North Carolina Tar Heels Stumble Against Virginia Tech Hokies, 34-17
Well, stick an L in the ole Prediction column.
The story today was the story of many Beamer-ball games. Turnovers and special teams are not your friends in a game with the Virginia Tech Hokies. Although the final was 34-17, three touchdowns were the direct result of turnovers.
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The North Carolina offensive line look outmanned for much of the game, though desperation seemed to help the Tar Heel Offense look a little better in the fourth quarter. The North Carolina defense stiffened over the course of the game and actually enjoyed some success in stopping Hokie drives when needed. The problem was those turnovers.
Play of the Game
With the score only 17-3, the Tar Heels had the ball with a 1:28 on the clock. At this point the line had already looked suspect, and given the situation you would have expected Marquise Williams to take the field. He did not, for it was redshirt freshman Mitch Trubisky’s turn in the rotation. For two plays it seemed okay, but then Trubisky threw a ball that Kendall Fuller read perfectly. Fuller picked it off and returned it to end zone for a touchdown and 24-3 lead at the half.
Were You There When…
Still down 27-17 late in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels forced a three and out and a punt. The Hokies punted it high to return man Ryan Switzer, who muffed it. Virginia Tech fell on it to end any remaining hope of a comeback. It was sort of the exact opposite of last year. Switzer took the team out rather than put them on top.
Live Feed
Fighting Gobbler
I Want Him On My Team…
Justin Thomasson, DT
I don’t have any stats on this, but the front six for the Tar Heels got better at run stuffing as the game went on. Thomasson was a guy that I noticed appear as the tackler in four of those piles. In the 4-2-5, interior line play is so important, because there may not be a lot to back up people. Virginia Tech ran a lot of three WR sets to get the UNC Ram defender into pass coverage before running it.
Final Thoughts
Another tough loss for the Heels, now 0-2 in League play and it does not get any easier. They go to South Bend next week, and then the rest of the Coastal Division is waiting for them. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, is also young, but looked to at least know what they were trying to do. The Tar Heel run game was not a factor outside of Marquise Williams.