7-6.
8-5.
7-6.
The past three seasons in Blacksburg, Virginia, have deviated from the enduring gold standard Frank Beamer has established as the patriarch of the Virginia Tech Hokies’ football program. Like so many other men before him who have endured a series of frustrating seasons after the age of 65, Beamer — who is 68 — is being confronted with the reality of how hard he wants to work (and is able to work) in order to maintain both power and effectiveness. His legacy at Virginia Tech is secure, but how will the endgame unfold? What’s true for 35-year-old professional athletes is true for 68-year-old college football coaches as well: Knowing when one can still deliver the goods — or if it’s time to concede to the realities of aging — is a decision which constantly visits those who participate in big-ticket athletics for a living.
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This piece does not examine what lies ahead for Beamer. Our preview of the Hokies — written by TSS associate editor Terry Johnson — will offer that package of insights for the 2015 season.
We’re here to celebrate one of the great coaches we’ve been privileged to watch over the past 30 years. Here are, in order of significance, the five greatest moments of the Frank Beamer era at Virginia Tech:
5 – 2010: FOILING FLORIDA STATE
The team that currently rules the roost in the ACC met the team that used to own the corner block in the conference. In 2010, before Florida State took over the ACC and Clemson became a strong number two, Virginia Tech was able to turn back Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles. Tyrod Taylor’s career as a Hokie was not a smooth one. It was not marked by a clean, linear progression or an easy ascendancy. He struggled and scratched for everything he gained — much like the 2010 Hokies, who suffered a gut-punch loss to Boise State and then endured that humiliating home-field loss to James Madison in week two. Virginia Tech didn’t lose another regular-season game in 2010, a lasting testament to the resourcefulness of the Hokies under Beamer. This moment meant far more than beating an unremarkable Cincinnati team in the 2009 Orange Bowl.
4 – 2007: REVENGE AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE
The Boston College Eagles — in a crazy 2007 season that saw so many unlikely schools inhabit the No. 2 ranking for some period of time (hello, South Florida!) — were able to go into Lane Stadium in Blacksburg and win a 14-10 slugfest. When Virginia Tech was able to earn a rematch in Jacksonville for the ACC Championship Game, the prestige of the program was certainly on the line to an extent, especially since the Hokies had lost in Jacksonville to Florida State (and Bobby Bowden) in the first ACC title game, held in 2005. This was a powerfully reaffirming moment for the Hokies, and anyone who follows the program will tell you as much.
3 – 2004: REFUTING THE U
The 2004 ACC season was the first season with Virginia Tech and Miami in the conference after their moves from the Big East. It was the last season before the adoption of the ACC title game. Virginia Tech’s ability to go into the old Orange Bowl stadium and shut down the Hurricanes remains, 11 years later, one of the most consequential games in ACC history. Because of this specific game, Miami has never won an ACC title. Wake Forest has. Virginia Tech and Florida State fans will love that fact to no end… at least until Miami finally breaks through.
2 – THE (DECEMBER) 1995 SUGAR BOWL
You never forget your first time.
This was the first Sugar Bowl of the Beamer era, also the first New Year’s Day (signature) bowl of Beamer’s tenure. With Jim Druckenmiller under center and a stout defense dictating the terms of the competition, the Hokies thumped a John Mackovic-coached Texas team to announce their presence as a big-time program. This moment led to…
1 – THE 2000 SUGAR BOWL
The Hokies’ greatest moment was nevertheless a moment in which they lost. That’s improbable but real.
Playing for the national title against Bobby Bowden and Florida State.
Having the eyes of a nation riveted upon your team and players.
Watching Michael Vick play one of the most dazzling games in college football history.
Yes, Virginia Tech lost on the scoreboard. It won in every other way on one of the first days of the new millennium.
