Sam Howell, No. 10 North Carolina taken down by Virginia Tech

Quarterback Sam Howell and North Carolina entered the season amid a lot of hype and with a lot of expectations. Virginia Tech did a good job of squashing both Friday night.

Riding a strong defensive effort that left Howell under siege, the Hokies upset the 10^th-ranked Tar Heels 17-10. Howell — a junior near the top of a lot of Heisman boards — had not committed a fourth-quarter turnover in his career until throwing two picks in the final period Friday, including an ill-advised back-breaker while he was being dragged down with 37 seconds left.

There always is a tendency to overreact to an early-season loss, and UNC still looks to be the most talented team in the ACC’s Coastal Division. But the poor play by the offensive line Friday night was alarming, and after a non-conference game with Georgia State next week, the Tar Heels then play five league games in a row with little to no margin for error, especially if they want to finish the season ranked near where they started. UNC finishes that stretch with what looms as a huge home game against Miami.

Virginia Tech, meanwhile, hasn’t had any kind of identity for a few seasons. Offensively, the Hokies still might not have one (more on that in a minute). But there was a lot to like — love, actually — about the defensive performance Friday night, and if the Hokies can get back to playing consistent high-level defense, they could be in the mix for the division title.

Despite losing two 1,000-yard rushers and their two leading receivers, the Tar Heels were expected to pile up the yards and the points once again. Instead, they struggled for much of the night, and an offensive line that returned all five starters was badly outplayed by the Hokies’ defensive front.

Virginia Tech was poor defensively last season, getting gashed on the ground and shredded through the air. But second-year coordinator Justin Hamilton — who had a tough task in following the legendary Bud Foster as coordinator — was able to use a normal offseason, which included a full spring practice, to fully install his defense. The Hokies were extremely aggressive Friday, harassing Howell, doing a nice job against the run and piling up six sacks and nine tackles for loss. Tech got a ton of pressure up the middle from its four-man tackle rotation, and edge rushers Tyjuan Garbutt (two sacks) and Amare Barno (1.5) benefited.

Tough outing for Sam Howell

The Hokies dominated in the first half, yet led only 14-0 at halftime. Virginia Tech didn’t do much offensively in the second half, but the defense made sure that didn’t matter.

Howell finished 17-of-32 for 208 yards, a touchdown and three picks as UNC went 2-of-10 on third down. Howell threw seven interceptions in 12 games last season, and the 208 yards was the fourth-lowest total of his career; the three games with less yardage came when he was a true freshman in 2019.

UNC managed 118 yards in the first half, when it had the ball for just 9:11. And 29 of those yards came on a run on the final play of the first half. The Heels exactly doubled their first-half total in the final two periods and finished the game with 354 yards. UNC was held under 500 yards just four times last season.

The Hokies had 214 yards in the first half, but just 93 in the second to finish with 307. The Hokies still don’t look to have a true feature back, and quarterback Braxton Burmeister led them in rushing Friday night. Burmeister must improve as a passer, and tight end James Mitchell is a legit weapon and needs more targets. But forget all of that for right now: Friday night, the Hokies welcomed in a top-10 foe to a raucous Lane Stadium and physically beat up that opponent.