AP Photo

So now North Carolina has done it. This wasn't Alabama. This wasn't Georgia Tech. This didn't happen on the road, or even at a neutral site.

This happened in Blacksburg, on a Thursday night, against a team that arrived here winless in the ACC.

Excuses? There aren't any. There can't be. No need to send any game tapes to the league offices after this one. No need to wonder what might change when the team gains some experience.

Virginia Tech's players and coaches tell us this last-second, 20-17 loss to North Carolina had nothing to do with a lack of effort. It had nothing to do with coming out flat, or worrying too much about a game that had already been played and the chop blocks that came with it.