University of North Carolina Athletics
Virginia Tech Game Guide
October 28, 2009 | Football
Oct. 28, 2009
By Lauren Brownlow
Every Thursday, check TarHeelBlue.com for the latest edition of the Game Guide, which provides all the information you need to get ready for gameday.
The Basics
Carolina (4-3, 0-3) will try to bounce back after a disappointing loss as it travels to face its first ranked opponent this season in No. 14 Virginia Tech (5-2, 3-1). Carolina has won three straight games over ranked opponents dating back to last season but it has not beaten a ranked opponent on the road since beating Clemson 38-3 in 2001. This is the highest-ranked team Carolina has faced since Virginia Tech was No. 5 in the nation in 2005. Carolina is coming off of a 30-27 loss last Thursday at home to Florida State. Virginia Tech is coming off of a 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Virginia Tech leads the all-time series between the teams, 16-9-6. Carolina is 1-2 in Blacksburg with the only win coming in 1930. Carolina lost 30-3 in 2005 and 17-10 in 2007. Virginia Tech has won 12 straight games at Lane Stadium and is 40-5 since the 2003 season.
Game Time: North Carolina at Virginia Tech, 7:30 PM, ESPN
Carolina's game notes can be found here and Virginia Tech's official football site is here.
Last Time: Carolina lost 20-17 to Virginia Tech in Chapel Hill on September 20, 2008. Carolina had a 10-3 lead before T.J. Yates went out with a broken ankle midway through the third quarter. Greg Little scored on Carolina's next play from scrimmage on a 50-yard run to make it 17-3, but Virginia Tech capped off a 13-play, 89-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown to make it 17-10. That drive was extended by two Tar Heel penalties, one on fourth down and the other on 3rd and 10. Greg Little lost a fumble on Carolina's next possession at the Carolina 32-yard line and Virginia Tech scored the tying touchdown as the fourth quarter began. A holding penalty on Carolina during the kickoff, followed by a three-and-out and yet another personal foul on Virginia Tech's punt return gave the Hokies a first down at the Carolina 29-yard line. Virginia Tech kicked a field goal to go up 20-17. Carolina reached the Virginia tech 24 with Mike Paulus in at quarterback until he threw an interception at the Virginia Tech two-yard line. Paulus and Carolina would have one more chance and he threw another pick at the Carolina 30-yard line.
Yates completed 11-of-18 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown before leaving with injury. Paulus completed 3-of-8 passes for 23 yards and two interceptions. Hakeem Nicks led Carolina in receiving with 51 yards on four catches. Brandon Tate had three catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. Greg Little led Carolina in rushing with 71 yards on 18 carries. Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor completed 11-of-21 passes for 125 yards and two interceptions. He rushed for 35 yards on 12 carries. Darren Evans led the Hokies in rushing with 61 yards on 14 carries.
Gameday Weather: Check the local weather forecast before heading to the game.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 6:30 PM. The radio broadcast is also available on XM Channel 190/Sirius 211 at 7:30. Since it's an away game, the Virginia Tech's broadcasters will be heard instead of the Tar Heel Sports Network crew.
TV Coverage: The game will be the shown as the ESPN Thursday Night game.
Game week TV/radio coverage: "Butch Davis Live", Coach Davis' weekly radio show, will be broadcast live from the Top of the Hill restaurant on Franklin Street every Wednesday at 7:00. Inside Carolina Football with Butch Davis airs Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on FOX Sports South. Inside Carolina Football with Butch Davis will air on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on WTVD ABC 11 in the Triangle and will review Saturday's game. The show will also be available On Demand on Time Warner Cable channel 1234 for free. The Tar Heel Football Review show featuring highlights of the previous week's games will air Tuesday's at 7 p.m. and Thursday's at 8 p.m. in the Triangle and Fayetteville on the local Time Warner Cable station.
Storylines
Finding offensive consistency: For the first time since perhaps Week 1, all of Carolina's offensive starters from the preseason are listed as either probable or completely healthy. Lowell Dyer's status was unexpectedly upgraded to probable; Carolina's running game has shown much improvement with the return of Jonathan Cooper and while Ed Barham has been learning along the way, Zack Pianalto is expected to play on Thursday night. That is a huge boost for an offense that has been riddled with injuries this entire season and has struggled to find consistency in terms of even getting the same 5-7 main blockers on the field at the same time.
