1984 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

The 1984 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Bill Dooley, in his seventh year, and played their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses (8–4), and with a loss against Air Force in the Independence Bowl. Bruce Smith won the Outland Trophy and was the first pick overall in the 1985 NFL draft.

1984 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Independence Bowl, L 7–23 vs. Air Force
Conference	Independent
Record	8–4
Head coach	Bill Dooley (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Pat Watson
Defensive coordinator	Bob Brush (1st season)
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Seasons ← 1983 1985 →

1984 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Boston College		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 South Carolina		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Florida State		–		–				7	–	3	–	2
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				8	–	5	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Penn State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Navy		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Tulane		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Louisville		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8		at Wake Forest	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC		W 21–20	26,543	[1][2]
September 15		West Virginia	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	USA	L 7–14	48,100	[3][4]
September 22		Richmond	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 21–13	36,200	[5][6]
September 29		Virginia	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)		L 23–26	50,600	[7][8]
October 6	1:30 p.m.	vs. VMI	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl, rivalry)		W 54–7		[9][10]
October 13		Duke	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	HTS	W 27–0	36,400	[11][12]
October 20		William & Mary	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 38–15	34,500	[13][14]
October 27	6:00 p.m.	at Temple	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 9–7	10,124	[15][16]
November 3		Tulane	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 13–6	30,400	[17][18]
November 10		at Clemson	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC		L 10–17	77,754	[19][20]
November 17		at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN		W 23–3	38,238	[21][22]
December 15		vs. Air Force	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	ESPN, Mizlou	L 7–23	41,100	[23][24]
Homecoming

Roster

1984 Virginia Tech Hokies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE Steve Johnson WR Donald Snell So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 78 Bruce Smith	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bill Dooley Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players in the NFL

The following players were drafted in the 1985 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Bruce Smith	Defensive end	1	1	Buffalo Bills
Jesse Penn	Linebacker	2	44	Dallas Cowboys
Ashley Lee	Defensive back	8	201	Atlanta Falcons
Joe Jones	Tight end	10	270	Dallas Cowboys
Al Young	Defensive back	11	299	New York Giants

• Source:^[25]

Awards and honors

• Bruce Smith, Outland Trophy^[26]
• Bruce Smith, Consensus All-American^[27]