Hokies would thrash the Tar Heels on a rain drenched afternoon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as the No. 25 Virginia Tech Hokies faced off against a high-powered No. 17 North Carolina Tar Heels football team earning a 34-3 victory.
The Hokies dominated every aspect of the football game from kickoff. However there were some mistakes and head coach Justin Fuente realized that but was happy with a win.
“It wasn’t perfect but it was a great team effort,” Fuente said. It may not have been perfect but the outcome was exactly what the Hokies and their fan base wanted to see.
“WE ARE TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE”
Virginia Tech QB Jerod Evans went to the postgame press conference with a solid statement. “We are tired of hearing about everyone else,” Evans said. “North Carolina, Miami, Clemson, Louisville… those are great teams but we think we deserve to be mentioned in that category.”
“We are tired of hearing about everyone else”
– Jerod Evans
After practicing with water soaked footballs prior to their matchup with North Carolina, there were expectations that Evans would have a big impact on the game. While Evans did have a big impact, it didn’t come through the air.
Evans showed his dominance on the ground with 21 carries for 49 yards with his longest rush of 15 yards coming on a drive that ended on a fumble. Evans went on to finish the game with three touchdowns, two came through the air, one on the ground bringing his total amount of touchdowns on the year to 17, 15 of which through the air.
VT DEFENSE BACK TO TOP FORM
The Hokies defense has held opponents in the last three weeks to just 20 points shutting out Boston College, holding East Carolina to 17, and being stingy all game against North Carolina holding their offense to just three points.
Bud Foster, Hokies defensive coordinator, was very pleased with his teams defense and their efforts at containing North Carolina.
“We got them behind the sticks and I like what we did. We took Switzer out of the game, we made the quarterback hold onto the ball and we got after him,” Foster said. He continued, “We got pressure with man coverage, then we brought some extra guys to get pressure but we missed some sacks.”
Ryan Switzer wasn’t the only player the Hokies were trying to shut down as they were wanting to shut down North Carolina’s quarterback Mitch Trubisky who came into the game as a possible Heisman candidate.
“Trubisky, he was playing really, really well coming into this game. We got him off rhythm,” Foster said. “We took away their screen passes early in the game and took the ball away a couple times. I am really proud of our kids – our Senior leadership, all the way around, I’m really proud of these kids.”
People will argue that North Carolina struggled due to the weather, but simply put, both teams played in it. Both teams were keeping it close early on. Both teams put the pigskin on the ground, but the Hokies outplayed the Tar Heels on Saturday on the road where they walked away with a very big win to improve to 4-1, 2-0 in the ACC.
HOKIES TRAVEL UP NORTH TO FACE SYRACUSE
When the Hokies go back on the road next week to Syracue to play a struggling 2-4 Oragne team who got pummeled by Wake Forest, 28-9. Syracuse Sophmore quarterback Eric Dungey went 16 of 25 with 156 yards with one interception. He also rushed for 13 yards on 18 attempts but his production wasn’t enough.
Dungey might not be as good as Hokies’ Evans but he does have 11 touchdown passes on the season. He [Dungey] can be dangerous just like Evans and if the Hokies defense is not prepared for his passing ability, he can play pitch and catch all game long.
BREAKING DOWN SYRACUSE AND HOKIES
On the season Tech’s Evans is 76 of 120, 1,045 yards with 15 touchdowns, one interception. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s Dungey is 164 of 255, 1,886 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.
The running game for both the Orange and the Hokies has been slow going all year. Travon McMillian leads the Hokies with 65 carries, 288 yards and three touchdowns. Dontae Strickland leads Syracuse 343 yards on 85 carries, but only one touchdown.
If the Hokies can bring their lunch pail defesne to Syracuse, there is no doubt that the Hokies will walk away with a comfortable win. If the Hokies do not come to play, it can easily turn into a shootout game like the Syracuse and Notre Dame game. In that game, both teams combined to put up 1,143 total yards, 50 first downs, and 10 touchdowns.
Dominated… In every phase of the game.#LPD ? » @IAM_GSIII pic.twitter.com/YQ2xPXckgU
— HokiesFB (@HokiesFB) October 10, 2016
Either way, renewing a rivalry that disappeared when the Hokies left the Big East is big for both programs. The last time the Hokies and the Orange met was in 2003. In that contest, the Hokies dismantled Syracuse 51-3 in Blacksburg. The last time these two teams faced off in Syracuse was in 2002, when Syracuse defeated the Hokies 50-42 in three overtimes.
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