Tar Heels travel to Blacksburg, punt a bunch of times

Tar Heels fall to 1-7 after blowout defeat at Virginia Tech.

The North Carolina Tar Heels fell to 1-7 today after another humiliating defeat to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

The Tar Heels amassed just 172 yards of total offense and turned the ball over three times in what has to be one of the worst offensive showings in college football this season.

Three North Carolina quarterbacks combined to hit 8-of-22 passes for 118 yards, just 5.4 yards per pass. Backup quarterback Brandon Harris entered the game and threw two interceptions after starter Chazz Surratt was injured.

Surratt hit the turf and spent some time on the sidelines after one of the many collapses by the Tar Heels’ offensive line.

It didn’t get any better for the Tar Heels in the run game, where five rushers combined for just 42 yards on the ground at an abysmal average of just 1.3 yards per carry.

The game was out of hand from the very beginning when the North Carolina offense surrendered a touchdown to the Hokies, followed by a punt return off the foot of Tom Sheldon.

The Tar Heels were also penalized 14 times for 100 yards, showing a clear lack of discipline (and health) on both sides of the ball.

Virginia Tech put up 383 yards of total offense including 202 through the air and another 181 on the ground.

North Carolina scored its only points of the game on a 43-yard fourth quarter strike from Surratt to wide receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams.

After today’s 59-7 defeat, the Tar Heels are now 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the ACC. Things don’t get much easier for UNC next week when the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes come to Chapel Hill.