Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 2 | October 2019

A t halftime of the Virginia Tech-Duke football game on Sept. 27, the Virginia Tech Athletics Department recognized the 1999 football team, as this season marks the 20th anniversary of that team’s perfect 11-0 regular season and appearance in the national championship game against Florida State. That team was the first Tech football squad to roll through a regular season undefeated (the 1954 team went 8-0-1), and the Hokies beat four ranked teams in 1999 by a combined score of 174-31. The 1999 squad featured five All-Americans—Michael Vick, Corey Moore, John Engelberger, Anthony Midget, and Jamel Smith—and led the nation in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Hokies also led the nation in scoring margin. Tech and Florida State treated fans to three hours of breathtaking football in the national title game at the Superdome in New Orleans on the night of Jan. 4, 2000. The Hokies trailed 14-0 and 28-7, yet rallied and led going into the fourth quarter. Vick was easily the best player on the field, rushing for 97 yards and throwing for 225, and André Davis finished with 108 yards receiving. Tech’s defense sacked Chris Weinke four times and held FSU to 359 yards. Unfortunately, the Seminoles scored 18 fourth-quarter points to pull away in a 46-29 victory. Approximately 20 players returned to Blacksburg for the recognition—a group that included Vick, Chad Beasley, David Pugh, Chris Cyrus, Jarrett Ferguson, Keith Short, Josh Redding and many others. Also, then-head coach Frank Beamer, who was the national coach of the year by seven different organizations in 1999, was in attendance for the event. R ECOGNIZES 1999 TEAM T ECH A THLETICS Supporting Tech Athletics Since 1949 4 Inside Hokie Sports