Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Football: Early Opponent preview Virginia Tech

By Brandon Griffin

Dec 26, 2015; Shreveport, LA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies running back Travon McMillian (34) celebrates with running back J.C. Coleman (4) after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Independence Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2015; Shreveport, LA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies running back Travon McMillian (34) celebrates with running back J.C. Coleman (4) after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Independence Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Leading up to the first game of the season, Keeping It Heel will be doing opponent previews in reverse order.

Previous Previews:

NC State / The Citadel / Duke / Georgia Tech / Virginia / Miami

This Week: Virginia Tech

Last season North Carolina walked into a ridiculously dangerous situation. It was the last home game of the season for the Hokies. It was also long-time coach Frank Beamer’s last home game as a coach.

The Hokies wanted to send their coach out with a win. The Heels wanted to stay in the playoff hunt. The collision course ended with a Heels OT win. Will this season have the same kind of drama?

Head Coach: Justin Fuente. Career Record 26-23 (0-0 at Virginia Tech). This will be his first season at Virginia Tech and his second head coaching stop. Fuente was previously the head coach at Memphis where he turned around the program going 19-6 the last two seasons. Fuente follows a head coach who was there for 29 seasons and went to 23 consecutive bowls, so no big deal, right?

Best Graduate: DE Bruce Smith. 11 time Pro Bowler, 11 time All-Pro, three-time defensive player of the year, hall of famer, and four-time Super Bowl participant (never won but the Bills are the only NFL team to go to four consecutive Super Bowls). Career has 1,225 tackles, 200 Sacks, 43 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, and a touchdown.

Smith’s 200 sacks is the most by any player. Considering he played as a 3-4 DE, a position that doesn’t record a lot of sacks, the record is one of the most impressive ever.

Second Best Graduate: DB Kam Chancellor. Four Time Pro Bowler, two time All-Pro, a two-time Super Bowl participant, and one-time Champion. Career has 472 tackles, 10 interceptions, and 7 forced fumbles.

Chancellor is entering his seventh season in the league and has established himself as a dominate force on one of the NFL’s best. As a member of Legion of Boom, Chancellor is the heavy hitter of the group. His effect was most felt last season when he sat out the first two games and the Seahawks went 0-2. Upon his return, the team went 10-4 before eventually losing to Carolina in the playoffs.

If you believe Michael Vick deserves to be on this list, I hear your argument. However, his overall stats are not overly impressive and his team has never made the Super Bowl. Also, his omission has nothing to do with his legal troubles, which I greatly believe he has more than paid for and is deserving of a second chance.

Last Season: Went 7-6 (4-4 in ACC play). Finished fifth in the Coastal Division. Season highlights include starting the season 3-5 and bringing into jeopardy their impressive bowl streak.

After a win against Boston College, Frank Beamer announced his retirement and the Hokies found new life. They went 3-1 to finish the season with the only loss being in overtime to UNC in Frank Beamer’s last home game.

This Season: Eight of their opponents finished last season with a winning record and seven of them made a bowl game. Virginia Tech trades Ohio State out for Tennessee and picks Notre Dame up on the schedule replacing Purdue for another Indiana-based matchup.

With a new coach, one might expect a bit of a drop off this season. However, Fuente knows what he is doing and can get a lot out of QB. Plus Bud Foster is still there to coach the defense. An improvement to 7-5 and a 24th consecutive bowl game seem like the most likely outcome.

Best Player: RB Travon McMillian. Last season, he rushed for 1042 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also caught 12 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Like the Hokies, McMillian saw his season explode in the second half. After only rushing for 319 yards and a touchdown in the first half of the season, McMillian busted out for 723 yards and six touchdowns in the second half. That stretch included three consecutive games where he rushed over 100 yards.

Matchup: Saturday, October 8th in Chapel Hill. Time: TBD

Oct 3, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels defensive tackle Nazair Jones (90) warms up before their game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels defensive tackle Nazair Jones (90) warms up before their game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

Prediction: The coach is different but the defense is the same. UNC is 2-2 against the Hokies since Fedora arrived. Only once did they score more than 30 points. Virginia Tech plays defense. However, Carolina is at home and should be able to score enough to take care of the Hokies on the Hill.

Final score: UNC 35, Virginia Tech 28. The Hokies defense will do their best to slow down UNC’s high octane attack and they will be more successful than others. However, they can’t do enough as the Carolina offense does just enough to win. The defense comes up big in the last two minutes as Nazair Jones sacks the quarterback to end a late comeback attempt.

The game has trap game written all over it. It comes in between a trip to Florida State and a return trip to Miami. If the Heels are looking ahead or struggling from the week before, it may be a long, long day in Chapel Hill.

Home/UNC Football