The second season starts for Virginia Tech’s football team today.

After an uneven four weeks in which they’ve seen their national title hopes crushed in one game and haven’t exactly mirrored world-beaters in the other three outings, the 17th-ranked Hokies are hoping the start of ACC play will help rekindle their confidence and regain some lost swagger.

“It’s going to be a whole other season,” Tech sophomore linebacker Cam Martin predicted.

The first order of new business comes at noon today, when North Carolina (1-3, 0-1 ACC) visits Lane Stadium.

“It’s serious time now,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “We need to play at a different level than we’ve played, no question.”

This isn’t exactly where the Hokies (3-1, 0-0) expected to be heading into the fifth week of the season. Nobody in the Tech camp could have envisioned the team’s 48-7 blowout loss at No. 2 LSU on Sept. 8. And while they’ve won the other three Saturdays, the Hokies’ overall performance against a trio of totally inferior foes has left many Tech fans grumbling.

“I don’t think anybody on this team — coaches, players, trainers, managers or anybody — think we’re where we should be right now,” said Martin, a first-year starter from Martinsville. “We’ve just got to go out there and try to get better. I know that sounds cliche, but that’s all you can do and hopefully it will start clicking.

“It gets frustrating at times, because everybody on this team knows we have the talent to go out there and do big things.”

The only big thing left for the Hokies now is the ACC. Capture the league title and this senior-laden team can exit the stage with some sense of accomplishment.

Anything less won’t be near enough for a team that began the season tabbed as a possible national title contender and an overwhelming favorite to win the ACC.

“We know we can win the league,” senior wide receiver Josh Morgan said. “We probably should have won the league last year — every year since we’ve been in the ACC.

“Everything is still there for us. We’ve just got to go get it.”

To get it, the Hokies will have to get better on offense in a hurry. With a third of the season behind it, Tech stands 107th in the country in total offense (298.7 ypg), 97th in rushing offense (104.5) and 89th in passing offense (192.3).

Much of the blame has been pinned on an offensive line that ranks 110th in the nation in sacks allowed (3.5 per game) and has opened very few lanes for Tech’s rushing attack.

Every week, Beamer keeps saying that the O-line will continue to get better and will be OK in the end.

“I understand what hasn’t looked very good, but I’m a firm believer we’re making progress,” Beamer said. “There’s effort, care, and I think we’ll get better.”

Beamer seemed surprised that the media and outsiders made so much of the fact that Tech only outgained I-AA William and Mary 287-262 last Saturday.

“When you beat a team 44-3 and didn’t play a first-teamer in the second half, and people feel it’s a downer, this program has come a long ways,” Beamer said. “William and Mary executed defensively; they were stunting about every time. It wasn’t like nobody was out there.”

The fact remains, however, that Tech tailback Branden Ore has been running in shackles, rushing for 51.3 yards per game. Plus, Tech’s experienced corps of wideouts — outside of Morgan, who has 14 catches for 179 yards — has produced pedestrian-like numbers.

Justin Harper, Eddie Royal and Josh Hyman have a combined 18 receptions for 219 yards. None of the four seniors has caught a touchdown pass.

When asked to rate the play of his wideouts so far, Beamer’s initial response was a long sigh.

“I think OK,” he said. “We dropped a couple last week. We’ve got to have consistency. You make a couple of catches for a first down and everybody is hopped up … and I think you block better the next play. Drop one, and now it’s second-and-10, and now [defenses] are turning their ears loose and you’ve got a different situation going.

“Just play consistently week after week, and if you’re open, hopefully the quarterback is going to throw you the ball and make the catch when he does. Then block like heck when we’ve got a running play. And if we do that, then we win. And everybody is happy, NFL scouts are happy, and everything works out.

“It’s human nature to want the ball and want yards and want catches, but to me that hasn’t been a part of our football team … people moaning and groaning because this is not happening. I think they’re moaning and groaning because we’re not getting protection and not getting in the end zone often enough.”

Tech, an 19-point favorite, should have plenty of chances to visit there today against a Carolina defense that has been shredded the past three Saturdays.

“Sounds good to me,” Morgan said. “It’s time to go do it.”