UNC Football early opponent preview: Virginia Tech Hokies
Keeping It Heel takes a look at each of the UNC Tar Heels football opponents in reverse order. This week we take a look at Virginia Tech.
NC State | Western Carolina | Pittsburgh | Miami
Last season, North Carolina and Virginia Tech met on a Saturday in the middle of a monsoon. The result was a 31 point beat down in Chapel Hill with the Hokies taking over the lead in the ACC Coastal Division.
Will the Tar Heels be able to get revenge this season and make it two out of three at Lane Stadium?
Head Coach: Justin Fuente. Career Record 36-27 (10-4 at Virginia Tech). This will be his second 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. In his first season with the Hokies, he won the Coastal Division and beat Arkansas in the Belk Bowl.
Best Former Player: 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).
In his career, he has 1,225 tackles, 200 Sacks, 43 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, and a touchdown.
Smith’s 200 sacks are the most by any player in NFL history. 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 Former Player: DB Kam Chancellor. Four-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro, a two-time Super Bowl participant, and one-time Super Bowl Champion. Career has 557 tackles, 12 interceptions, and 8 forced fumbles.
Chancellor is entering his eighth season in the league and has established himself as one of the most dominant forces on one of the NFL’s best defenses.
As a member of Legion of Boom, Chancellor is the heavy hitter of the group.
After years of being one of the NFC’s best, Seattle had a bit of a down season, finishing 10-5-1. They did win the NFC West but lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round.
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 10-4 (6-2 in ACC play) and finished first in the Coastal Division. The Hokies season highlights include the aforementioned beat down of UNC at Chapel Hill as well as the big bowl win against a SEC opponent.
In that bowl game, the Hokies trailed 24-0 at halftime before scoring 35 unanswered points and shutting out the Razorbacks in the second half.
Their season also included losses to Syracuse and Tennessee. The Tennessee game was shocking because the Hokies were leading 14-0 after one quarter only to see the Vols score 31 unanswered points on their way to a 45-24 win.
This Season: Eight of their opponents finished last season with a winning record and all eight of those made a bowl game.
Not to sound like a broken record, but Virginia Tech is also replacing a starting quarterback this season. However, just to keep in mind that was also the case last year as well.
Virginia Tech is looking to become the first team to win the Coastal in consecutive years since the Hokies did in in 2010 and 2011. However, that will be a tall task with three of their last four games on the road.
Even with Fuente’s success his first season, the Hokies may be in for a bit of a let down this year. A 7-5 record may be the reality of things, but it would keep their bowl streak alive.
Best Current Player: WR Cam Phillips. Last season, he caught 76 receptions for 983 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 30 times for additional 130 yards. The receptions and the yards were both second on the team.
In the game against the Tar Heels, Phillips had two receptions for 20 yards. Again, the game was played in a monsoon, so passing wasn’t very high on anyone’s game plan. Phillips also had four rushes for 22 yards this that contest.
With the Hokies leading passer, rusher, and receiver all gone, Phillips will be looked to carry the offense along with junior running back Travon McMillian. Both will be counted on to help out whoever is under center next season.
Match-up: Saturday, October 21st in Blacksburg.
Prediction: This is the first of three games that I believe will have a huge impact on the Coastal season. These three games also will the toughest stretch of the season for UNC.
Just one last note, UNC has only beaten Virginia Tech twice since Fedora took over and only three times total since the Hokies joined the ACC.
Final score: Virginia Tech 27, UNC 21.
If you have been keeping up you know this will be the third straight time I have picked UNC to lose.
Unfortunately, that is how it rolls sometimes.
On the plus side, I think they will come into this stretch as one of the Coastal favorites. Of course, they did that last year too and look what happened.
Regardless as long as there isn’t another monsoon, the game should be close and UNC should have a chance even if they do come up short.