"Getting five guys that now have played three or four weeks in a row, that in and of itself gives you a chance. It doesn't solve all of your problems, but it gives you a chance for guys to communicate and work together," Butch Davis said. "Getting Zack Pianalto, even though he only played a limited amount of time - but Ed had been playing for the previous four weeks, so these six guys, they had been playing together for a little bit. So you should expect some kind of growth and development." And there is evidence of the influence of the returnees making an impact. Against Georgia Tech and Virginia combined, Carolina averaged a meager 3.1 yards per play and had eight drives of less than one yard per play. Just five of the 22 drives averaged four or more yards per play. But when a few starters like Jonathan Cooper came back against Georgia Southern and things started to mesh, Carolina has since averaged 4.6 yards per play in its last two games with just three drives with negative yards per play out of 27 drives. Only five drives went for less than a yard and 14 of the 27 drives averaged over four yards per play. But even better than that - Carolina went from gaining 56 yards on 41 carries against Georgia Tech and Virginia to gaining 402 yards on 91 carries in its last two games, increasing the yards per carry from 1.4 to 4.4.
Ball control is crucial against a team like Virginia Tech; the Hokies are 1-2 this season and 21-62 all-time when being out-rushed by an opponent. But running the ball against their defense is easier said than done. Virginia Tech is ninth in the ACC and 76th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 150.3 yards per game. But in two home ACC contests, the Hokies have allowed 97 yards on 65 attempts (1.5 yards per carry) against two teams ranked in the top 75 in rushing (Miami is No. 74 and Boston College is No. 64). But all three of the Hokies' non-conference opponents broke the 100-yard mark, two in Lane Stadium, and the No. 2 team nationally in rushing, Georgia Tech, racked up 303 yards at home.
Still, holding its first three ACC opponents to a meager 142 yards rushing is impressive and shows that the defense is improving steadily, as most Bud Foster defenses do. Carolina is No. 85 rushed for just 56 yards against its first two ACC opponents. "I would say in the two seasons that I've been here, this is the best defensive football team that I've seen Virginia Tech have in the previous two seasons," Davis said. "The defensive line is very active. It's a traditional Bud Foster defense. They're not going to beat themselves. They're going to be in the right place. They're going to make plays."
Carolina has been pretty consistent in its struggles to pass the ball but here's an oddity - the Tar Heels have racked up 148 yards (most against an FBS team) against the No. 29 rushing defense in the nation in East Carolina but just 39 against the No. 86 rushing defense in Virginia. Florida State, the No. 98 rushing defense, is the lowest-ranked rushing defense Carolina has played so far and allowed Carolina to rush for 238 yards, nearly 100 more than its previous best output against an FBS team. Conventional wisdom is that a team runs the ball to set up the pass, and that establishing the run is crucial to any offense. While this is true, it has not helped the Carolina running game that the passing game has not been able to establish the run as it did at times last season. Defenses had to constantly account for Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate and Brooks Foster down the field. The passing game still has yet to find a rhythm and the yards keep decreasing each week, even as healthy members of the offense return. Carolina had racked up 518 yards in two games against East Carolina and Connecticut. But since then, the Tar Heels have passed for just 492 yards in the last four games and has gone from averaging 8.9 yards per attempt in the aforementioned two games to 4.4 yards per attempt in the last four games.
Carolina had 285 passing yards against the lowest-ranked passing defense it has faced in ECU (No. 93), but it managed just 95 yards against an FSU defense allowing 231 yards per game through the air and 137 against Georgia Tech, which allows 228. Virginia is actually the No. 4 pass defense, allowing 155.9 yards per game, but Carolina had 135. Connecticut is the No. 39 pass defense, allowing 196.1 yards, and Carolina had 233. But Virginia Tech is the No. 15 pass defense and has allowed only one 300-yard game and just two games of over 200 yards. But throwing rankings out of the equation, the Tar Heels absolutely have to at least show signs of life in both the running and passing games to stay in the game. If everyone is truly healthy and stays that way, that might start to happen.
Carolina not hurting itself: Obviously, Virginia Tech is a very good team and it's not just a coincidence that a lot of teams make a lot of mistakes against the Hokies - they do a pretty good job of forcing them. But too many times against Virginia Tech in the past and even in some games this season, Carolina has begun to hurt itself at the worst possible times. In two FBS wins, Carolina has lost three turnovers but gained three; in three losses, it has lost seven turnovers and gained only one.
Carolina's defense has gained four fumbles against five FBS opponents and the offense has turned those into two touchdowns, a missed field goal and one punt. Those turnovers tend to energize the offense; it has run 16 plays for 114 yards and two touchdowns (7.1 yards per play) after those turnovers compared to 4.3 yards per play on all other plays against FBS teams. Carolina has scored seven touchdowns in those 288 plays and two in the other 16 after forced turnovers. But Carolina's defense has allowed ten touchdowns to FBS schools and five of those have come after turnovers; 38 of the 97 points Carolina has allowed to FBS schools have been off of turnovers.
