1965 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team

1965 Virginia Tech Gobblers football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–3
Head coach	Jerry Claiborne (5th season)
Home stadium	Lane Stadium

1965 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
New Mexico State			–					8	–	2	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	2	–	0
Xavier			–					8	–	2	–	0
Texas Western			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame			–					7	–	2	–	1
Southern Miss			–					7	–	2	–	0
Syracuse			–					7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					7	–	3	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					7	–	3	–	1
Boston College			–					6	–	4	–	0
West Texas State			–					6	–	4	–	0
Boston University			–					5	–	3	–	1
Buffalo			–					5	–	3	–	2
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	4	–	1
Penn State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Memphis State			–					5	–	5	–	0
San Jose State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	4	–	2
Colgate			–					4	–	5	–	1
Florida State			–					4	–	5	–	1
Army			–					4	–	5	–	1
Houston			–					4	–	5	–	1
Colorado State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Air Force			–					3	–	6	–	1
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	7	–	0
Dayton			–					3	–	7	–	0
Holy Cross			–					2	–	7	–	1
Villanova			–					1	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1965 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team represented the Virginia Polytechnic Institute or VPI (now known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University or Virginia Tech) as an independent during the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Jerry Claiborne the Gobblers compiled an overall record of 7–3. VPI played home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18		vs. Wake Forest	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (Harvest Bowl)	W 12–3	20,000	[2]
September 25	8:15 p.m.	at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 25–7	11,000	[3]
October 2		William & Mary	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 9–7	15,000	[4]
October 9		at George Washington	District of Columbia Stadium Washington DC	W 17–12	12,500	[5]
October 16		at Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 10–21	14,338	[6]
October 23		Virginia	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	W 22–14	30,100	[7]
October 30		at Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 6–7	22,536	[8]
November 6		at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 22–31	23,000	[9]
November 13		Villanova	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 21–19	15,000	[10]
November 25		vs. VMI	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	W 44–13	23,000	[11]
Homecoming

Roster

The following players were members of the 1965 football team according to the roster published in the 1966 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.^[12]

VPI 1965 roster
	Art Aguilar Ken Barefoot Jay Barfield Judson Bigelow Andy Bowling Donnie Bruce Eddie Bulheller Paul Frederick Cobb Clarence Culpepper George Dallas Scott Dawson Damon William Dedo Bill Edwards Jack Evan David Lowell Farmer Rusty Fife Gene Fisher George Foussekis		Tommy Francisco Sal Garcia Bill Gordon Leo Griffin Bob Griffith Tommy Groom Les Hanly Jeff Haynes Basil G. Jennings Erick Johnson Bill Kegley Jackie Kennedy Ronnie Lindon Dickie Longerbeam Frank Loria Ronald Lee McGuigan Claude Earl Messamore, Jr. Milton E. Miller		Dan Mooney Bobby Owens John Raible Wayne Rash James John Reba Jim Richards Robert Rupp Fred Michael Saunders Dennis Michael Semones John Sheehy John George Shipley Bill Skinner Tommy Stafford Tom Swords Don Thacker Jonathan Titley Utin Sands Woody Peter Wrenn

References

1. "1965 Virginia Tech Hokies Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
2. "Tech wins, 12–3, on run by Francisco". The Progress-Index. September 19, 1965. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Richmond bows to Tech, 25–7". The Daily News Leader. September 26, 1965. Retrieved October 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Rally in last two minutes of play wins for VPI, 9–7". The Danville Register. October 3, 1965. Retrieved October 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "VPI halts GWU 17–12 for 4th win". The Danville Register. October 10, 1965. Retrieved February 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Ransom pays off for VU". The Nashville Tennessean. October 17, 1965. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "VPI dedicates stadium with 22–14 win". Bristol Herald Courier. October 24, 1965. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Florida State defeats VPI by 7–6 score". The Progress-Index. October 31, 1965. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "West Virginia turns back Virginia Tech by 31 to 22". The Danville Register. November 7, 1965. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Tech squeaks past Villanova". The Roanoke Times. November 14, 1965. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Virginia Tech thumps VMI by 44–13". The Lexington Herald. November 26, 1965. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "The Bugle 1966" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1966. p. 82. Retrieved December 6, 2017.