1999 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

1999 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Big East champion Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy
Sugar Bowl (BCS NCG), L 29–46 vs. Florida State
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 2
Record	11–1 (7–0 Big East)
Head coach	Frank Beamer (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Rickey Bustle (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Bud Foster (5th season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Seasons ← 1998 2000 →

1999 Big East Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Virginia Tech $		7	–	0					11	–	1
No. 15 Miami (FL)		6	–	1					9	–	4
Boston College		4	–	3					8	–	4
Syracuse		3	–	4					7	–	5
West Virginia		3	–	4					4	–	7
Pittsburgh		2	–	5					5	–	6
Temple		2	–	5					2	–	9
Rutgers		1	–	6					1	–	10
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1999 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the 1999 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 13th year as head coach. Virginia Tech finished the season 11-1, the only blemish coming in a national championship game loss to the Florida State Seminoles. The team finished with a school-record 2nd-place ranking in the Associated Press poll.

Michael Vick led the Hokies to an 11–0 start, only the second perfect perfect regular season in school history, and to the Bowl Championship Series national title game in the Sugar Bowl against Florida State. Although Virginia Tech lost 46–29, Vick was able to bring the team back from a 21-point deficit to take a 29–28 lead into the fourth quarter. During the season, Vick appeared on the cover of an ESPN The Magazine issue.

Vick led the NCAA in passing efficiency that year, setting a record for a freshman (180.4), which was also good enough for the third-highest all-time mark (Colt Brennan holds the record at 185.9 from his 2006 season at Hawaii). Vick was awarded an ESPY Award as the nation's top college player, and won the first-ever Archie Griffin Award as college football's most valuable player. He was invited to the 1999 Heisman Trophy presentation and finished third in the voting behind Ron Dayne and Joe Hamilton. Vick's third-place finish matched the highest finish ever by a freshman up to that point, first set by Herschel Walker in 1980 (Adrian Peterson later broke that mark, finishing second in 2004).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	1:00 p.m.	James Madison*	No. 11	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 47–0	51,907	[1] [2] [3]
September 11	1:00 p.m.	UAB*	No. 11	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 31–10	51,907	[4] [5] [6]
September 23	8:00 p.m.	Clemson*	No. 8	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	W 31–11	51,907	[7] [8] [9]
October 2	6:00 p.m.	at No. 24 Virginia*	No. 8	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (Commonwealth Cup)	ESPN2	W 31–7	51,800	[10][11] [12] [13]
October 9	6:00 p.m.	at Rutgers	No. 6	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ		W 58–20	30,764	[14] [15] [16]
October 16	6:00 p.m.	No. 16 Syracuse	No. 4	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (College GameDay)	ESPN	W 62–0	53,130	[17] [18] [19]
October 30	7:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	No. 3	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN2	W 30–17	42,678	[20] [21] [22]
November 6	3:30 p.m.	at West Virginia	No. 3	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Black Diamond Trophy)	CBS	W 22–20	56,906	[23] [24] [25]
November 13	7:30 p.m.	No. 19 Miami (FL)	No. 2	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry) (College GameDay)	ESPN	W 43–10	53,130	[26] [27] [28]
November 20	12:00 p.m.	at Temple	No. 2	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	ESPN2	W 62–7	25,822	[29] [30]
November 26	2:30 p.m.	No. 22 Boston College	No. 2	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	CBS	W 38–14	53,130	[31] [32] [33]
January 4, 2000	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Florida State*	No. 2	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl BCS NCG) (College GameDay)	ABC	L 29–46	79,280	[34] [35] [36]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Partial Roster

1999 Virginia Tech Hokies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 85 Derek Carter Jr WR 88 Andre Davis So RB 27 Jarrett Ferguson So WR 18 Emmett Johnson So OT 76 Dave Kadela Jr OT 59 Anthony Lambo Jr G 69 Matt Lehr Jr QB 11 Grant Noel Fr G 79 Josh Redding Jr C 52 Keith Short Sr RB 38 Shyrone Stith Sr RB 22 Lee Suggs Fr QB 7 Michael Vick  Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 66 Chad Beasley So DB 16 Cory Bird Jr DT 77 Carl Bradley Sr CB 3 Ike Charlton Sr DE 96 John Engelberger Sr LB 43 Michael Hawkes Sr CB 9 Anthony Midget Sr DE 56 Corey Moore Sr LB 46 Jamel Smith Sr DB 14 Nick Sorensen Jr LB 40 Ben Taylor So DT 92 Nathaniel Williams Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 17 Shayne Graham Sr P 95 Jimmy Kibble Sr	Head coach Frank Beamer Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	13 (1)	11 (1)	11 (1)	10 (1)	8 (1)	8 (1)	5 (1)	4 (1)	4 (2)	3 (5)	3 (6)	2 (4)	2 (6)	2 (4)	2 (6)	2 (6)	2
Coaches	14	14*	11	10	8	7	5	4	4	3	3 (2)	2 (1)	2 (1)	2 (2)	2 (3)	2 (3)	3
BCS	Not released									3	3	3	2	2	2	2	Not released

