Photos by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Head coach Frank Beamer is named after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor wears a yellow, no-hit jersey during a Virginia Tech football scrimmage in Lane Stadium on Aug. 15.

Coach Beamer celebrates the 75th annual FedEx Orange Bowl football game in Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens on Jan. 1.

The Roanoke Times | File 2005

Daniel Kim, who was a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets in 2005, polishes "Skipper," the Corps' cannon.

A is for Alabama, Virginia Tech's first opponent of the season. The two have played 11 games since their first meeting in 1932. Tech lost all but the last matchup, which came in 1998.

B is for blocked kicks. In his 22 years at Tech, coach Frank Beamer's clubs have blocked a total of 122 kicks in 268 games. Sixty of the blocks have come off punts, with 15 being returned for touchdowns. The Hokies returned 16 punts for TDs.

C is for Commonwealth Cup. The trophy goes to the winner of the annual gridiron clash between Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. It is made of marble and cherry wood, is four feet high and weighs more than 100 pounds.

D is for the Dave Matthews Band. The band headlined the only concert to be staged on the grass of Worsham Field in September 2007, designed to boost spirits on campus in the wake of the April 16, 2007, shootings on campus.

E is for the year 1896, the birth of the Hokies. When Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College changed its name to Virginia Polytechnic Institute, students entered a contest to write a new school cheer. Senior O.M. Stull won for his "Hokie" yell, a word he made up. The official school colors were also change from gray and black to Chicago maroon and burnt orange.

F is for Frank. Coach Frank Beamer is named after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only U.S. president to be elected to four terms in office.

G is for gobblers. When Virginia Tech was a military school, the cadets were not allowed to look at their plates while eating. Called "gobbling your meal," it was considered bad manners. The athletes, however, were given extra food. Because the meal time was so limited, they were allowed to gobble.

H is for Heisman: The last Virginia Tech player to be a contender for the Heisman Trophy was Michael Vick, who finished third in balloting in 1999.

I is for Imoh. In 2004, tailback Mike Imoh set a single-game rushing record with 243 yards against North Carolina. Darren Evans broke it last year with 253 yards against Maryland.

J is for Ju-Ju. Ju-Ju Clayton is among the contenders for the back-up quarterback role behind Tyrod Taylor in 2009, one of the more tenuous positions when it comes to depth.

K is for kickoff. Tech's first football game was Oct. 21, 1892, vs. St. Albans of Radford. Tech, then Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, won 14-10.

L is for lunch pail. The Hokie defensive unit has used the banged-up lunch pail signifying the unit's work ethic since 1985.

M is for mascot melee. In 1996 the Hokie Bird (the student) was suspended for the rest of the season after getting into a brawl with the Miami mascot during the Orange Bowl. According to witnesses, the Hokie Bird sent the Miami mascot -- an ibis -- to the Orange Bowl canvas with a couple of haymakers in the second half, proving that birds of a feather do not always stick together. The Hokie Bird was then dragged from the field by Orange Bowl security.

N is for Nebraska fans. Nebraska's football fans have been given the distinguished title -- "The Sea of Red" -- as waves of red-clad Husker fans follow Nebraska at home and on the road.

O is for Orange Bowl. The Hokies have made three appearances in the Orange Bowl: 1996, lost to Nebraska 41-21; 2008, lost to Kansas 24-21; and 2009, beat Cincinnati 20-17.

P is for picks. The Hokies have had two No. 1 picks in the NFL draft -- quarterback Michael Vick to the Atlanta in 2001 and defensive end Bruce Smith to Buffalo in 1985.

Q is for quarterback: Tyrod Taylor is expected to have a big year for the Hokies after throwing for 1,036 yards and rushing for 738 as a sophomore last year.

R is for running backs. With Darren Evans out for the year with a torn ACL, the team will need Josh Oglesby, Ryan Williams and David Wilson to step up and fill the void.

S is for the Sun Bowl. That's the first bowl game Virginia Tech played. On Jan. 1, 1947, Tech lost to Cincinnati 18-6 in a contest played in El Paso, Texas. About 10,000 fans were in attendance.

T is for tooth. During a postgame frenzy that broke out in 1989 in Charlottesville after Tech lost to Virginia, Tech's Jimmy Whitten and a UVa player were trading punches as Frank Beamer ran to separate them. As Beamer arrived, Whitten's momentum carried his elbow into Beamer's mouth, knocking out a tooth.

U is for unbelievably loud. Two cadets from the class of 1964 -- Alton "Butch" Harper Jr. and Homer "Sonny" Hickam -- built "Skipper" the cannon to outblast VMI's "Little John." When they went to fire it for the first time, they tripled the charge, blew the hats off half the VMI Keydets and shook the glass in the press box windows of the old Victory Stadium in Roanoke. Today, Skipper is fired from outside Lane Stadium when the Hokies enter the field and when they score.

V is for Vinnie. Vinnie Fuller was the first Hokie to earn one of the ACC's weekly awards. He was named defensive back of the week in October 2004 after his interception with 23 seconds left sealed victory in Tech's 19-13 win over West Virginia.

W is for weather. The 2004 matchup between Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech never happened because lightning and torrential downpours canceled the game. One of the first bolts of lightning hit the rental car of ESPN's Lee Corso and burned some of the vehicle's electrical system.

X is for Xavier Adibi. The ex-Hokie was drafted by the Houston Texans in 2008. He is one of 74 ex-Hokies who have been drafted since Frank Beamer became the coach, and one of more than 150 to sign an NFL contract in the Beamer era.

Y is for you'd better e-mail, text or show up in person if you want to ask Frank Beamer a question during his weekly radio show. Because the Monday night program will no longer take phone calls this season. (The program starts Monday night, by the way.)

Z is for zzzz. The Hokies ranked just 103rd in total offense (303.4 ypg) in Division I-FBS last season. Will offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring's unit finally provide fans with a little more zip this year?

SOURCE: www.hokiesports.com, www.vt.edu, The Roanoke Times