VIRGINIA TECH FOOTBALL AMERICA’S LONGEST ACTIVE BOWL STREAK - 27 STRAIGHT • 11 CONFERENCE TITLES - 4 ACC TITLES • 907.0 SACKS, 401 INTS LEAD FBS SINCE 1996 • #HARDHATMENTALITY VIRGINIA TECH (4-2, 4-2) Nov. 7 • 12:00 PM • ACCN • Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, Va. #25 LIBERTY (6-0) Justin Fuente Hugh Freeze Alma Mater: Murray State (1999) Alma Mater: Southern Miss (1992) Record at VT: 37-22 (5th Season) Record at Liberty: 14-5 (2nd Season) Career Record: 63-45 (9th Season) Career Record: 56-37 (10th season) GAME 7 Record vs. Opp: 1-0 Record vs. Opp: 0-0 VIRGINIA TECH HOSTS LIBERTY GIVE ‘EM THE HOOK - QB HENDON HOOKER VICE SQUAD - TECH’S O-LINE POWERING OFFENSE • Tech plays its only scheduled non-conference contest of • QB Hendon Hooker owns an 8-3 record as Tech’s starter. He has been • Tech ranks second in the nation in rushing (290.2 ypg.) among the season when Liberty visits Blacksburg (11/7). responsible for 11 TDs (team-high 7 rushing/4 passing) in 2020. teams playing five or more games. Only Army (308.1) is better. • Saturday’s contest will mark the second appearance by • Tech is the only P5 team to have BOTH a RB (Khalil Herbert - 207 • VT registered ZERO games with 300+ net rushing yards from the Flames at Lane Stadium. The first meeting marked Justin at Duke (10/3) and a QB (Hendon Hooker - 164 vs. BC (10/17) 2011-19. Tech has THREE such games in 2020 with 314 vs. Fuente’s debut as Tech’s head coach and resulted in a rush for 160+ yards in a game this season. NC State (9/26), 324 at Duke (10/3) and 350 vs. BC (10/17). 36-13 victory for the Hokies (9/3/16). • Hooker’s 164 rushing yards vs. Boston College (10/17) were the most • VT owns five 250-yard rushing games in 2020, the team’s most • Tech is coming off a 42-35 win at Louisville (10/31). The by a Tech QB since Michael Vick had 210 at Boston College (9/30/00) since doing it seven times in 2000. Hokies forced three INTs on defense, while QB Hendon and are the most by a P5 quarterback in 2020. • Among teams playing five or more games, Tech leads the nation, Hooker tied a career-high with three rushing TDs. • Hooker became the first VT QB since 1987 to post eight or more averaging 6.35 yards per carry. • VT owns a 9-1 home record against non-conference foes attempts without an incompletion at Louisville (10/31). He completed all 2020 FBS RUSHING LEADERS* under Fuente. That lone loss was a 45-23 setback vs. No. 6 10 of his passes and scored three rushing TDs for the second time in Team YPG YPC YDS TDs 2020. 1. Army 308.1 5.4 2,157 26 Notre Dame (10/6/18). 2. Virginia Tech 290.2 6.4 1,741 20 • Liberty owns a 6-0 mark in 2020 which includes a 38-21 win TECH AMONG NATION’S ELITE OFFENSES 3. Air Force 287.5 5.6 575 4 at Syracuse (10/17). • Tech ranks third among P5 squads that have played five or more 4. App. State 278.3 6.0 1,113 13 *Teams playing five or more games. • VT returns to ACC play when the Hokies host Miami (11/14). games, averaging 7.02 yards per offensive play. 2020 POWER FIVE LEADERS, YARDS PER PLAY* • The next-closest ACC squad to Tech in rushing is Notre Dame The Hurricanes play at NC State on Friday night (11/6). Team YPP Plays Yards YPG (231.0 ypg). The Irish are avaraging 60.1 ypg less than VT. KEY SCORING STATS VS. LIBERTY 1. Alabama 7.95 419 3,331 555.2 2. North Carolina 7.48 427 3,192 532.0 VT SIX-GAME RUSHING STATS - 2020 VS. 2019 - UP • Tech owns a 32-2 mark under Fuente when leading at half. 3. Virginia Tech 7.02 404 2,837 472.8 Season ATT YDS YPG YPC TDs 2020 274 1,741 290.2 6.4 20 • Tech has led at the half in all four of its wins in 2020, 4. Ole Miss 6.76 480 3,246 541.0 5. Oklahoma 6.71 457 3,065 510.8 2019 250 972 162.0 3.9 8 outscoring those foes by a 79-38 margin in the first half. Improvement +24 +769 +128.2 +2.5 +12 • Tech ranks sixth among P5 squads that have played five or more • VT owns a 123-93 second-half scoring edge in 2020. • Despite carrying the ball only 24 more times than Tech did in games, averaging 472.8 yards per