Virginia Tech knocks off No. 10 North Carolina in season opener
Cue the Coastal chaos.
Braxton Burmeister threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score and Virginia Tech’s defense suffocated No. 10 North Carolina’s offense in a 17-10 victory at sold out Lane Stadium in Blacksburg on Friday night.
The Hokies’ season-opening win knocked the favored Tar Heels from their expected perch atop the ACC Coastal Division, which also includes contenders in No. 14 Miami and Pittsburgh.
Virginia Tech picked off three passes from Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell, a junior being touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate. The final INT was by Chamarri Conner with 37 seconds left.
Howell finished 17 of 32 for 208 yards and a touchdown, and North Carolina was 2 of 10 on third-down conversions.
Burmeister was 12 of 19 for 169 yards and a touchdown. He threw one INT and rushed for 42 yards.
Virginia Tech led 14-0 at halftime.
Burmeister connected on 7 of 8 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score before the break. He capped the Hokies’ opening drive with a 4-yard scoring run and tossed a 12-yard TD pass to tight end James Mitchell with 3:07 left before halftime.
This is a developing story.
