2000 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
| 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 |
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| 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 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.