Of course, the defense has been put in some bad positions as seven of the offense's ten turnovers have come in Carolina territory. But the closest any of those turnovers have been is the Carolina 26-yard line and even a turnover at the FSU two-yard line resulted in a score. Carolina's defense does quite a bit already, but it has to make sure it can minimize the damage of any potential turnovers while the Carolina offense has to be extremely careful with the ball, particularly against the opportunistic Hokies. Carolina had two turnovers inside its own territory last season against the Hokies that led to ten points. "I know what to expect from these guys, having played them two years in a row," Greg Little said. "I know that we can't turn the ball over. That's happened in the past and two years ago, I think we lost the ball on the one-yard line and we turned the ball over last year inside our 30 a couple of times. So that's kind of just shooting ourselves in the foot a couple of times and that's something we can't do."
Virginia Tech's eight lost turnovers are the fewest in the league; they are one of only two teams to have lost fewer than ten turnovers. That is largely what is responsible for the Hokies' +4 turnover margin this season, second in the ACC. Surprisingly, the Virginia Tech defense has forced just 12 turnovers - not a low amount, but in turnovers gained per game, it ranks tied for seventh in the league with Duke (1.7 per game). Carolina's defense, for example, is fifth with 14 forced turnovers in seven games (2.0 per game) but its offense has averaged 2.4 per game, 11th in the league and one of only four teams to average two or more turnovers per game.
The Hokies are a team that will kill you with your own mistakes, particularly turnovers. This season, Virginia Tech has scored 51 points off of 14 turnovers. But VT opponents have turned their eight turnovers into just nine points. In fact, in the Hokies' five wins, they have committed just four turnovers and opponents have been able to convert those into only three points. Even in two losses, opponents have forced four turnovers and turned them into only six points. Duke stayed in the game against Virginia Tech by not turning the ball over once but managed to convert Virginia Tech's turnover into only three points. In ACC play so far in its other three games, Virginia Tech has turned seven turnovers into 45 points.
Carolina will have to continue its red-zone improvement as well. Carolina started the season 10-of-12 in the red zone in its first five games and has converted on 9-of-9 in the last two, including seven touchdowns. In ACC play, Carolina has allowed opponents to score on 9-of-11 red zone trips (six touchdowns). In all other games, Carolina's opponents have converted 6-of-7 red zone trips but just three touchdowns and three field goals. Virginia Tech is 4-of-5 in the red zone in its two losses but scored a touchdown on 40% of its red-zone trips (two touchdowns). But in its five wins, it is 15-of-18 in the red zone, averaging 3.6 trips per game and scoring a touchdown on 61.1% of its trips (11 touchdowns). The Hokies' opponents scored a whopping 52 points in the red zone in Virginia Tech's two losses on 12 trips, converting 9-of-12 into scores (six touchdowns). In Tech wins, its opponents have scored on 11-of-14 trips but just three touchdowns.
Playing 40 minutes of defense: It's been one of the only problems this defense has had, somewhat understandably considering the trouble the offense has had maintaining drives. But against Florida State, the defense was on the field for just 13:22 in the first two quarters before allowing Florida State ten minutes of time of possession in the third quarter and 7:18 in the fourth. Carolina's offense didn't have the ball long in the third but managed to score a touchdown and throw an interception at the FSU two-yard line. Even in the fourth quarter, Carolina's offense grinded out a ten-play, 83-yard drive that took 4:38 off the clock. It took Florida State just four plays and a minute to score a touchdown in response to go up 30-27. Unlike past games, the offense did what it could for the most part to maximize its possessions but the defense couldn't seem to get what is a very good offense off the field in the second half.
Florida State had the best passing offense Carolina has seen or likely will see. But the defense had been shutting down the Seminoles and appeared to let up a bit after the 98-yard touchdown pass. Carolina had held the Seminoles to 174 yards passing and ten yards rushing on 15 attempts, allowing just 1-of-9 third down conversions. After the 98-yard touchdown - and not including it - the defense allowed Ponder to complete 11-of-11 passes for 123 yards and the Seminoles converted 2-of-4 third downs, gaining eight of their 20 first downs after that score. They also rushed for 33 yards on ten carries. Carolina has struggled in the fourth quarter. In two FBS wins, Carolina's defense has held opponents to 98 yards on 29 plays (3.4 yards per play), six first downs and 3-of-7 on 3rd down. Opponents have completed 9-of-17 passes for 96 yards and rushed 12 times for two yards. In three FBS losses, Carolina's opponents have completed a staggering 10-of-11 passes for 113 yards and rushed 51 times for 154 yards, gaining 267 yards on 62 plays (4.3 yards per play), 19 first downs and converting 10-of-16 third downs (62.5%). In all other third downs, Carolina's opponents have converted 25-of-96 (26 percent).
