UNC-Virginia Tech: Tar Heels Steal Last Bit of Wind From Hokies' Sails

In a game that saw Virginia Tech's first scoreless half of the season, North Carolina's defense showed up bigger than they have all season.  They finally got their first conference win this season.

North Carolina's defense looked very similar to their lights-out first half against Florida State a week ago, but this time it was the offense's tempo that kept them in the game.

North Carolina seemed to take a break in the third quarter, but managed to get back in the game at exactly the right time to force the game-winning turnover.

Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams fumbled the ball with under two minutes to play, setting up a chip-shot field goal as time expired.

In a matter of two games, Virginia Tech has gone from National Championship hopefuls and a chance at the ACC Championship Game, to the middle of the pack.  After the Georgia Tech loss, they were still hoping to play for an at-large BCS bid, but that hope has now evaporated.

North Carolina was finally able to finish a game, and they certainly picked a good time to do it.  They have only conference games remaining. If the team that started and finished the game tonight is able to keep it up, they could potentially win out.

The biggest challenge that North Carolina will face from here is a Miami team that lost to Virginia Tech early, and fell to Clemson this past weekend. 

That is a game that North Carolina can win if they are able to bring the same pressure they brought tonight, because Clemson showed how many mistakes Jacory Harris will make when he doesn't have a lot of time in the pocket.

After a disasterous 0-3 start in the conference, North Carolina now has a chance to finish with five conference wins.

Butch Davis now has a signature win for the season to inspire his team to get to that big finish in the conference.