game. • In Tech’s nine non-conference home wins under Fuente, the the first six games of 2019, the Hokies are averaging 128.2 more * Minimum 5 Games Hokies have outscored those foes by an average score of rushing ypg and have scored 12 more rushing TDs in the first six 38.6 to 13.1 ppg. TURNOVER STATS ON HOKIES, FLAMES games of 2020. • In those nine non-con home wins, Tech has held all of those • In four wins Tech is +8 (11 takes/3 gives) in turnover margin and +40 in • Tech already has 20 rushing TDs after scoring 22 in 2019. foes to 20 points or fewer, eight of those nine teams to 17 points off turnovers. In two losses, Tech is -3 (0 takes/3 gives) and even Tech’s 20 rushing scores rank fourth in the nation behind Army points or fewer and has pitched a pair of shutouts. in points off turnovers. Liberty is +2 (8 takes/6 gives). (26), Tulane (22) and BYU (21). • VT has won 26 straight games when limiting foes to 17 • Tech posted three INTs at Louisville (10/31), the club’s most since #SACKSBURG IS BACK! registering four at Miami (10/5/19). points or fewer. • Tech is fifth in the nation with 21.0 sacks. Only Pitt (31.0), Clemson • Tech is 13-2 under Fuente when forcing two or more INTs. • VT is 27-6 when scoring 30+ points under Fuente and (28.0), Duke (26.0) and Tulane (24.0) are better. 13-1 when scoring 40+ points. BIG STONE GAP STEPPING UP! • Tech is 21-5 under Fuente when registering 3.0 or more sacks. VT • The Hokies have scored 30+ points in seven of Tech’s nine • Big Stone Gap, Va. native TE James Mitchell leads the team with has posted 3.0 sacks in back-to-back games. non-conference home wins under Fuente. 15 receptions. His 265 receiving yards and four TDs are team highs. • VT is third in the ACC in scoring (37.7 ppg) and 14th in • Mitchell owns five career rushing TDs on six carries. the nation among teams playing five or more games. TURN UP THE JUICE, RB KHALIL HERBERT TALE OF THE TAPE ON RB KHALIL HERBERT • Tech already owns four games with 40+ points after • RB Khalil “Juice” Herbert leads the nation in all-purpose yards, 2020 FBS ALL-PURPOSE YARDAGE LEADERS* hitting the 40-point mark three times in all of 2019. Those averaging 205.3 ypg. The next-closest competitor who has played in Player YPG YDS KOR RUSH are Tech’s most 40-point games in a season since doing it as many games is Clemson’s Travis Etienne (160.6 ypg). 1. Khailil Herbert, VT 205.8 1,235 318 803 six times en route to the 2010 ACC Championship. • Herbert is the ONLY player in the nation with over 1,200 all-purpose 2. Travis Etienne, Clemson 160.6 1,124 40 606 3. Breece Hall, Iowa State 160.3 962 0 901 • Liberty has topped the 30-point mark in five of its six yards on the season (1,235). His 357 all-purpose yards at Duke 4. Michael Carter, UNC 151.0 906 130 648 (10/3) remain the highest single-game total in the nation this season. wins in 2020 and is averaging 38.0 ppg. The Flames are 5. Najee Harris, Alabama 149.5 897 0 714 allowing 21.3 ppg. • Herbert ranks second in the nation in rushing among players with • The Flames own an eight-game winning streak dating back to five or more games played, averaging 133.8 ypg. 2020 FBS RUSHING LEADERS* Player YPG YDS YPC TDS last season, outscoring those foes 37.5 to 21.5 ppg. • He owns five 100-yard rushing games and leads the nation among 1. Breece Hall, Iowa State 150.2 901 6.7 11 • Tech is 32-2 when holding foes to 21 points or fewer players with five or more games, averaging 8.36 yards per carry. 2. Khailil Herbert, VT 133.8 803 8.4 6 dating back to the start of the 2015 season (6-1 in 2019). • The last VT player with four or more 100-yard games in a season 3. Najee Harris, Alabama 119.0 714 5.8 14 • Liberty has scored 21 points or more in 13 consecutive was RB David Wilson (10 in 2011). 4. Javian Hawkins, Louisville 117.4 822 6.2 7 games dating back to a 59-44 win vs. Maine (10/19/19). • He ranks third among players with five or more games played with 5. Leddie Brown, WVU 115.7 694 5.5 8 a 31.8-yard KO return avg.