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Game summaries

James Madison

James Madison at Virginia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Dukes 0 0 0 0 0 • No. 11 Hokies 14 12 14 7 47 Date: September 4 Location: Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game start: 1:00 pm Elapsed time: 2:52 Game attendance: 51,907 Referee: John Smith Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 7:01 VT Michael Vick 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 7–0 4:41 VT Michael Vick 54-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 14–0 2 10:42 VT Shayne Graham 32-yard field goal VT 17–0 7:18 VT Michael Vick 7-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 24–0 4:21 VT Team safety VT 26–0 3 8:56 VT André Davis 22-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 33–0 3:12 VT D. Meyer 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 40–0 4 11:58 VT A. Kendrick 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 47–0

Freshman Michael Vick ran for three touchdowns in the first 22 minutes of the game, but left due to an injury after he somersaulted into the end zone on the third score. Playing in his first collegiate game, Vick had run for 54 yards, and thrown for 110 yards in leading the Hokies to a 24–0 lead that turned into a 47–0 win. Shyrone Stith led the Hokies on the ground with 122 yards on 18 carries. Andre Kendrick had 11 carries for 45 yards including a 2-yard touchdown that capped the scoring. Andre Davis scored on a 22-yard reverse and backup quarterback Dave Meyer had the other rushing touchdown for Tech. Shayne Graham kicked a 32-yard field goal. Corey Moore had a sack and two tackles for loss, including one that resulted in a JMU safety in the second quarter. ^[38]

UAB

UAB at Virginia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Blazers 0 10 0 0 10 • No. 11 Hokies 10 7 0 14 31 Date: September 11 Location: Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game start: 12:59 pm Elapsed time: 2:53 Game attendance: 51,907 Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), Sunny, Wind NNW 5–8 mph (8.0–12.9 km/h) Referee: Alberto Riveron Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 7:01 VT E. Johnson 41-yard pass from D. Meyer (Shayne Graham kick) VT 7–0 3:54 VT Shayne Graham 22-yard field goal VT 10–0 2 9:44 VT Shyrone Stith 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 17–0 3:50 UAB P. Coleman 29-yard pass from D. Dixon (R. Gallego kick) VT 17–7 0:38 UAB J. Arians 47-yard field goal VT 17–10 4 13:43 VT André Davis 35-yard pass from A. Kendrick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 24–10 2:07 VT L. Suggs 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 31–10

Virginia Tech's defense set a school record, allowing only 63 yards of total offense, leading the Hokies over visiting University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) 31-10. Tech played without starting quarterback Michael Vick, who was relieved by Dave Meyer. Meyer threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Emmitt Johnson on the first series of the game to give Tech the lead it would never relinquish. However, before halftime, he turned the ball over four times, three interceptions and a fumble. Those turnovers enabled the Blazers to stay in the game, and Tech led by 17-10 at halftime thanks to a 22-yard field goal by Shayne Graham and a one-yard touchdown by Shyrone Stith. The lead remained at seven points until early in the fourth quarter when tailback Andre Kendrick threw a 35-yard option touchdown pass to Andre Davis. Lee Suggs capped the scoring with a one-yard touchdown jaunt with 2:07 left in the game, one of only four carries he had on the day. Stith led the Hokies with 129 rushing yards and Kendrick added 44 yards rushing to his passing touchdown. Corey Moore had three sacks for 27 yards and two tackles for loss for another three yards.

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Clemson

Clemson at Virginia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Tigers 0 3 0 8 11 • No. 8 Hokies 7 7 0 17 31 Date: September 23 Location: Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game start: 8:02 pm Elapsed time: 3:08 Game attendance: 51,907 Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C), Clear & Chilly, Wind SW 3–5 mph (4.8–8.0 km/h) Referee: Robert Wood TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Lee Corso (analyst), and Dr. Jerry Punch (sideline) Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 1:12 VT Shyrone Stith 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 7–0 2 14:12 VT A. Kendrick 24-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 14–0 5:36 Clem C. Campbell 27-yard field goal VT 14–3 4 11:31 Clem T. Lee 9-yard pass from T. Lazzara (J. Lemay pass) VT 14–11 5:00 VT Shayne Graham 47-yard field goal VT 17–11 3:09 VT Ike Charlton 34-yard interception return (Shayne Graham kick) VT 24–11 2:31 VT Corey Moore 32-yard fumble return (Shayne Graham kick) VT 31–11

