College football talk is boring in March. To liven it up, here a bit of VT (and CFB) trivia.
Since Bud Foster took over the reins as co-defensive coordinator in 1995, Virginia Tech leads the country in the number of times we've laid the smack down and blanked our opponents with 29 shutouts. Alabama is next in that span with 27, and no one else is (relatively) close.
| Rank.. | Team.. | Shutouts.. | Avg Score.. | Opps Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Virginia Tech | 29 | (38.45-0) | (126-179-0)-0.413 |
| 2. | Alabama | 27 | (37.22-0) | (152-149-0)-0.505 |
| 3. | Ohio St. | 21 | (46.57-0) | (80-149-1)-0.350 |
| 4. | Kansas St. | 20 | (48.75-0) | (79-130-0)-0.378 |
| 5. | LSU | 18 | (42.94-0) | (89-111-0)-0.445 |
For the full rankings, follow the link
Here's who we have blanked in that timespan:
| Year.. | Score.. | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 14-0 | Navy |
| 1995 | 27-0 | West Virginia |
| 1996 | 38-0 | Temple |
| 1997 | 50-0 | Arkansas State |
| 1997 | 37-0 | UAB |
| 1998 | 37-0 | Clemson |
| 1998 | 17-0 | Boston College |
| 1998 | 41-0 | UAB |
| 1999 | 47-0 | James Madison |
| 1999 | 62-0 | Syracuse |
| 2000 | 49-0 | Rutgers |
| 2001 | 31-0 | Western Michigan |
| 2001 | 50-0 | Rutgers |
| 2001 | 35-0 | West Virginia |
| 2001 | 35-0 | Temple |
| 2002 | 30-0 | Western Michigan |
| 2003 | 43-0 | James Madison |
| 2004 | 63-0 | Western Michigan |
| 2004 | 62-0 | Florida A&M |
| 2005 | 45-0 | Duke |
| 2005 | 45-0 | Ohio |
| 2006 | 38-0 | Northeastern |
| 2006 | 36-0 | Duke |
| 2006 | 23-0 | Kent State |
| 2006 | 17-0 | Virginia |
| 2010 | 19-0 | Boston College |
| 2011 | 38-0 | Virginia |
| 2012 | 37-0 | Bowling Green |
| 2016 | 49-0 | Boston College |
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Comments
Edit: Lunch beer it is...
If Marcus Vick was capable of not making poor choices on a regular basis, that 2006 team could have done something special.
Interesting to see what happened 2007-2009. I think it has more to do with offensive evolution and subsequent reaction by defensive coordinators rather than our defense just being off.
Well those 2007-2009 were all really good defenses. Like all three of those were much better than many years that we did land a shutout.
Additionally, 2013 defense was one of our best recently, and that one didn't land a shutout either.
I agree, I don't know if it's as much as being "off" as it is being "normal" in the context of college football. Of the 29 shutouts in that 21 year span above, 22 came in the 10 year span of 1997-2006. That's a full 10 more than the second highest total in football over the same time period.
1997-2006
1. Virginia Tech with 22
2. Kansas State with 12
3. Western Kentucky with 10
4. LSU with 10
5. Auburn with 9
We were just so freaking dominant on defense during that span, they should probably make a 30 for 30 about it.
"What if I told you that a defense was so dominant they were considered the offense too..."
Yup....that was pretty much Virginia Tech football before and after Michael Vick.
As a student from 03-07, it was exciting for the defense to be on the field because we didn't know if we'd get a pick or a pick-6. Offense on the field was a very "here we go again" feeling.
I can relate. Also a student from 03 to 07.
Our offensive play calling was so predictable, by the end of 04 I could tell you when the first long pass on the first series was coming before it was snapped.
Anyone remember the classic shifting two TEs from one side of the formation to the other and we only ran 3 plays off of this motion? Every time I saw that action I knew we'd get about 3 yards at best.
Ah yes, the Stein-flip. Brilliant.
One season, we had a couple of guys behind us in the East Stands that would yell out, "The Patented Shift!" every time that happened. Always got a good laugh out of that. If any of those guys are TKPers, come forth and be showered in turkey legs.
I'll never forget the fake end around out of the I formation with a handoff and run up the gut for .34 yards. Felt like it happened 19 times a game.
I actually went back and watched a few games from those years recently. I had forgotten how truly awful we were on offense in those days. At times, it was pretty unwatchable. Randall and Marcus made up for a lot of the dysfunction, but man once Glennon took over in '06, it was pretty unbearable at times. Not so much a knock on Glennon but just how he didn't have the athleticism to bail us out time and time again.
If you really like to torture yourself, go back and watch some of that 07 LSU game. A team with athletes like Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, Justin Harper, Branden Ore at RB, and we could barely manage a positive yard.
