Hokies Football: Virginia Tech Keys to the Game Against #17 North Carolina

The #25 Virginia Tech Hokies and #17 North Carolina Tar Heels are making their final preparations ahead of a huge ACC Coastal showdown that will seriously hurt the loser's chances of winning the Coastal and going to the ACC Championship. Both teams will also be preparing for very wet conditions that will bring their own set of challenges in addition to this being a matchup of two very good football teams. With that said, here's our keys to the game for the #25 Virginia Tech Hokies against #17 North Carolina.

Establish the Run

In what will be wet conditions, it will be critical for Virginia Tech to perform way better on the ground than they did two weeks ago East Carolina when their top three running backs only had a combined 47 rushing yards on 21 carries. The good news for the Hokies is that they are facing off against a North Carolina rush defense that has not been very good this season. North Carolina is giving up 5 yards per carry while also being ranked 117th in the nation in rush yards per game allowed (236.8 yards) so far this season. Of course, North Carolina has gone against some talented running backs like Dalvin Cook, Nick Chubb, and James Connor but overall, UNC seems to have a big defensive issue here. For the Hokies, this is something that they must take advantage of with Justin Fuente likely to go with whoever gets going early whether it be Travon McMillian, Sam Rogers, Marshawn Williams, or even Shai McKenzie. Virginia Tech will also likely look to use some read options with Jerod Evans on what should be a sloppy day to create some more opportunities. It will be critical for the Hokies to take advantage of what could be a big matchup

Protect the Football

Virginia Tech started off the season with 10 fumbles before having no fumbles the past two weeks in what has been an impressive turnaround. Now, the Hokies must once again put a premium on protecting the football in tough conditions or will put themselves in a very tough position to win this game in Chapel Hill. However, the Hokies are facing a North Carolina team that has no interceptions this season while also having lost only 4 fumbles so far this season. While Jerod Evans has also only thrown one interception this season also, it will be critical for the Hokies to protect the football and win the turnover battle. North Carolina is also the best offense that Virginia Tech has faced this season and the Tar Heels will be able to take advantage of extra opportunities they get. Virginia Tech does have a strong defense that will make it harder for UNC to take advantage but there is no doubt that the Hokies' defense won't be able to play on as little rest as they had against Tennessee. Protecting the football will be critical in this matchup as a significant regression from the past two games for the Hokies will almost certainly cost them.

Keep The Chains Moving

In what will be poor weather conditions, keeping the chains moving will be critical especially with punting likely to be quite difficult in all facets from getting off a clean snap to getting a good catch and grip on the ball and then getting off a clean, quality punt not only in wet conditions but also in conditions that could have gusts of over 40 mph. Mitchell Ludwig has had some good conditions to punt in so far this season along with making steady improvements the past couple of weeks but this will be a huge challenge for the junior punter. Ludwig and the Hokies will not want to have any bad punts that help give the Tar Heels great position especially given the talent that UNC has. The simpler thing to limit any potential issues is to keep the chains moving and not allow yourselves to get pinned deep and have to punt from inside your own 30 given the conditions. This doesn't mean that Virginia Tech needs to go score a touchdown every time on the field but they can't allow themselves to end up with a fourth down from deep in their own territory with the same going for North Carolina. The conditions will be a big challenge for punters and both teams will want to make sure that every possession at least get them outside of their own 30.