BLACKSBURG – The No. 19 Virginia Tech football team clashes with eighth-ranked North Carolina today in Chapel Hill, N.C., with kickoff set for noon in a game that will be nationally televised on ABC.
The Hokies enter the game 2-0 after their initial road victory of the season, a 38-31 contest at Duke. Running back Khalil Herbert rolled up 357 all-purpose yards and ran for two scores, and quarterback Braxton Burmeister accounted for three more touchdowns 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, Oct. 10 – noon, Keenan Stadium; Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
UNC 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 meeting: Oct. 19, 2019 (Tech won, 43-41 6 OT).
Television: 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.
GAME NOTES
- For the third consecutive week Tech will face an opponent from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill triangle.
- A severely depleted VT squad missing 23 players and multiple coaches registered a convincing 45-24 win to open the season vs. NC State (9/26).
- Last week, despite missing 21 players (including the squad’s top five defensive backs) 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 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 touchdown march that resulted in an unlikely 22-19 win.
- Last year’s contest vs. UNC was even more dramatic as Tech won the longest game in ACC history, a six-overtime 43-41 win that featured touchdown passes by three different Hokie quarterbacks. Tech is 13-3 against UNC in ACC play.
- UNC is 2-0 after registering wins vs. Syracuse and at Boston College. The Tar Heels have won five straight games 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. VT is currently ranked No. 19 and the Heels sit at 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
- 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 points per game vs. UNC under Fuente.
- VT owns a 20-2 mark under Fuente when leading at the half.
- VT is 31-2 when holding opponents 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 opponents to 17 points or fewer (6-0 in 2019).
- UNC has yet to be held to be 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.
TURN UP THE JUICE, RB KHALIL HERBERT
- Kansas transfer running back Khalil Herbert leads the nation, averaging 276.5 all-purpose yards per game.
- Herbert racked up a school-record 357 all-purpose yards at Duke while his 207 rushing yards tied as the fifth-highest single-game total in Virginia Tech history.
- He leads ALL FBS players, averaging 156.0 rushing yards per game. He’s registered back-to-back 100-yard rushing games in his first two games in a VT uniform.
- Herbert registered 104 rushing yards with a 37-yard touchdown to go along with 46 receiving yards vs. NC State and had 45 kickoff return yards.
- The grad student Saturday became the first Hokie in history to rush for 100+ yards and register 100+ kickoff return yards in a single game.
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 Power Five teams, averaging 319.0 rushing yards per game.
- 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 and 324 net rushing yards at Duke.
- Tech has registered back-to-back games with 300+ net rushing yards for the first time since doing it with 334 yards at Boston College and 332 vs. Rutgers in 2002.
- Tech leads the ACC in rushing at 319.0 yards per game, and Herbert leads the ACC in rushing (156.0 yards per game)
