It will be a meeting between two undefeated ACC foes Saturday afternoon when the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels welcome the No. 19 Virginia Tech Hokies for what should be a good one.
Click Here to watch Virginia Tech vs North Carolina Live NCAAF
The Tar Heels haven’t yet seemed to live up to the preseason hype that had them as low as +1000 to win the ACC. They almost suffered an upset loss to Boston College last weekend, and will look for more production out of sophomore QB Sam Howell, who was touted as one of the best QBs in the league in the preseason. So far he’s thrown for just 520 yards with three interceptions and touchdowns through two games. This will be the first time this season they play without a long layoff in between, so rust shouldn’t be a factor like it was last week.
The Hokies are dealing with a slew of unavailable players. Last week against Duke, five of the team’s top defensive backs were unavailable and its unknown whether or not they’ll be back in time for this week’s game. Going up against second and third string DB’s should be good for Howell, but the Tech defensive line could feast on him as well. Against Duke they recorded seven sacks and countless more pressures. Those pressures could result in turnovers via a poor pass or a strip sack.
The Tech offense is no slouch either, particularly in the ground game. Former Kansas Jayhawk Khalil Herbert has been a revelation, rushing for 312 yards and three touchdowns on only 26 carries.
Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming
You can watch this game Saturday, October 10th at 12:00 ET on ABC.
Who’s Playing
No. 19 Virginia Tech @ No. 8 North Carolina
Current Records: Virginia Tech 2-0; North Carolina 2-0
What to Know
The North Carolina Tar Heels are 1-4 against the Virginia Tech Hokies since November of 2015, but they’ll have a chance to close the gap a little bit Saturday. The Tar Heels and Virginia Tech will face off in an ACC battle at noon ET at Kenan Memorial Stadium. If the matchup is anything like the Hokies’ 43-41 win from their previous meeting October of last year, the scorekeeper will be kept real busy.
Even if it wasn’t a dominant performance, UNC beat the Boston College Eagles 26-22 last week. UNC can attribute much of their success to RB Javonte Williams, who punched in one rushing touchdown in addition to snatching one receiving TD.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech was able to grind out a solid victory over the Duke Blue Devils last week, winning 38-31. RB Khalil Herbert was a one-man wrecking crew for Virginia Tech, rushing for two TDs and 208 yards on 20 carries. Herbert’s longest run was for 60 yards in the fourth quarter.
Their wins lifted both teams to an identical 2-0. We’ll see which team can carry over their success and which team inevitably falls when the Tar Heels and the Hokies clash.
How To Watch
When: Saturday at 12 p.m. ET
Where: Kenan Memorial Stadium — Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV: ABC
Odds
The Tar Heels are a 3-point favorite against the Hokies, according to the latest college football odds.
Bettors have moved against the Tar Heels slightly, as the game opened with the Tar Heels as a 5.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -108
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Series History
Virginia Tech have won four out of their last five games against North Carolina.
Oct 19, 2019 – Virginia Tech 43 vs. North Carolina 41
Oct 13, 2018 – Virginia Tech 22 vs. North Carolina 19
Oct 21, 2017 – Virginia Tech 59 vs. North Carolina 7
Oct 08, 2016 – Virginia Tech 34 vs. North Carolina 3
Nov 21, 2015 – North Carolina 30 vs. Virginia Tech 27