Hokie History: North Carolina

The rivalry between the Hokies and the Tarheels has been highly contested since 1895. In the 44 meetings against UNC the Hokies hold a 25-13-6 record. The Hokies also hold a 7-3 record in the last ten matchups, which shows the bragging rights that Tech has held over UNC in recent history.

In last years meeting between UNC and Virginia Tech, the Hokies pulled off a season opening upset over the #10 ranked Tarheels that provided much excitement for the VT program. In the first game back from Covid-19, Enter Sandman was rocking harder than ever. I attended the game and can say that it was one of the loudest Hokie games I've ever been to. In last season's meeting the Hokies defense controlled Sam Howell, sacking him six times and intercepting 3 of his passes. UNC couldn't put together an effective offense, scoring no points in the first half and 10 in the second half. Braxton Burmeister led the offense, playing very conservative and relying on the defense for a 17-10 win. This win propelled the Hokies to a #15 ranking in the nation.

To see the Hokie's epic return to the field against UNC last year watch below.

The Hokies hold the largest win in the history of the rivalry with UNC. The largest margin of victory from this matchup is from 2017 when the Hokies hosted the Tarheels in Blacksburg with a final score of 59-7. This blowout win showcased the Beamer Ball that brought the Hokies to College Football prominence. In this game the Hokies accounted for a fumble recovery for a touchdown, a Pick Six, and a punt return touchdown. Along with that Quarterback Josh Jackson also threw for 3 touchdowns.

The Hokies also hold the win in the closest game in the rivalry history. In one of the more memorable Tech games in recent memory, the Hokies and the Tarheels went to battle for 4 quarters and 6 overtimes in 2019. With the Hokies down 31-24 with a few minutes left, Quincy Patterson took a run for 53 yards to tie it at 31-31 late in the game. After matching touchdowns to make the game 41-41, the tar heels lined up for a 35 yard field goal to win the game in the third overtime. However the UNC kicker pushed his kick right, giving the Hokies another chance to win. In the proceeding overtime the Hokies had their own field goal to win the game. This time the kick was from 45 yards from the foot of Brian Johnson. Similar to UNC’s kick attempt Johnson pushed the kick right, meaning that the game would move into 2 point conversion attempts to see which team would win. On their first two point conversion attempt the Tarheels swung it out wide on a pitch run play that was blown up by the Hokie defense. On the ensuing play, Quincy Patterson barreled into the end zone on a QB run to give the Hokies a win in a 6 Overtime thriller.

For the highlights from Virginia Tech in their 6 Overtime win look below.

This Saturday, the Hokies march into Chapel Hill to face off in what is likely to be Hurricane weather. However, this isn’t the first time that the Hokies have played under severe conditions in Chapel Hill. The Hokie defense stepped up in this game, holding Mitchell Trubisky and UNC to only 113 total yards and 3 points while also forcing three turnovers . With the lack of a passing option due to the heavy rain and wind, Virginia Tech kept the ball on the ground, rushing for 189 yards which set the Hokies up for multiple short touchdowns. The Hokies will attempt to implement a similar gameplan to this game in their matchup with UNC tomorrow.

To see the highlights from the last Hurricane game look below.

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