Earlier today, Virginia Tech fired their head football coach, Justin Fuente. Here is a look at the Virginia Tech football program since 2008 (the first year that of complete data I have). This time period only covers the last eight seasons of head football coach Frank Beamer (2008-2015) and Justin Fuente (2016-2021*). After the figure below is a more detailed look at the Virginia Tech Hokies football program during head coach Fuente's tenure based on the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model using data provided by www.cfbstats.com. (The vertical school color bars represent seasons where head coaches changed).
Justin Fuente [contract]
2016 [ACC runner-up]
Virginia Tech finished the regular season at 9-3, and played in the ACC conference championship game where they were defeated by #5 ranked Clemson by a score of (35-42). The Hokies were bowl eligible,
where they defeated #85 ranked Arkansas by a score of (35-24) to finish the season at 10-4.
The Hokies
played against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that the Hokies SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation of the "league" average SOS. Virginia Tech's best
regular season victory was against #13 ranked Miami (FL) (37-16)
and their worst
loss was to #117 ranked Syracuse (17-31). Virginia Tech was the #32 ranked team overall, with the #25 ranked
offense and the #66 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2017
Virginia Tech finished the regular season at 9-3, and were bowl
eligible, where they were defeated by #12 ranked Oklahoma State (21-30) to finish at 9-4 overall. The Hokies
played against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Virginia Tech's best
regular season victory was against #68 ranked Duke (24-3)
and their worst
loss was to #67 ranked Georgia Tech (22-28). Virginia Tech was the #28 ranked team overall, with the #60 ranked
offense and the #10 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2018
Virginia Tech finished the regular season at 6-6, and were bowl eligible
where they were defeated by #8 ranked Cincinnati (31-35) to finish 6-7 overall. The Hokies
played against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Virginia Tech's best
regular season victory was against #25 ranked Virginia (34-31)
and their worst
loss was to #108 ranked Old Dominion (35-49). Virginia Tech was the #87 ranked team overall, with the #62 ranked
offense and the #106 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
Virginia Tech finished the regular season at 8-4, and were bowl eligible where they were defeated by #29 ranked Kentucky by a score of (30-37) to finish at 8-5 overall. The Hokies
played against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Virginia Tech's best
regular season victory was against #33 ranked Miami (FL) (42-35)
and their worst
loss was to #91 ranked Boston College (28-35). Virginia Tech was the #39 ranked team overall, with the #44 ranked
offense and the #39 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2020
Virginia Tech finished the COVID-19 shortened regular season at 5-6, playing against a “tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that the Hokies SOS was between one and two standard deviations lower than the "league" average SOS. Virginia Tech's
best regular season victory was against #37 ranked North Carolina State (45-24) and their worst
loss was to #48 ranked Wake Forest (16-23). Virginia Tech was the #46 ranked team overall, with the #22 ranked
offense and the #117 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2021*
After
a 5-5 start to the 2021 season Fuente was fired. Virginia Tech played against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS) up to this point in the season. Virginia Tech's best win was against currently ranked #55 North Carolina by a
score of (17-10) and their current worst loss was to #77 ranked West Virginia by a score of (21-27). Virginia Tech is currently the #71 ranked team overall, with the #78 ranked
offense and the #56 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2021 FBS Head Coaching Changes