Slept On It: Hokies Weather Hurricane Matthew to Batter the Heels

Mitch Trubisky's face said it all. After a failed fourth down pass late in the third quarter, the UNC QB stood near the sideline and stared blankly back toward the spot where the ball had fallen incomplete. He looked completely shell-shocked.

Perhaps there was some residual disbelief from a play earlier when Trubisky threw what appeared to be a tide-turning touchdown pass to Ryan Switzer. That was spoiled by Greg Stroman's perfectly timed shoulder to Switzer's arm to knock the ball free.

Trubisky and his offensive teammates never looked comfortable. When balls weren't wildly off-target, Carolina receivers struggled to haul in passes due to stellar coverage or sloppy conditions. A week after dominating Florida State to the tune of 158 yards on 14 catches, Switzer was essentially non-existent. Wideouts Bug Howard, Mack Hollins and Switzer combined for just 22 yards on 5 catches.

Saturday's game was supposed to pit two high-octane offenses against one another in a pivotal Coastal Division matchup. By the time the clock hit zero, the Hokies defense had thoroughly dominated the Heels' vaunted offense.

One year removed from an embarrassing loss in the rain against ECU, the Hokies defense turned back the clock 15 years in Chapel Hill. Bud Foster's group took advantage of the same hurricane conditions that hampered Trubisky and Co. They combined relentless pressure with bone-crushing hits to limit the Heels to 131 yards of total offense. With each big hit and third or fourth down stop, I found myself jumping out of my seat and violently pumping my fist in excitement. I haven't felt that way in a long time.

Trubisky's first quarter interception was his first of the season, ending a school record streak of 253 passes without an INT. Carolina's four turnovers were their most in over two years, dating back to their 2014 opener against Liberty.

Say what you will about the weather impact in Chapel Hill: Foster's unit wasn't going to be beaten. They played like they were hell bent on reminding everyone that they weren't some side piece to Tech's flashy new offense.

Not to devalue what the players did in less-than-ideal circumstances — because it truly was magnificent — but I was extremely impressed with the way that the coaching staff handled this team. In their first true road game against a dangerous and talented Carolina squad, Fuente and his staff were able to keep the players focused despite miserable playing conditions.

"The one thing I will say about the weather is we at least knew it was going to be something like this leading up to it," said Fuente. "So I think at least emotionally, I don't know if there's anything schematically or anything that we did to prepare for, but I think at least emotionally we prepared to play in whatever mother nature threw at us."

The argument about which team would win on a sunny day is bunk. Conditions were identical for both teams, yet only the Hokies were consistently on the attack. The Tech offense leaned on a steady rushing game to grind out yards and wear down the Tar Heel defense. The Carolina offense, on the other hand, struggled all day.

In my mind, that difference can be directly attributed to the Tech coaching staff putting their players in a better position to succeed.

The Hokies won despite a ridiculously disproportionate run-pass balance. 66 of their 83 plays were rushing attempts. Tech tried to move the ball through the air early on, but errant throws and drops surely forced Brad Cornelsen to re-evaluate the gameplan.

Fuente acknowledged as much postgame, stating, "It just became increasingly difficult to execute throwing the football, particularly later in the half. You have 18 balls in the first half and 18 balls in the second half, and by halfway through the first quarter and halfway through the third quarter, it's pretty tough to hold on to them."

The Hokies began utilizing more high-percentage and low-risk passes to maintain some balance while grinding out first downs. This approach was exemplified by their final drive of the first half.

On 2nd-and-8 from the UNC 29, Jerod Evans threw a pretty ball down the sideline that would either be hauled in by Bucky Hodges or fall harmlessly out-of-bounds. After Bucky made an outstanding catch at the 1-yard line, Evans found a wide-open Chris Cunningham off play-action to put the Hokies up 13-3.

16 of Jerod Evans' 17 pass attempts on Saturday came in the first half. His only second half throw: A 22-yard touchdown strike to Sam Rogers 2:17 into the third quarter.

And while the Hokies took care of the football and ate clock, Larry Fedora's offense continued to go after the Tech secondary (to no avail). Down only 10 points, Trubisky took to the air three times in five plays to open the second half before fumbling. He attempted 17 passes after halftime and finished the day with only 58 yards passing, 284 yards less than his season average entering Saturday.

Playing without bruiser Elijah Hood certainly didn't help matters, but Bud Foster knew that the key to stopping the Tar Heels centered on their quarterback. "I felt like coming into the game [Trubisky] was the key," Foster noted. "He was playing really, really well, Trubisky. And we were able to get him kinda off-rhythm and I'm really proud of our kids and how they played when it's all said and done."

Hokies Nation's long-awaited fantasy may finally be reality: a relentless defense and a highly effective offense combined to form a formidable national contender.