BLACKSBURG – Kicking off the season on a strong note in front of Hokie Nation for the first time in 650 days, the Virginia Tech football team defeated No. 10 North Carolina 17-10 in Lane Stadium. Below are key takeaways that propelled the team to victory.
1. Tech's defense came to play. North Carolina came into Lane Stadium with a Heisman hopeful in quarterback Sam Howell, along with a high-octane offense that averaged 41.7 points per game in 2020. Tech's defense rose to the challenge, forcing three turnovers and holding the Tar Heels to just 10 points behind a first-half shutout and consistent effort over the final 30 minutes. Linebacker Dax Hollifield and defensive backs Jermaine Waller and Chamarri Conner intercepted passes from Howell, who was constantly under pressure by the Hokies' defensive line, which had six sacks.
2. The Hokies earned a big top-10 win. Knocking down a ranked foe to begin the season is not new to the Hokies in the Justin Fuente era, as it happened three years ago Labor Day weekend in Tallahassee (No. 19 Florida State, 24-3). The win at home over the Tar Heels, who were ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the Coaches' poll, marked Tech's first top-10 win in Lane Stadium since 2009 when it upset then-No. 9 Miami (Fla.). The UNC win also was Tech's first win against an AP top-10 team with Frank Beamer not as head coach since 1964 (No. 10 Florida State), as Jerry Claiborne was head coach for that game.
3. Braxton Burmeister looked right at home as Tech's QB1. The Oregon transfer, who made just the fifth start of his career, came out firing on all cylinders, taking the Hokies' offense down the field on its opening drive and getting a touchdown, which he ran in himself. He would keep his mojo going in the first half, starting 7-for-8 passing and eventually giving the Hokies a 14-0 edge after a second-quarter touchdown pass to tight end James Mitchell. Admittedly, he cooled off in the second half, as he said in the postgame press conference, but made enough plays down the stretch to keep Tech's comfortable lead sustained. With the win, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound dual-threat moves to 4-1 as a starter.
4. Time of possession favored the Hokies. Game planning coming into this much-anticipated game was a huge part of which team would have success, and the Hokies certainly had their ducks in a row when it came to that – especially on offense. Fuente mentioned he did not deliberately tell offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen to hike the ball right before the play clock would expire each snap, flirting with a delay of game penalty, but it was a certain aspect that the offense did intentionally as the game went on – and it worked. Keeping the ball away from the preseason ACC Player of the Year in Howell, as well as keeping the Hokie defense rested, Tech used a 10-minute advantage in time of possession to its advantage. Tech would have the ball for over 20 minutes in the first half, letting UNC have it for under 10 minutes and holding them to zero points at the break.
5. Hokie Nation returned in full force and made a huge difference. Last Monday, the Tech-UNC season opener was announced as a sellout, and Fuente joked his phone was blowing up after the fact with alums and NFL Hokies trying to get back to town for the game. Well, they and the rest of Hokie Nation proved to be the difference, as Carolina false starts, miscues and more seemed to shoot themselves in the foot due to a raucous crowd. The student section was full well before kickoff, the pregame show included skydivers and enhanced fireworks presentation with on-field fire pillars, and, last but not least, the return of "Enter Sandman" brought the house down to set the stage, a stage UNC couldn't quite overcome.