MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech safety Kam Chancellor (center) and the 14th-ranked Hokies take on the Tar Heels tonight at Lane Stadium.

Virginia Tech free safety Kam Chancellor says a struggling North Carolina football team will face a daunting task tonight at Lane Stadium.

After having their national title hopes dashed and their run for a third straight ACC championship damaged severely 12 days ago in a loss at Georgia Tech, the 14th-ranked Hokies are hacked off and anxious to take out their frustration on somebody.

Welcome to Blacksburg, Tar Heels.

Bad time to visit Lane? Chancellor's instant smile supplied the answer.

"Yeah, we're in a nasty mood," Chancellor said. "We've had some physical practices and we're just going to make it penal [tonight]."

The Hokies don't sound like a bunch that's ready to fold and cash their chips. Sure, they're going to need a loss from Georgia Tech in one its two final conference games to have any shot at another ACC crown. Still, if they take care of business and win their final five regular-season games, the Hokies will be 10-2 and will likely vault back in the top 10.

"We have a lot of stuff to prove," Tech linebacker Cody Grimm said. "I think we're a really good football team. I think we're going to show people out there we can be."

Think the Hokies have had a bad headache the past 12 days? Well, what about the Tar Heels' current state? A week ago, they squandered an 18-point second-half lead and lost to Florida State 30-27. The loss dropped second-year coach Butch Davis' club to 0-3 in the league.

"I hope they're wounded and [have a hangover,]" Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. "But I doubt that.

"Us ... we can't have a hangover. If we let that game affect this one, then shame on us. That game is behind us. Everybody is disappointed. Still, there's hope out there. Georgia Tech still has a couple of tough ball games. We're not writing anything off."

Tech will have a chance to play show and tell to the nation in front of ESPN's national cameras tonight. While Game 2 of the World Series will undoubtedly put a serious dent in ESPN's viewer ratings, the Hokies would like nothing more than to apply a hammer job on the 16 ¹₂-point underdog visitors.

"Hopefully, the offense and the defense can put it together in the game, kind of like we did against Boston College," said Grimm, referring to Tech's 48-14 pasting of the Eagles in their last game in Lane on Oct. 10.

Such a similar outcome may be asking too much against UNC, though. While they have played a Charmin-soft schedule compared to Tech so far, the Tar Heels' defense ranks seventh in the nation and leads the ACC in almost every major statistical category.

On the other hand, UNC's offense has been just the polar opposite. The Tar Heels have been putrid offensively, and it's hard to see them getting a lot done against a Tech defense that desperately wants to smack somebody around in the wake of its second-half implosion against Georgia Tech.

"I think this is a real dangerous team," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "Their mark in the conference is not what they are."

The Hokies' job now is to dispense of UNC and the remaining four opponents left on their schedule. In the meantime, they will keep a corner of their eyes on Georgia Tech, which can sew up the Coastal with wins over Wake Forest at home (Nov. 7) and at Duke (Nov. 14).

"We need some help from somebody," Foster said. "Obviously, we watched Virginia [a 34-9 loser to Georgia Tech last Saturday]. That's probably the first time in a long time that I've pulled for UVa."

Beamer fully knows that nothing is a given anymore in college football. He has reminded his players of such, too.

"There are surprises every Saturday," Beamer said.

"Every weekend people win that you wouldn't think would win and lose that you wouldn't think would lose. You just never know what's going to happen. In sports, you better just keep playing yourself, be as good as you can be yourself, and then see where you stand in the end. Then we'll take whatever happens."