Virginia Tech scored two defensive touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to preserve a Tech win, and

At Virginia

Virginia Tech at Virginia

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 8 Hokies 14 14 3 0 31 Cavaliers 0 7 0 0 7 Date: October 2 Location: Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA Game start: 6:07 pm Elapsed time: 2:48 Game attendance: 51,800 Referee: John Smith Television network: ESPN2 Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 9:15 VT Andre Davis 60-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 7–0 2:21 VT Shyrone Stith 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 14–0 2 12:10 UVA B. Baber 1-yard pass from D. Ellis (T. Braverman kick) VT 14–7 7:09 VT Shyrone Stith 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 21–7 3:32 VT Shyrone Stith 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 28–7 3 5:11 VT Shayne Graham 48-yard field goal VT 31–7

At Rutgers

Virginia Tech at Rutgers

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 5 Hokies 14 35 7 2 58 Scarlet Knights 14 0 0 6 20 Date: October 9 Location: Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ Game start: 6:05 pm Elapsed time: 3:03 Game attendance: 30,764 Referee: Jack Cramer Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 14:42 VT Andre Davis 74-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 7–0 10:27 RU M. McMahon 12-yard run (S. Barone kick) Tied 7–7 6:35 VT J. Ferguson 20-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 14–7 5:22 RU L. J. Smith 36-yard pass from M. McMahon (S. Barone kick) Tied 14–14 2 12:07 VT Andre Davis 13-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 21–14 7:39 VT Shyrone Stith 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 28–14 3:39 VT R. Hall 36-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 35–14 1:40 VT Michael Vick 22-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 42–14 0:26 VT R. Hall 5-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 49–14 3 6:21 VT A. Kendrick 10-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 56–14 4 4:36 RU S. Stanton 11-yard run (kick blocked) VT 56–20 4:36 VT R. Whitaker 98-yard PAT return VT 58–20

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No. 16 Syracuse

Syracuse at Virginia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total No. 16 Orangemen 0 0 0 0 0 • No. 4 Hokies 14 17 17 14 62 Date: October 16 Location: Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game start: 6:08 pm Elapsed time: 3:24 Game attendance: 53,130 Referee: Dennis Hennigan Television network: ESPN Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 7:26 VT Corey Bird 26-yard fumble return (Shayne Graham kick) VT 7–0 2:24 VT Shyrone Stith 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 14–0 2 12:58 VT R. Hall 8-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 21–0 6:13 VT Shyrone Stith 1-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 28–0 0:23 VT Shayne Graham 25-yard field goal VT 31–0 3 13:01 VT Shayne Graham 37-yard field goal VT 34–0 10:08 VT A. Kendrick 7-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 41–0 1:34 VT Andre Davis 28-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 48–0 4 4:56 VT P. Summers 43-yard interception return (Shayne Graham kick) VT 55–0 2:33 VT T. Butler fumble recovery in end zone (Shayne Graham kick) VT 62–0

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At Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 3 Hokies 10 17 0 3 30 Panthers 0 7 7 3 17 Date: October 30 Location: Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA Game start: 7:07 pm Elapsed time: 3:26 Game attendance: 42,678 Referee: Jack Cramer Television network: ESPN2 Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 10:48 VT Michael Vick 46-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 7–0 1:33 VT Shayne Graham 46-yard field goal VT 10–0 2 14:09 Pitt N. Goings 1-yard run (N. Lotz kick) VT 10–7 10:53 VT Andre Davis 37-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 17–7 3:41 VT Shyrone Stith 9-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 24–7 0:07 VT Shayne Graham 32-yard field goal VT 27–7 3 12:02 Pitt Antonio Bryant 16-yard pass from D. Priestley (N. Lotz kick) VT 27–14 4 14:47 Pitt N. Lotz 23-yard field goal VT 27–17 11:09 VT Shayne Graham 52-yard field goal VT 30–17

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At West Virginia

Virginia Tech at West Virginia

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 3 Hokies 0 7 5 10 22 Mountaineers 0 7 0 13 20 Date: November 6 Location: Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV Game start: 3:32 pm Elapsed time: 3:48 Game attendance: 56,906 Referee: Jim Maconaghy Television network: CBS Source: Box Score

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No. 19 Miami (FL)

Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total No. 19 Hurricanes 10 0 0 0 10 • No. 2 Hokies 7 7 6 23 43 Date: November 13 Location: Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game start: 7:38 pm Elapsed time: 3:30 Game attendance: 53,130 Referee: John Smith Television network: ESPN Source: Box Score

