Virginia Tech wins in a sloppy affair with UNC

“Ugly” and “sloppy” are words used too often when describing turnover-ridden games. In this case, however, those words were accurate.

Virginia Tech used Hurricane Matthew to its advantage and pounded North Carolina to the ground with a relentless running game in a 34-3 win. It also didn’t hurt that North Carolina turned it over four times, including two Mitch Trubisky interceptions.

With rain falling hard for most of the game, North Carolina was unable to utilize its vaunted passing attack, and was forced to keep the game on the ground when it became obvious the aerial barrage was wingless.

Here are some thoughts after one of the soggiest games ever witnessed.

North Carolina is so finesse

Sorry to use the “f” word here, but there was absolutely no grit or toughness to UNC’s play.

North Carolina’s passing offense is top 15 in country, but with the rain falling it had to switch gears when throws weren’t finding their targets and receivers were dropping balls. So the Heels went to the run a little more than they wanted to, but gained just 73 yards on 29 carries.

On the other side of the ball, the Tar Heels allowed the Hokies to run right over them, giving up 189 yards on 66 carries.

Once their bread and butter was taken away, the Tar Heels fell apart.

Ghosts of football past

If you wanted a look into what football used to be, this was the game to watch. Ninety-five combined rushing attempts kept the game slogging forward at a snail’s pace, and the 133 total passing yards between the two teams made sure the action would remain firmly on the ground.

While one-handed catches and long distance connections in the passing game were not featured in this game, there was still excitement with the unpredictability of the game.

There were two botched punts with bad snaps, balls were bouncing off receivers hands and no one could hold on to the ball to save their life. Some fans may enjoy the explosive plays, but not knowing what happens next may be just as good.

What is Virginia Tech?

Are they good? Are they bad?

Tech fell victim to the magic of Tennessee earlier in the season and blew out lesser opponents before Saturday’s upset of North Carolina in a rainy road game where anything can happen.

At the end of the day a win’s a win in college football, but the Hokies are a hard team to pinpoint exactly where they stand in the national conversation.