Virginia Tech began the 2000 season ranked 11th in the Associated Press pre-season poll, with the previous year's Heisman third-place finisher, Michael Vick, back as the starting quarterback. Led by Vick, the 1999 team had lost the BCS National Championship game to Florida State after leading going into the fourth quarter. [1]
The opening game on August 27 against Georgia Tech was postponed due to lightning and then canceled due to an unplayable field.[2]
Michael Vick's 2000 season did have its share of highlights, such as his career rushing high of 210 yards against the Boston College Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Against West Virginia in the Black Diamond Trophy game, Vick accounted for 288 total yards of offense and two touchdowns in a 48–20 win. The following week, Vick led the Hokies back from a 14–0 deficit against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome—where the Hokies had not won since 1986. Vick put the game away with a 55-yard run with 1:34 left.[3]
The following game against Pittsburgh, Vick was injured and had to miss the rest of that game, the entire game against Central Florida, and was unable to start against the Miami Hurricanes—the Hokies' lone loss of the season. Vick's final game at Virginia Tech came against the Clemson Tigers in the 2001 Gator Bowl, where he was named MVP of the game.
^Robertson, Jimmy (October 22, 2000). "Tech Puts End to Carrier Dome Hex". Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
