Carolina and Virginia Tech meet for the 18th successive season on the football field to kick off the 2021 campaign. The Tar Heels last opened a season against the Hokies back in 1946, a game played in Chapel Hill that ended in a 14-14 tie.
UNC vs Virginia Tech
- UNC is 3-6 all-time on the road at Virginia Tech. That includes a 2-6 mark since the Hokies joined the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2004 season.
- The last meeting in Blacksburg in 2019 turned out to be the longest game in ACC football history with Virginia Tech outlasting the Tar Heels, 43-41, in six overtimes. Sam Howell tied a UNC freshman quarterback record with five touchdown passes.
- Carolina’s last win in Blacksburg was a 30-27 overtime thriller in 2015 that clinched the Coastal Division title. Marquise Williams hit Quinshad Davis with a 5-yard pass in overtime to spoil coach Frank Beamer’s final home game at Virginia Tech.
- The series dates back to 1895 when the Tar Heels won 32-5 at a neutral site. In fact, 16 of the first 20 meetings were played at a neutral site with the other four played in Chapel Hill.
- The first meeting in Blacksburg was in 1930, a 39-21 Tar Heel win.
Team Comparison
About UNC
- Carolina is ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press preseason poll, marking the first time since 1997 the Tar Heels have opened a season ranked in the top10. Mack Brown guided UNC to a No. 7 preseason ranking that year.
- The Tar Heels also begin the season at No. 9 in the USA TODAY coaches poll, the program’s highest since beginning 1997 at No. 8.
- Sam Howell led the ACC with 30 passing touchdowns (Sixth nationally) and a 179.09 passing efficiency. He ranked second in the league with 298.8 passing yards per game and 311.0 yards of total offense per game. 17 of his 30 passing TDs went for 20 yards or longer, and eight went for 40+ yards. Howell led the nation with four passes of 70 or more yards.
- Carolina was third in the ACC to Notre Dame and Clemson in 3rd-down conversions at 46.04% in 2020. The Tar Heels led the league in touchdown percentage in the red zone at 73.2 percent. That figure was eighth nationally among Power 5 teams.
- Carolina was tied for fifth nationally with 36 sacks in the 2020 season. Tomon Fox tied for the team lead with 6.0 sacks last season. He enters the 2021 campaign with 21 career sacks, tied with Lawrence Taylor for the fifth most in UNC history.
- Since the return of Mack Brown to take over the program in 2019, Carolina owns a 15-10 overall record. Eight of the 10 losses have been by seven points or less with two setbacks coming in overtime. The first two losses in 2020 came by a mere three points at FSU and at Virginia.
- Mack Brown is 2-1 all-time against Virginia Tech. At Tulane, Brown defeated Virginia Tech, 57-38, in 1987. Brown is 1-1 against the Hokies as the head coach of the Tar Heels. Last year, UNC won 56-45 in Chapel Hill. In 2019, the Tar Heels lost 43-41 in six overtimes in Blacksburg, Va. Brown never faced Virginia Tech during his first stint as head coach at North Carolina, however, the two teams did square off in the Gator Bowl at the end of the 1997 season.
- Carolina leads the nation in fourth-quarter scoring margin spanning the 2019 and 2020 seasons at +116.
About Virginia Tech
- Virginia Tech owns an 12-3 record against teams from the state of North Carolina under Fuente: 4-1 vs. UNC, 4-1 vs. Duke, 2-0 vs. East Carolina, 1-0 vs. NC State and 1-1 vs. Wake Forest. VT owns a combined 36-10 all-time record in ACC play against teams from the state of North Carolina: 14-3 vs. Duke, 13-4 vs. UNC, 5-1 vs. NC State and 4-2 vs. WF.
- Virginia Tech owns an 12-3 record against teams from the state of North Carolina under Fuente: 4-1 vs. UNC, 4-1 vs. Duke, 2-0 vs. East Carolina, 1-0 vs. NC State and 1-1 vs. Wake Forest. VT owns a combined 36-10 all-time record in ACC play against teams from the state of North Carolina: 14-3 vs. Duke, 13-4 vs. UNC, 5-1 vs. NC State and 4-2 vs. WF.
- QB Braxton Burmeister returns for the 2021 campaign after leading Tech to a 3-1 record as Virginia Tech’s starting QB in 2020. Dubbed an “elite athlete” by Fuente and a member of the “Freaks List” compiled by Bruce Feldman, Burmeister recorded Tech’s fastest time of any player during summer workouts, posting a speed of 22.53 mph via GPS tracking technology.
- All five of Tech’s top receivers from 2020 return: WR Tayvion Robinson (38 catches), WR Tre’ Turner (34), TE James Mitchell (26), RB Raheem Blackshear (28) and TE Nick Gallo (11).
- Two of VT’s top three tacklers from 2020 return in DB Chamarri Conner (81 tackles), LB Alan Tisdale.
- Tech’s returning secondary accounted for 50 percent (6 of 12) of the squad’s INTs in 2020. Brion Murray and Chamarri Conner posted two INTs for Tech, while Dorian Strong and Tyler Matheny each had one.
- Tech boasts five offensive linemen who own a combined 92 collegiate starts – Brock Hoffman (35), Lecitus Smith (27), Silas Dzansi (16), Johnny Jordan (16) and Luke Tenuta (14).
Broadcast Information
Kickoff: 6 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN: Jason Benetti, play-by-play; Andre Ware, analyst; Paul Carcaterra, sideline
Live Stream: WatchESPN
WestWood One Radio: Bill Roth, play-by-play; Ben Leber, analyst
Tar Heel Sports Network: Jones Angell, play-by-play; Lee Pace, analyst; Dave Nathan, sideline
Satellite Radio: Sirius (84), XM (84)