In six games, Carolina allowed opponents to gain 291 yards on 86 third-quarter plays, converting 3-of-22 third downs and 18 first downs. Florida State gained 236 yards on 24 plays in just one game, gaining eight first downs and converting 4-of-5 third downs in the third quarter last week. This defense is still No. 3 in the country and it is still a very good defense. But as E.J. Wilson pointed out, the numbers and rankings don't mean much when an opponent is driving up and down the field on you when it matters most. "It's not just being in the right place - it's being in the right place and making the play, making that tackle, being in the right place on your coverage, having your eyes on the right guy, reading your keys. That's the difference between potential and getting where we need to be as a defense," Wilson said. "I feel like some of the times on defense, we were beating ourselves. We just kept digging ourselves into a bigger and bigger hole and we couldn't climb out of it. I think that we're going to have to learn how to execute better, communicate better and be more efficient. ... It was more miscommunications and mental errors on our part. (Florida State) executed and we didn't. They capitalized on those mistakes that we made."
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency at Lane Stadium will be 87.9 FM.
Tickets: The game is sold out.
How to get to the game: For seating charts and parking maps, click here. For more detailed parking information, click here. Check out the Lane Stadium Fan Guide for more information, including directions.
What to do in Blacksburg: For an all-encompassing list, click here.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
ESPN coverage: The game will be the Thursday Night Primetime football game on ESPN. Chris Fowler will have the play-by-play, Craig James and Jesse Palmer will be the analysts and Erin Andrews will be the sideline reporter.
Names To Know
T.J. Yates: The embattled junior quarterback will be facing the team that put him out for half of last season. But in about 2 ½ quarters against Virginia Tech, Yates had played very well. As a redshirt freshman, he went into Blacksburg and completed 16-of-25 passes for 182 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, despite being sacked six times. He accounted for 11 of Carolina's first downs and four of Carolina's five third-down conversions. He also converted one of Carolina's three fourth-down attempts and he very nearly helped Carolina lead a game-tying drive but he couldn't find Brandon Tate on fourth down. Last year, even though he went out in the third quarter, he accounted for 181 of Carolina's 307 total yards. He did that despite Carolina rushing for 103 yards on 32 carries; taking out Greg Little's 50-yard burst, it was 53 yards on 31 (1.7 per carry). In 2007, Yates' 182 yards passing made up more than half of Carolina's 306 total yards and he did that with 124 yards on 45 rushing attempts (2.8 yards per carry).
In 2008, he converted two of Carolina's three third-down conversions and made Carolina's only fourth-down conversion. He completed a 32-yarder on 3rd and 6 to Brandon Tate for a score right before the half. Overall, Carolina has converted 8-of-27 third downs in the last two games against Virginia Tech along with 2-of-5 fourth downs. Yates has accounted for eight of those 10 conversions. On third or fourth down against Tech, Yates is a combined 12-of-19 for 152 yards, eight first downs and one touchdown. He has had a tough time though, being sacked six times on third down alone (nine times in both games and six in 2007). But he has still been able to bounce back and lead Carolina down the field.
Yates has struggled this season, particularly on third down. Taking out FCS games, Yates has completed 24-of-48 passes for 245 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He has 13 first downs and has rushed for another three third-down conversions, including his ten-yard rushing touchdown against Florida State. But he has also been sacked five times on third down for a loss of 20 yards. On all other downs, he has completed 61-of-95 passes (64.2%) for 551 yards, 12 first downs, two touchdowns and four interceptions, being sacked just once. Even including FCS teams, Yates has completed 28-of-59 passes (47.5%) for 270 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions, gaining 15 first downs passing and four on the ground. Those 19 third-down conversions are nearly all of Carolina's 28 conversions this season.
If Yates can shake off the criticism he has faced this week and remember what he can do with a healthy line and a good running game, he could give Carolina a chance. "I don't feel like that it's anything that he can't do," Greg Little said. "I feel like he needs more guys around him to give him a place to go with the ball. I feel like we need to work harder to get open as well as our line needs to block, give us more time for him to throw the ball. I feel like there are some things that we can do as a whole offense to better his situation."
