The Virginia Tech football team (2-2, 1-0 ACC) will look to bounce back from the loss to West Virginia when they travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina on Saturday.
The Hokies have continued to look sharp on defense but will have to clean up the penalties if they have any hope of getting a road victory here. The Tarheels (3-1) are coming off their first loss of the season, falling 45-32 to Notre Dame last time out.
This is a big chance for either team to take command of the Coastal Division in what’s expected to be a wide-open race in 2022.
Where to watch?
The game will air on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on the ACC Network.
What to know about VT
The Hokies’ two losses against ODU and WVU have both primarily been due to bonehead mistakes. Too many penalties, poor execution and the turnovers did them in with both games. That’s not to say they would have won either by playing sharper, but they did themselves no favors. While Grant Wells has shown flashes, the calls for Jason Brown won’t be far off with another underwhelming performance. Expect Tech to try everything it can to establish the run game to find some sort of balance after just 35 yards against the Mountaineers
What to know about UNC
UNC can put up points, but boy can they let them in. They’ve allowed 61 points in a game this season and enter this game allowing 39.5 points per game. In the loss to the Irish, quarterback Drake May was 17-for-32 for 301 yards and five touchdowns, but the run game really struggled. The defense also gave up 576 yards of total offense, and just like Tech, penalties did them in. Whoever plays the cleaner game probably wins.
Prediction
UNC 28, VT 17