Woah woah woah, that's not how that's supposed to work. You're supposed to rip him apart like he single handedly made us go 0-12 every season he was here AND punched your mother.
At the time, I definitely was one out of the large portion of our fanbase who did not like Glennon at all. But looking back, that was basically attacking the symptom and not the disease itself. Sure, a mobile guy like Tyrod made it all look a bit more effective, but our offense flat out sucked. I almost feel bad for Glennon. I don't think he was the next Tom Brady or anything, but he definitely won some games for us and was a very solid QB. His style was just not going to be successful in our scheme (or lack thereof).
Watch the first half of that '07 LSU game. Going up against a loaded defensive front and the eventual national champions, and we line up in the I-formation and try to run into the teeth of that. Then try play-action passes out of the I without having first established any sort of run game with an OL that couldn't hold a block for a split second. I'm absolutely shocked this was allowed to carry on for so long looking back on it.
You should post this on redditCFB.
I was over there reading the thread about the last time CFB teams were shut out and that's where I started thinking about this.
With the way offenses are going,I feel like shutouts are gonna be fewer and far between from here on out.
via GIPHY
Love seeing these kind of stats. Bud Foster is the MAN.
Too bad we didn't shut out UNCheat this year.
Everyone would just claim it was because of the hurricane and put an asterisk by it.
I would be interested to see the numbers on how many games were a touchdown or less. I can recall numerous times where a coach kicked a field goal just to get on the board rather than be shutout. Be interesting to see how many Bud has of those over the years. I think this would also give you a better idea of some of the better defenses we had.
We drop down to third on this list when it comes to 7 points or less. Sixty nine occurrences with 68 wins and 1 loss (I can't recall that one loss at all *cough*)
Link
In the 1997-2006 span, we lead the country in this category
Link
Looks like we are number 1 in both categories for average points given up looking at those lists.
Looking at you, Bronco.
I did not realize Bronco could kick a field goal.
He didn't ice his own kicker from what I can remember, so he is an improvement. That worries me.
Here's another one...
Number of times holding I-A teams with a winning record to 7 points or less. (1995-2016)
Link
Here are those 24 games
I'd be more interested to see a list of "number of games in which the defense never allowed points on a drive that started behind midfield", to get rid of scores where the offense or special teams gave the ball to the other team already in or near scoring position. I bet it would look even better then.
Wonder if there's a way to look that up.
Oh that's easy. Look for the teams with an offense led by Scott Loeffler.
That's your leader in this category
Psh I'll let it go when Lawson transfers or when pigs fly, whichever comes first
Handing out them shutouts like
Whoa, is this an Aqua Bats gif???
One takeaway: look how shitty Duke was before Cutcliffe. Blanked on the regular to ACC championship contention.
Yup, them and Rutgers both had three year spans without scoring a single point.
Bud Foster is...
This was my first tkp post fam! Add another to the tally!!!
Yah, it aged pretty well.
This thread brings me back to the question I have asked for years......I wonder how many BCS trophies and Championships or appearances VT would have with a good offensive scheme over those same years........
We might get to find out in the next few years
Damn straight....
Niice...best D Coordinator in the country.!
Unfortunately Alabama will probably pass us within the next few years. Easy to shutout those weak SEC teams when we play in the best conference in college football.
(I'm only partially kidding, ACC much better offensive... some of those SEC offenses are just awful)
Yeah but SEC fans and E$PN make it sound like it's all due to the amazing defenses. I went to an LSU @ UF game a couple years ago and it was 6-3 at halftime. I was like, man these offenses are seriously struggling. Everyone around me was like, "no way, our defenses are just that good!". Whatever you say...
Well, LSU and Florida actually do have incredible defenses and are absolutely flooding the league with NFL players and have been for many years. This was a bad example to choose, while those teams don't have great offenses, they actually do have great defenses. That LSU defense obliterated Louisville, the same Louisville team that put up almost 600 yards on Clemson on the road, AND averaged 9 yards/play against pretty much every ACC team.
I'm still butthurt that we didn't shut out UVA this year. 52-0 would've been oh so great.
Unfortunately, our 3rd string was a pretty even matchup for their starters.
I first read this as "shoutouts" under Bud Foster and was intrigued.
I've read it that way about 8 times by this point.
anyone else notice how often the words "west" and "Virginia" come up on this list?
two seasons (2001 and 2006) with FOUR shutouts. Unreal.
This was my first ever VT game
You quasi-forgot one:
Nice Photoshop skills there.
This game deserves it's own category...like worst games ever played. The Rutgers bowl game is up there as well.
at least we won the rutgers bowl game....
Football games played in the rain don't count, though????