BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech ranks as one of the teams with the most penalties in the whole nation.
Last week, they had 15 against West Virginia, and head coach Brent Pry sat his team down and asked if they had ten fewer penalties, would they have won the game.
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The answer was a resounding yes.
“I want the group to be more mindful so I’m going to implement a policy where we’ve got some consequences for penalties of all sorts,” head coach Brent Pry said.
“For every yard of penalties you get, you have a 40-yard sprint,” linebacker Dax Hollifield explained. “So technically I would have had 25 40-yard sprints on Sunday if we had started it this past weekend, which I’m thankful for.”
Their true ACC slate begins on Saturday in Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech facing the high-scoring Tarheels, who have averaged 46.5 points through four games.
“Their quarterback, very impressed with, he can throw it on a dime, strong arm, make all the throws, a flick of the wrist,” Pry said.
But the Hokies’ defensive effort ranks second in the conference - UNC is in dead last.
“We really just have been trying to emphasize trying to get pressure on the quarterback,” defensive lineman Cole Nelson said. “Trying to get not just hits, sacks, trying to create a lot of disruption up front.”
This isn’t the first time Virginia Tech has played UNC in a hurricane. In 2016, during Hurricane Matthew, Virginia Tech went to Chapel Hill and beat North Carolina.
There is a lot of rain expected for Saturday thanks to Hurricane Ian, which means a lot of weather preparation for the Hokies in practice this week. That game is slated for 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.