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At Temple

Virginia Tech at Temple

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 2 Hokies 10 17 21 14 62 Owls 7 0 0 0 7 Date: November 20 Location: Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA Game start: 12:10 pm Elapsed time: 3:14 Game attendance: 25,822 Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), Cloudy, Wind SW 10 mph (16 km/h) Referee: Thomas DeJoseph TV announcers (ESPN2): Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Gino Torretta (analyst), and Don McPherson (sideline) Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 11:50 TU M. Godfrey 2-yard run (Cap Poklemba kick) Temple 7–0 10:49 VT Michael Vick 53-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) Tied 7–7 0:38 VT Shayne Graham 28-yard field goal VT 10–7 2 14:50 VT L. Austin 31-yard interception return (Shayne Graham kick) VT 17–7 2:25 VT André Davis 65-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 24–7 0:06 VT Shayne Graham 34-yard field goal VT 27–7 3 1:08 VT Michael Vick 75-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 34–7 4:43 VT André Davis 30-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 41–7 2:05 VT A. Kendrick 20-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 48–7 4 14:48 VT A. Kendrick 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 55–7 8:38 VT Lee Suggs 2-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 62–7

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No. 22 Boston College

Boston College at Virginia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total No. 22 Eagles 0 0 7 7 14 • No. 2 Hokies 7 17 0 14 38 Date: November 26 Location: Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game start: 2:41 pm Elapsed time: 3:13 Game attendance: 53,130 Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), Scattered Showers/Thunderstorms, Wind W 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) Referee: Dennis Hennigan Television network: CBS Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 12:24 VT Shyrone Stith 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) VT 7–0 2 13:15 VT André Davis 69-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 14–0 9:12 VT André Davis 59-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 21–0 2:40 VT Shayne Graham 40-yard field goal VT 24–0 3 1:08 BC D. Dewalt 97-yard pass from Tim Hasselbeck (J. Matich kick) VT 24–7 4 12:37 VT C. Hawkins 30-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) VT 31–7 3:27 VT Michael Vick 5-yard run(Shayne Graham kick) VT 38–7 0:46 BC William Green 45-yard run (J. Matich kick) VT 38–14

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Vs. No. 1 Florida State (Sugar Bowl)

Virginia Tech vs. Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 2 Hokies 7 7 15 0 29 • No. 1 Seminoles 14 14 0 18 46 Date: January 4, 2000 Location: Louisiana Superdome New Orleans Game start: 7:20 pm Elapsed time: 3:55 Game attendance: 79,280 Game weather: Indoors Referee: Steve Shaw TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst), Lynn Swann (sideline), and Jack Arute (sideline) Source: Box Score

Scoring summary 1 3:22 FSU Warrick 64-yard pass from Weinke (Janikowski kick) FSU 7–0 2:14 FSU Chaney 6-yard blocked punt return (Janikowski kick) FSU 14–0 0:30 VT André Davis 49-yard pass from Michael Vick (Shayne Graham kick) FSU 14–7 2 13:45 FSU Dugans 63-yard pass from Weinke (Janikowski kick) FSU 21–7 11:40 FSU Warrick 59-yard punt return (Janikowski kick) FSU 28–7 0:37 VT Michael Vick 3-yard run (Shayne Graham kick) FSU 28–14 3 7:54 VT Shayne Graham 23-yard field goal FSU 28–17 5:57 VT Andre Kendrick 29-yard run (2-point pass failed) FSU 28–23 2:13 VT Andre Kendrick 6-yard run (2-point pass failed) VT 29–28 4 12:59 FSU Dugans 14-yard pass from Weinke (Warrick pass from Weinke) FSU 36–29 10:26 FSU Janikowski 32-yard field goal FSU 39–29 7:42 FSU Warrick 43-yard pass from Chris Weinke (Janikowski kick) FSU 46–29

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Players in the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
John Engelberger	Defensive end	2	35	San Francisco 49ers
Ike Charlton	Defensive back	2	52	Seattle Seahawks
Corey Moore	Linebacker	3	89	Buffalo Bills
Anthony Midget	Defensive back	5	134	Atlanta Falcons
Shyrone Stith	Running back	7	243	Jacksonville Jaguars

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Awards and honors

• Michael Vick – Big East Rookie of the Year, Big East Offensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-American, Archie Griffin Award, Heisman Trophy finalist (3rd)
• Corey Moore – Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Unanimous First-Team All-American, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lombardi Award
• Shayne Graham – Big East Special Teams Player of the Year
• Frank Beamer – Big East Coach of the Year, AFCA Coach of the Year, AP Coach of the Year, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, George Munger Award, Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award

References