BLACKSBURG – The No. 19 Virginia Tech football team is back on the field this Saturday, October 10 as they clash with eighth-ranked North Carolina. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
The Hokies enter the week after their initial road victory of the season, a 38-31 contest at Duke. Graduate RB Khalil Herbert registered 357 all-purpose yards and ran for two scores and QB Braxton Burmeister accounted for three more TDs as Tech won its ninth straight game in Durham.
The Tar Heels enter the game 2-0 after victories over Syracuse (31-6) and Boston College (26-22).
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Saturday, October 10 – 12 PM
Keenan Stadium; Chapel Hill, North Carolina
at North Carolina (2-0, 2-0)
Head Coach: Mack Brown (12th Season, 32nd Season overall)
Record at school: 78-52-1; Career: 253-128-1
Series: Tech leads 24-12-6 Last: Oct. 19, 2019 (W, 43-41 6 OT)
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Broadcast: ABC
Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen
Analyst: Dan Orlovsky
Sideline: Marty Smith
Radio: Virginia Tech Sports Properties
Play-by-Play: Jon Laaser
Analyst: Mike Burnop
Sideline: Wes McElroy
Virginia Tech Game Notes: CLICK HERE
TECH RETURNS TO CAROLINA VS. HEELS
• For the third consecutive week Tech will face an opponent from Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill triangle as the Hokies travel to face North Carolina (10/10).
• A severely depleted VT squad missing 23 players and multiple coaches registered a convincing a 45-24 win to open the season vs. NC State (9/26).
• Last week, despite missing 21 players (including the squad's top five DBs) and multiple coaches once again, the Hokies pulled off a 38-31 win at Duke (10/3).
• Tech is 4-0 against UNC under head coach Justin Fuente, 11-6 in ACC road contests and 5-0 in conference games played in North Carolina (3-0 vs. Duke, 2-0 vs. UNC).
• Tech's last trip to trip to Chapel Hill resulted in a frenetic finish. With UNC leading 19-14 in the fourth quarter and poised at the Tech one-yard line, the Hokies forced a fumble, proceeded to recover en route to an epic 98-yard TD march resulting in an unlikely 22-19 win (10/13/18).
• Last year's contest vs. UNC (10/19/19) was even more dramatic as Tech won the longest game in ACC history, a six-OT 43-41 VT win that featured TD passes by three different Hokies' QBs. Tech is 13-3 against UNC in ACC play.
• UNC is 2-0 after registering wins vs. Syracuse (9/12) and at Boston College (10/3). The Tar Heels have won five straight dating back to 2019.
• The only time VT and UNC squared off with teams ranked in the AP Top 25, the No. 25 Hokies took out the No. 17 Tar Heels by a 34-3 count in a deluge at UNC (10/8/16). VT is currently No. 19 and UNC is No. 8.
TECH DOMINATES THEIR STATE
• Virginia Tech owns a 10-1 record against teams from the state of North Carolina under Fuente.
• VT owns a combined 36-8 all-time record in ACC play against teams from the state of North Carolina: 14-3 vs. Duke, 13-3 vs. UNC, 5-1 vs. NC State and 4-1 vs. WF.
KEY SCORING STATS ON HOKIES, HEELS
• Tech is 4-0 vs. UNC under head coach Justin Fuente. VT owned a 115-29 scoring edge in Fuente's first two meetings with the Tar Heels. Tech's last two wins have come by a combined five points (VT 65, UNC 60).
• VT is 25-5 when scoring 30+ points under Fuente and 11-0 when scoring 40+ points. Tech has averaged 39.5 ppg vs. UNC under Fuente.
• VT owns a 20-2 mark under Fuente when leading at half.
• VT is 31-2 when holding foes to 21 points or fewer dating back to the start of the 2015 season (6-1 in 2019).
• VT has won 25 straight games when limiting foes to 17 points or fewer (6-0 in 2019).
• UNC has yet to held to 17 points in Mack Brown's second act in Chapel Hill. UNC's lowest point output in 2019-20 was a 24-18 loss at Wake Forest (9/13/19).
TURN UP THE JUICE, RB KHALIL HERBERT
• Kansas transfer RB Khalil Herbert leads the nation, averaging 276.5 all-purpose ypg.
• Herbert racked up a school-record 357 all-purpose yards at Duke (10/3), while his 207 rushing yards tied as the fifth-highest single-game total in Virginia Tech history.
• Herbert leads ALL FBS players, averaging 156.0 rushing ypg. He's registered back-to-back 100-yard rushing games in his first two games in a VT uniform.
• Herbert played in 35 games for the Jayhawks, producing 320 carries for 1,735 yards (5.4 avg.) with 14 TDs. He racked up a career-high 291-yard rushing performance at WVU (9/23/17).
• Herbert registered 104 rushing yards with a 37-yard TD to go along with 46 receiving yards vs. NC State (9/26), as well as 45 KO return yards.
• The grad student became the first Hokie to ever rush for 100+ yards and register 100+ kickoff return yards in a single contest.
• In 27 games (14 starts) at Rutgers, RB Raheem Blackshear rushed 211 times for 912 yards with six TDs and three 100-yard games. He also caught 80 passes for 810 yards with six TDs with three 100-yard games. Blackshear returned 30 kickoffs for 518 yards (17.3 avg.).
VICE SQUAD – TECH'S O-LINE POWERING TECH
• Behind an offensive line coached by Vance Vice, Tech ranks third in the nation and leads all P5 teams, averaging 319.0 rushing ypg.
• From 2011-19 Tech registered no games with 300+ net rushing yards. The Hokies have now accomplished that feat in back-to-back games with 314 rushing yards vs. NC State (9/26) and 324 net rushing yards at Duke (10/3).
• Tech has registered back-to-back games with 300+ net rushing yards for the first time since doing it with 334 yards at BC (9/10/02) and 332 vs. Rutgers (9/19/02).
• Tech leads the ACC in rushing at 319.0 ypg and RB Khalil Herbert leads the ACC in rushing (156.0 ypg.)
