2011 Virginia Tech Hokies Football: Va. Tech vs North Carolina

The last bit of intrigue in the ACC Coastal Division will unfold on Thursday in Blacksburg, Virginia. If the Virginia Tech Hokies are to lose hold of their grip on another division crown, it will have to happen here and now against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Virginia Tech (9-1, 5-1 ACC) needs a win against North Carolina and a Virginia win over Florida State to set up a Commonwealth Cup game that would decide the ACC Coastal Division. However, if Florida State can knock off Virginia, the Hokies would win the Coastal without need of a victory in week 13 of the college football season; they can lock down their fifth division title in seven years before week 12 comes to a close. At any rate, if the Hokies win out, they win the Coastal. At this point, the Tar Heels (6-4, 2-4 ACC) are fighting for a bowl berth after what can only be considered a disappointing season. The Tar Heels close with Duke and need to win both games to be eligible for a bowl game.

Virginia Tech has improved considerably over the course of the season and now doesn’t look a bit like the team that looked so inept against Clemson in that 23-3 home loss. The Hokies are coming off a 37-26 whipping of the Georgia Tech team that handed Clemson its only loss. Virginia Tech coordinator Bud Foster’s defense is a top 10 scoring defense, giving up only 16.5 points a game. It’ll face a UNC offense that has struggled this year, with the exception of freshman running back Giovani Bernard, who is averaging 5.4 yards per carry and has rushed for 100 yards in 6 of his ten career games, but he’s coming off the worst performance of his career, having only gained 47 yards on 18 carries against North Carolina State, in a game UNC was dominated offensively, taking a shutout.

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Sophomore quarterback Bryn Renner also had the worst game of his young career, going 9 for 17 for 76 yards and 2 INTs against North Carolina State before getting knocked out of the game with concussion-like symptoms. He is expected to be back on Saturday, and if UNC is going to win, he’ll have to look more like the early season Renner that went 22-of-23 against James Madison or 21-of-28 for 338 yards against Wake Forest the week before. Teams that have been able to really exploit Virginia Tech’s defense this year, pretty much limited to Miami and Clemson, were able to do so with a balanced approach. Miami had 283 passing yards and 236 rushing yards (6.2 yards per attempt) while Clemson had 204 passing yards and 119 rushing yards – not quite as dominant, but they didn’t need to be in a slow, grind it out game with less than 600 total yards.

For Virginia Tech, Logan Thomas has been outstanding at times, especially in his career game against Miami where he was 23-of-25 for 310 yards and 3 scores, but for the most part, he has managed the offense with smart play and effective running. The Hokies have five receivers that average at least 12 yards per catch with a minimum of 10 catches, led by Danny Coale’s 44 catches for 724 yards.

Of course, like most Virginia Tech teams, this year’s squad has a workhorse running back, with David Wilson already having run for 1360 yards on 210 carries, for an amazing 6.5 yards per carry on the season. The Hokies are equally effective running and passing, with 2,256 passing yards on the season and 2069 rushing yards. North Carolina’s defense has struggled at times against balanced attacks, such as the Clemson game where they gave up 59 points (though 14 were directly off turnovers) and the Georgia Tech game where they gave up not only 312 rushing yards but also nearly 200 passing yards.

Averaging 23.7 points per game surrendered, it is fair to say this North Carolina defense has been a disappointment, as the defensive side of the ball was expected to be a team strength.

Virginia Tech Hokies vs North Carolina Tar Heels Football Preview