Virginia Tech Opts Out of Bowl Game, Ends Longest Active Bowl Streak at 27 Years

Virginia Tech head football coach Justin Fuente announced Wednesday the Hokies have opted out of postseason play, ending the nation's longest active bowl streak at 27 years.

"We had a team meeting and our players have decided to not play, and I'm going to support them 100 percent," Fuente told reporters. "It speaks to the difficulty of the season they've been through. There were players who wanted to play, but we were going to do this all together or not, and it became evident that it was a very difficult situation."

The Blacksburg school becomes the fifth ACC program to decline any potential bowl invitations amid the coronavirus pandemic. The others are Boston College, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Virginia.

"There's kids that would like to go home for Christmas. This is ultimately about our kids. I think they've sacrificed enough," Fuente said. "They've been at this for some time and given up freedoms and plenty of opportunities, so we're going to turn the page and get ready to go."

The Hokies finish the 2020 season with a 5-6 record, including an 0-4 mark against ranked opponents, though they narrowly missed upsets against No. 25 Liberty (38-35) and No. 9 Miami (25-24) in November.

Fuente has compiled a 38-26 record across five years leading the program. VT has finished with a losing mark in two of the past three seasons, however, and it last won a bowl game in 2016.

Athletic director Whit Babcock told reporters Tuesday he wasn't considering a coaching change, saying his decisions wouldn't be made to "pacify the social media mob."

"Upheaval is a dangerous strategy if you miss," Babcock said. "I know we have the right coach. But if you make a change and miss, it can get you into a spiral that you don't want."

He explained firing Fuente could lead to players transferring and the risk of losing "a promising young defensive coordinator [Justin Hamilton] and many of our former players who are also on staff."

The Hokies finished the season with a 33-15 victory over rival Virginia last Saturday.

Georgia now owns the longest active bowl streak at 23 years, and it'll increase to 24 if the Bulldogs accept a postseason bid this season. The Dawgs are followed by Oklahoma (21) and LSU (20), though the Tigers' streak is also set to end following a self-imposed bowl ban.