Virginia Tech opts out of bowl game, finishes at 5-6

The Virginia Tech Hokies have become the latest college football team to voluntarily opt out of participating in a postseason game. 

As Andrea Adelson explained for ESPN, Virginia Tech was on the country's longest bowl streak at 27 straight years before Wednesday's announcement. 

"We had a team meeting and our players have decided to not play, and I'm going to support them 100 percent," head coach Justin 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.

"There's kids that would like to go home for Christmas. This is ultimately about our kids. I think they've sacrificed enough. 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."

Virginia Tech began the campaign at 4-2 but then dropped four straight contests. The Hokies improved to 5-6 on the year with a 33-15 win over the Virginia Cavaliers last Saturday.

Virginia Tech joins programs such as the Pitt Panthers and Boston College Eagles that also decided against playing in any bowl games for this season. Others, such as the SMU Mustangs, have already withdrawn or are expected to opt out due to eligibility issues linked with COVID-19.