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North Carolina opens the 2021 football season Friday night by making the three-hour drive to Blacksburg, VA, to take on Virginia Tech, and by going what the Tar Heels are saying, this is a formidable task.

UNC enters the contest ranked Nos. 10 and 9 in the Associated Press and Coaches’ polls, respectively, while the Hokies are not ranked. The Tar Heels won last year’s meeting in Chapel Hill but have left Lane Stadium with wins just twice since Tech started playing ACC games in 2004.

Below are some stat information on the Hokies along with what the Tar heels are saying about them as the opener nears:

VT Game Notes (includes depth chart)

Va Tech Coach Justin Fuente Monday presser

Hokies uniform reveal vs. UNC

Roanoke Times: Are UNC & VT Rivals?

Richmond Times Dispatch: Can Hokies Upset Tar Heels?

Virginia Tech Football on Twitter

Virginia Tech Hokies

2020 Record: 5-6 overall, 5-5 ACC

2020 Offense FCS ranking: No. 31 overall (440.7 ypg); No. 10 rushing (240.1 ypg); No. 43 scoring (31.1 ppg)

2020 Defense FCS ranking: No. 103 overall (447.5 ypg); No. 85 rushing (181.5 ypg); No. 82 scoring (32.1 ppg).

Starters Returning: Offense 8, Defense 7.

Tar Heels Talk Hokies...

On VT’s Offense

“Jon Tenuta’s been a friend of mine forever. It’s fun to watch his son play left tackle, Luke, and he’s really, really good. He’s 6-9 and 322. And that left side, (Lecitus) Smith and (Brock) Hoffman, they blocked us all over the place last year, just ran up and down the field and they’re really, really good…

“James Mitchell, the tight end, is an NFL guy. I thought he was one of the best looking tight ends two years ago and last year I’ve ever seen. So. He’ll definitely be an NFL guy.

“Braxton Burmeister will start at quarterback. He’s 3-1, he played against us last year. He can run. So he’s a dual-threat guy, and we have not handled running quarterbacks well… They’ve got the two good backs with (Jalen) Holston and (Raheem) Blackshear, and (wide receivers) Turner and (Tayvion) Robinson. Tre Turner’s a young man from Greensboro. He’s big and tall and he can really run. Robinson’s a whole lot like Dazz Newsome. He can do a lot of different things with the ball.”

On VT’s Defense

“One of the best defensive ends we played last year was Amare Barno. This guy’s 6-6 and 245 and can run, he’s a great pass rusher. Jordan Williams was a young man we looked at. He was a defensive tackle that transferred in from Clemson, and he’s starting at defensive tackle.

“Dax Hollifield was very, very highly recruited by us and he’ll start at linebacker, and Alan Tisdale’s another linebacker that started, and he’s from Greensboro. He’s a big, tall guy that can run. Devon Hunter, he and (Chamarri) Conner and (Dorian) Strong are all really, really good defensive backs. And they’ll be experienced in the secondary, and that’s a concern against our guys that are more inexperienced in the receiving corps.”

On what stands out about Tech’s offense…

“They got a real gritty offense, they like to run the ball, and try to force the run onto the opponents. They’re also good with their formations because they like to trade people around across the field, try to pick at the defenses, and just try to find people’s weaknesses.”

On having trouble with running QBs and what VT QB Braxton Burmeister presents…

“Like you said, he’s a very mobile quarterback, he’s good in the run game, and also just good at extending passing plays with his feet. A lot of times defenses don’t have a guy to account for a quarterback like that. We’ve been implementing some things just to make sure we keep our eye on him and make him stay in the pocket.”

On dealing with the atmosphere at Lane Stadium and if he talks to the young guys about it, or if its something they simply have to experience and adapt to…

“You can talk to the young guys, I’ll talk to the young guys telling them what it’s like playing at Virginia tech, but honestly words are not gonna do it any justice. You just gotta go out there, and be able to experience it themselves. I just told them to stay focused, it’s a loud environment, and just a lot of energy going around, but stay focused on the field.”

On what he has seen from the Hokies defense up front when studying film…

“They're big; they have a lot of good defensive linemen. They have number 8 (Amare Barno), whose real big; he's long. They also have Jordan Williams, who just came from Clemson. He's big, strong [and]powerful. They have the same guys too that were already on their team, so we know that they have a very good defense, and they are also a very good team. We know we have our hands full, and we have to come there and be ready for a fight.”

On slowing down a VT offense that has scored 45 points, gained 495 yards, and amassed 25 first downs in last year’s game…

“The first game of the season is always kind of hard because you don’t have any tendencies on the team, you’re kind of going off past seasons with the things they do. But for me, I think it’s looking at the personnel they have coming back, the QBs they have coming back, the tight end they have coming back, the pair of running backs they have coming back.

“I think that has a lot to do with the personnel, and I know all of the tight ends are coming back. Looking at the guys they had last year and the guys who played snaps helps us narrow down the personnel that they’ll be using.”

On VT transitioning last season to a new defensive coordinator (Justin Hamilton) after legend Bud Foster ran the unit for a quarter century, and while UNC had success scoring 56 points last season, what has he seen on film that will be a challenge?

“The multiplicity they have on the defensive side of the ball. They can do a lot of different things. They have the ability to mix up their looks and bring a lot of pressure. So, we have to be prepared for all that. They have some really talented players, a couple of transfers in. We know we’re going to get their best on Friday night, and we’ve got to be ready for it.”