Virginia Tech (2-2 SU, 1-3 ATS) hopes to find an offense against a North Carolina squad (3-1 SU, 2-2 ATS) looking for defensive help when both meet on Saturday afternoon at Kenan Memorial Stadium at 3:30pmET.
The Hokies upset the Tar Heels last season 17-10 as a 4.5-point dog at home.
Last Thursday, Virginia Tech's two-game winning streak was halted by West Virginia at home in a 33-10 rout. North Carolina had won the first three games of the season, but they were shredded by a struggling Notre Dame squad 45-32 as a 3-point home favorite on Saturday.
Note: There is a strong potential of heavy rain due to Hurricane Ian and possible thunderstorms, which means that this game could be delayed or moved to the night.
Let's face it. This is somewhat of a rebuilding season in Blackburg with new coach Brent Pry taking over for Justin Fuente. His opening game was a loss at ODU, 20-17 in a game he probably wished wasn't scheduled before he arrived. They beat up on a bad Boston College game 27-10 on Sept. 10 and then defeated FCS Wofford 27-7 at home as a 38-point favorite on Sept. 17. They were smoked by the Mountaineers on a Thursday night by 23 at home as they committed more penalties than they had first downs (15 for 132 yards). Quarterback Grant Wells, a transfer from Marshall, completed 16 of 35 for 193 yards and threw a pick-six late in the fourth quarter.
To make matters worse, Virginia Tech ran for 35 yards. In their most successful seasons, it's been about the running game, defense, and special teams. This squad at least has been consistent offensively. They cannot run as they average just 114.8 yards per gam e (109th), rank 91st in pass offense (218ypg) and 113th in points per game (20.3).
“It’s obviously been something that’s been at the top of our list this week,” Pry said to the Virginia Pilot. “You have the high number of penalties in Week 1, and then you follow it up with five in each of the next two weeks, so you feel like you kind of got it nipped in the bud. Then you come back with an ugly game there.
“In the team meeting, I asked the guys if we had eliminated 10 penalties, could we have won the football game. To a man, the answer was yes.”
It starts with Wells, who has completed 59.8% of his passes for 844 yards with five TDs and five picks. Keshawn King leads the Hokies with 179 yards and one TD on 6.2 yards per carry.
Defensively, the Hokies have an elite defense, allowing just 255 yards per game (10th), 170 passing yards (20th) and 85 r ushing yards (13th) per game. They will be tested in this one after allowing 421 yards against West Virginia and fatigue likely played a part when considering they were on the field for nearly 39 minutes