Deunta Williams: Even though Carolina has had young teams in the past two years, Deunta Williams has been one of the only Tar Heels that has started every game in the Butch Davis era and had an impact in almost every single one. Kendric Burney and E.J. Wilson have the same number of career starts (31), but Williams had such a good freshman season that he earned ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Trimane Goddard was the member of the Tar Heel secondary who had all the interceptions last year but teams tend to avoid Williams, then and now. He still finds a way to make plays and he is quietly having a very good season with 25 tackles (18 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions (tied for the team lead) and a team-high six pass-breakups. Against Florida State, he had two pass breakups and six solo tackles.
In his career against Virginia Tech, he has been a big factor. He averages 6.5 tackles (3.5 solo) and one interception per game. In 2007, he had nine tackles (three solo) and an interception at the Carolina 10-yard line returned to the Carolina 49-yard line. The Tar Heels got a field goal out of that drive and that play resulted in at least a six-point swing as Carolina cut the lead to 7-3 rather than going down 10-0 at least. Then last season, he had an interception at the Carolina 19-yard line that he returned to the 44. Carolina couldn't score, but he saved at least three points. With Taylor's scrambling ability, Williams and the Tar Heel secondary will need to be solid as they were early last week.
Ryan Williams: When Virginia Tech lost its starting running back in training camp, many thought all was lost for the Hokies. What they didn't know - and Frank Beamer and his staff did - was that they had a hidden gem in redshirt freshman Ryan Williams. Williams is the only ACC back averaging over 100 yards, making him first in the league by a wide margin (119.1 yards per game). He's averaging a ridiculous 6.0 yards per carry and has ten rushing touchdowns. His five 100-yard games are a Virginia Tech freshman record. The Hokies' coaching staff breaks down broken tackles by its tailbacks and Williams, on 140 rushing attempts, has broken a whopping 48 tackles, including 11 in two different games. The staff also tracks "money plays", which result in a first down or a touchdown. Williams leads the team with 47. He also leads the team in plays of 20 yards or more with 14, four for touchdowns.
Williams has fumbled just twice this season and has lost only one. His only lost fumble was in the season-opener against Alabama and the last time he fumbled at all was at Duke. He is especially lethal at home, gaining 581 total yards (145.3 per game) and 120 on the ground, scoring seven touchdowns. He has averaged 5.4 yards per carry at home and has caught five passes for 101 yards. He has a 66-yard rushing touchdown against Georgia Tech, a 57-yard touchdown against Marshall, a 46-yard rush against Nebraska, a 44-yarder against Miami and a 43-yard reception and a 32-yard touchdown run against Alabama. His 14 20-yard or more plays lead the team. Carolina has done a good job of defending the run so far this season but this will be the best conventional running back that the Tar Heels have seen this season. Though there are no tricky schemes to plan for like with Georgia Tech, he has been hard to stop by even the best defenses; Alabama is a top-five defense just like Carolina. Like Georgia Tech's Jonathan Dwyer, though, just one mistake could lead to a huge, game-changing play.
Tyrod Taylor: The junior quarterback leads the league in pass efficiency with a 159.9 rating. He has nine touchdown passes to just three interceptions and has yet to lose a fumble. His only fumble (not lost) came in the season-opener against Alabama. He has 577 yards in three road games and 577 in four home games, but has three touchdowns to two interceptions on the road and six touchdowns to just one interception at home. In yards per game, he's only one spot ahead of T.J. Yates in the ACC with 164.9 yards per game but he is taking care of the ball and controlling this offense.
He has not had his best games against Carolina but has two wins. In 2007, he completed 10-of-19 passes for 66 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He rushed 11 times for 11 yards and was sacked four times, but he had a five-yard rushing touchdown on the Hokies' first drive. In 2008, he completed 11-of-21 passes for 125 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions and was sacked twice, rushing for 35 yards on 12 carries. But he came up huge near the end, completing five of his final eight passes for 53 yards and rushing five times for 21 yards. He drew the crucial personal foul on Quan Sturdivant that prolonged the Hokies' first touchdown drive and ultimately swung the momentum.
His stats aren't spectacular against the Tar Heels, but mobile quarterbacks have given Carolina fits. Also, Taylor always seems to make the play when it matters, not only against the Tar Heels but also against Nebraska for example, hitting Danny Coale for an 81-yard reception to set up their game-winning score. Carolina will have to bounce back from a shaky defensive performance and constantly be aware of Taylor.
Lauren Brownlow is the executive editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
