CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Virginia Tech and North Carolina engage in an ACC battle Saturday night in a game that is certainly of the utmost importance for the Hokies.
Tech enters the contest with a 3-2 mark, but more importantly, with a 2-0 record in the ACC – both wins coming on the road. The Hokies certainly would be sitting in fine shape with a 3-0 league record at the halfway point of the schedule, with all three of those wins coming on the road. Plus, they have several home games coming up during the second half of the season.
Tech has won on its past two trips to Chapel Hill, and the Hokies go into this game as the favorites, as North Carolina is 1-3 on the season. But the Tar Heels are coming off a bye week, and keep in mind that five of the past 11 meetings in this series have been decided by a touchdown or less.
The Hokies are looking for a bounce-back win after they fell to Notre Dame last weekend. Here are some things to watch as they return to ACC play:
The turnover battle – Stating the obvious here, but the team that wins the turnover battle usually wins the game, and the Tar Heels have struggled in this area, forcing just three turnovers all season. In fact, in four games, they have scored just three points off opponents' turnovers.
In contrast, the Hokies have turned the ball over just four times in five games. More importantly, Tech usually takes advantage of mistakes, having scored 30 points this season off opponents' turnovers.
Two of the Hokies' four turnovers came in their loss to Notre Dame last weekend, with one being a fumble that the Irish returned for a touchdown. That trend does not need to continue Saturday night.
Making the most of red-zone opportunities – In looking at the Tar Heels' season statistics, one of the more staggering numbers is their opponents' successes in the red zone. Tar Heel opponents have registered a 100 percent scoring rate when reaching the red zone against North Carolina's defense, scoring on all 15 trips. Eleven of those trips ended with touchdowns.
The Hokies need to get into the red zone, and they need to take advantage of an opponent struggling in that area. Tech appears to hold the advantage, too, as the Hokies have scored on 18 of 19 trips in the red zone, with 13 of those trips ending with touchdowns.
Quick starts – This note seems to make it into this space every week, but it always seems to fit relative to the opponent. As most readers of this piece probably know, the Hokies are 19-3 under head coach Justin Fuente when scoring first.
It makes sense to include this note in this week because of North Carolina's struggles at the start of games. The Tar Heels have been outscored 99-50 in the first half, including 35-23 in the first quarter.
Tech fell behind 10-0 to Notre Dame last weekend and never caught up, so the Hokies certainly know the disadvantages of playing from behind and the advantages of playing with the lead. For the most part, Tech has been good at the start of games this season, outscoring its opponents 40-24 in the first quarter and by a whopping 102-48 margin in the first half.
In short, it would be beneficial for the Hokies to get the lead quickly and try to put away the Tar Heels instead of letting them stay in the game.
Watching the secondary – Tech's young secondary has been a little up and down this season, as to be expected when a unit features no seniors. Opponents are throwing for nearly 300 yards per game, though that number is skewed a bit because of Old Dominion's huge throwing output.
North Carolina may be the most balanced team in the country. The Tar Heels have run the ball 143 times and thrown it 145, but they present opportunities for the Hokies in the passing game.
The Tar Heels' three quarterbacks have thrown seven interceptions in four games – and three of those have been returned for touchdowns.
So keep an eye on this. Tech's young defensive backs need to play confidently, and an interception or two would provide them with a shot of confidence.
The running game – The Hokies ran for 132 yards against Notre Dame, but if you take out Steven Peoples' 40-yard run, the total is less than 100. And they ran for just 81 against Duke. So Tech needs to find a ground game.
Facing North Carolina's defense may just be the perfect opportunity to do that. The Tar Heels allow 209.2 yards rushing per game, which ranks 13th in the ACC and 112th nationally out of 129 teams.
Much was made of the Hokies throwing the ball 52 times against the Irish. It wouldn't be a surprise to see offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen try to reverse that trend Saturday night.
The actions kicks off a little after 7 p.m. Fans can see the game on ESPNU.
