator Bowl, W 41–20 vs. Clemson | |
| Conference | Big East Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 6 |
| AP | No. 6 |
| Record | 11–1 (6–1 Big East) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Rickey Bustle (7th season) |
| Offensive scheme | Multiple |
| Defensive coordinator | Bud Foster (6th season) |
| Base defense | 4–4 |
| Home stadium | Lane Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Miami (FL) $ | 7 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Virginia Tech | 6 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | 4 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syracuse | 4 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston College | 3 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Virginia | 3 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temple | 1 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 0 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2000 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Virginia Tech competed as a member of the Big East Conference. The Hokies were led by Frank Beamer in his 14th year as head coach. The team finished 11-1, including a Gator Bowl Championship. It finished the season ranked 6th in the Associated Press year-end poll. In one longitudinal statistical measure, the 2000 team ranks as the best team in Tech history. [a]
This was Tech's second straight 11-1 season, tying the record for wins in a season that still stands as of 2023. Its only loss was to Miami, in a game in which Tech star Michael Vick was only able to play sparingly due to an ankle sprain two weeks previously. Tech was ranked second in the Associated Press poll at the time, tied for its highest standing in school history. Miami was ranked third, and went on to finish 2nd in the AP poll, although it was not selected to play in the BCS National Championship game.
Vick was considered a top Heisman candidate before he was injured in the first half of the ninth game of the season with Pittsburgh.[2] The previous year, he had finished third in the Heisman voting after leading Tech to the championship game of the 1999 season. Vick did have 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.
The end of the year for Tech was filled with emotion. The day following the regular-season finale with Virginia (which Tech won 42-21), head coach Beamer visited the University of North Carolina campus where he was offered the job to replace fired 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 BCS poll, but were snubbed for an at-large spot in favor of the eighth and 11th ranked teams. After a win over Clemson in the Gator bowl, Vick was faced with a similar choice when he was assured that he would be the top pick in the 2001 NFL draft. He decided to forgo his final two years of eligibility.
- ^ "Virginia Tech Hokies College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- ^ "ESPN.com - NCF/PREVIEW00 - ESPN experts' Heisman Watch: It's a Brees". www.espn.com. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
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