Division Coastal Division AP No. 15 Head coach Frank Beamer | Coaches No. 14 2008 record 10–4 (6–3 ACC) | |
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference | ||
The 2008 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer. Prior to the season, the Hokies were expected to be in a rebuilding mode, recovering after the graduation of several key players. Despite that fact, Tech was picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division in the annual preseason poll of media covering the ACC. The Hokies were ranked the No. 15 team in the country at the start of the season, but suffered an upset loss to East Carolina in their first game. Tech recovered, however, and won five consecutive games following the loss, the ACC Championship, and the Orange Bowl.
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Schedule
Source: ACC
Preseason
During the 2007 college football season, Virginia Tech accumulated an 11–3 record that ended with a 21–24 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2008 Orange Bowl. The Hokies also won the 2007 ACC football championship, but were not predicted to repeat that success in 2008. In the annual preseason football poll of media covering ACC football, Tech was picked second in the conference, behind the Clemson Tigers. The Hokies were picked to finish first in the ACC's Coastal Division, but lose to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.
The reason for that second-place prediction was the loss of several key players from Tech's ACC-champion 2007 team. Virginia Tech lost its top four receivers, its leading rusher, and seven starters from a defense that ranked fourth nationally in total defense. Eight players from the 2007 team were taken in the 2008 NFL Draft, and Tech's 2008 team featured just 10 players who started during the previous season. Making matters more difficult for Virginia Tech, the Hokies suffered several preseason injuries and multiple players were kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons.
On August 26, Tech head coach Frank Beamer announced his intention to redshirt backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, keeping him in reserve for the 2008 season. Following Virginia Tech's loss to East Carolina in the first game of the season, however, Beamer removed the redshirt and Taylor played in Tech's second game in the season. After he proved successful in that game, Taylor was named the team's starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, supplanting first-game starter Sean Glennon.