Virginia Tech (4-2, 1-1 ACC) has been a little up and down this season, but the good Virginia Tech showed up on the road at North Carolina (2-3, 0-2 ACC) Saturday afternoon. The Hokies left town with a 34-17 victory that offered a glimpse of how good Virginia Tech can be and just how far North Carolina still has to go.
Things got off to a bad start for UNC, with Marquise Williams taking a sack and losing the football on the first play of the game. That was quickly turned into a touchdown by Virginia Tech for an early 7-0 lead. The Hokies defense was the story fo the day, forcing three turnovers and holding Williams to just 17 completions out of 33 attempts. Virgina Tech’s Kendall Fuller returned an interception off the arm of Mitch Trubisky 47 yards for a touchdown late in the first half, giving the Hokies a commanding 24-3 lead at the half.
UNC did come alive in the fourth quarter, but by then the damage had pretty much been done. The Tar Heels never got closer than 10 points. Not spending much time on the field may have contributed to that. Virginia Tech controlled the football for 41 minutes and three seconds to UNC’s 18 minutes and 57 seconds. The Tar Heels went 2-for-13 on third down conversion attempts and was 0-for-4 on fourth down. North Carolina simply could not stay on the field, a credit to Virginia Tech’s defensive efforts.
Virgina Tech’s offense did not have a great afternoon, but it was enough. Michael Brewer had 186 passing yards and a touchdown. Nine different players had a rushing attempt, including Marshawn Williams before having to leave the game with an ankle sprain.
North Carolina has now lost three straight games by a combined score of 154-93. That includes two ACC losses to Clemson and the Hokies. Next week UNC travels to Notre Dame in non-conference action, and they return home the following week against Georgia Tech. Given how open the Coastal Division could be, UNC can still hop back in the mix but they look to have an uphill battle in front of them.
Virgina Tech, already with a conference loss to Georgia Tech, is very much still in a good spot in the division. The Hokies are off next week but head to Pittsburgh for a Thursday night game on October 16. The following week Virginia Tech hosts Miami. If the Hokies can grab victories in both of those games, they will likely control the fate of the division the rest of the way. That is assuming the good Virginia Tech shows up the rest of the year.