University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Hosts Virginia Tech On Military Appreciation Day
October 4, 2014 | Football
Saturday's game is the only home contest in a difficult four-game stretch that has seen the Tar Heels fall at ECU and Clemson in the previous two weeks. Following Saturday's Virginia Tech game, the Tar Heels play at No. 8 Notre Dame. Carolina's remaining opponents boast a 28-10 mark.
Carolina leads the ACC and is 22nd in the country in scoring offense, averaging 40.8 points per contest. Last week, Carolina posted 35 points against one of the league's best defenses. Carolina has scored 76 points over the last two weeks.
Quarterback Marquise Williams rebounded from a slow start at Clemson to complete 24 of 38 attempts for 345 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman tailback Elijah Hood had 13 carries for 71 yards and is now the Tar Heels' leading rusher through four games. Defensively, Carolina held Clemson to less than 100 yards rushing, but struggled defending the pass, allowing more than 400 yards through the air.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 2-2 (0-1 ACC), Virginia Tech 3-2 (0-1 ACC)
Rankings: Both teams are unranked.
TV: ACC Network. Tim Brant (play-by-play), Dave Archer (analyst) and Rachel Baribeau (sideline) have the call. | Affiliate List
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (click to listen), a division of Learfield Communications. Jones Angell (play-by-play), Ethan Albright (analyst) and Lee Pace (sideline) have the call. | Affiliate List (PDF)
On The Web: GoHeels.com | UNC Notes | HokieSports.com | Virginia Tech Notes
Twitter: @TarHeelFootball, @CoachFedora | @VT_Football
Fan Information: Tickets | Fan Guide | Parking Information
QUICK HITS
• Carolina is 2-1 in all-time Military Appreciation Day games with wins over Rutgers (2011) and Idaho (2012) and a loss to ECU (2013).
• Carolina is 2-0 at home this season and 0-2 on the road.
• QB Marquise Williams needs one touchdown to move into 10th place all-time at UNC in career scoring passes.
• Williams has 2,788 career passing yards and is 181 yards shy of eclipsing Matt Baker for 13th place at UNC.
• In the second half vs. Clemson, Williams was 15 of 23 for 307 yards and three touchdowns.
• WR Quinshad Davis has 17 career touchdown catches. He is one shy of Art Weiner for third place all-time at UNC.
• Four different Tar Heels have led the team in rushing through the first four games - Brunson (Liberty), Williams (SDSU), Morris (ECU) and Hood (Clemson).
• Carolina is 16th in the nation in turnover margin and 11th in interceptions.
• Over the last 17 games, Carolina has scored 10 non-offensive touchdowns (five punt returns for touchdowns, three interception returns for touchdowns, two kickoff returns for touchdowns).
• Fifteen different Tar Heels have caught a pass this season led by Ryan Switzer with 19.
• Thirteen different players have scored a touchdown this season. Tailback Romar Morris and wide receiver Mack Hollins lead the team with three scores each.
• The Tar Heels have scored on 17 of 18 red zone possessions this season with 14 touchdowns and three
field goals.
• Twenty of Nick Weiler's 29 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks. Last year, he had 19 for the season.
• Weiler has made all three of his field goal attempts this season.
• Punter Tommy Hibbard continues to have an outstanding season. He is averaging 40.8 yards per punt. Ten of his 26 punts have been inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
• T.J. Logan leads the ACC with a 26.5 kickoff return average.
CAROLINA-VIRGINIA TECH NOTES
• This is Carolina and Virginia Tech's 37th overall meeting,and 11th straight since the Hokies joined the ACC.
• Virginia Tech leads the overall series, 19-11-6. Five of the six ties were scoreless. The last tie was a 14-14 score in 1946.
• In the most recent game in Chapel Hill, Carolina rolled up 533 yards of offense, including 339 on the ground, in a 48-34 win. Tailback Giovani Bernard rushed for a career-high 262 yards and scored on a 62-yard run. Virginia Tech was held to just 40 yards rushing. The Hokies actually scored first, but Carolina's Sean Tapley returned the next kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.
• Three of the last six meetings have been decided by a field goal. Four of the last seven have been decided by a touchdown or less.
• Carolina and Virginia Tech met at least twice in every decade from the 1890s to the 1940s. The teams met 25 times from 1890-1946 and 14 of those times at least one team did not score.
• Tar Heel great and College Football Hall of Fame member Charlie "Choo-Choo" Justice made his collegiate debut against Virginia Tech in a 14-14 tie on September 28, 1946, in Kenan Stadium.
• Only seven of the first 25 meetings between North Carolina and Virginia Tech were played on one of the two campuses. Six of those seven games were in Chapel Hill. The other 18 were played at neutral sites, including Charlotte, N.C., Danville, Va., Winston-Salem, N.C., Roanoke, Va., Richmond, Va., Raleigh, N.C., and Norfolk, Va.
Players Mentioned
