PLAYERS TO WATCH
–CB Khalil Ladler had a career-high nine tackles against Notre Dame last week, leading Virginia Tech for the first time in that category. He also had the first sack of his career.
–WR Damon Hazelton, a transfer from Ball State, had 12 catches for 131 yards against Notre Dame last week. It was his third 100-yard receiving game of the season and the fourth of his career. He has a receiving touchdown in his last five games, tying Isaiah Ford’s program record.
–LB Rayshard Ashby recorded a career-high two tackles for loss against the Fighting Irish, giving him 5.5 on the season.
–CB Reggie Floyd had an interception against Notre Dame, his second of the season and fifth of his career. His interception of Irish QB Ian Book was also Book’s first pick thrown of the season.
SERIES HISTORY: Virginia Tech leads North Carolina 22-11-6 with the Hokies winning 11 of the last 14 meetings dating to 2004. Virginia Tech is 6-1 in its last seven trips to Chapel Hill, N.C.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “That’s certainly not the way we’d like for it to be designed. I don’t know. We don’t ever put a number on it. We probably knew we were going to throw the ball a little bit more this week, and then when you get behind, it distorts that number a little bit more, too. But we knew we had to be aggressive. We ran a two-minute situation, which drives up the numbers. Fifty times is a lot and indicative of the situations we found ourselves in, but going in, we knew we were probably going to have to throw it a little more.” — Virginia Tech Justin Fuente on Hokies quarterback Ryan Willis having to pass 52 times (completing 31 for 309 yards) in the loss against Notre Dame last week.
