Hokies face Tar Heels tonight

It would make for great drama next Saturday if the Coastal Division championship is on the line when No. 9 Virginia Tech and Virginia face off in Charlottesville.

But the Hokies, who hold a one-game lead over the Cavaliers with two games to play, will breathe a lot easier if they can wrap it up this week.

Tech (9-1, 5-1 ACC) can clinch its second straight division title, and fifth in seven years, with a win over North Carolina (6-4, 2-4) tonight at Lane Stadium and a U.Va. loss at Florida State on Saturday.

Failing that, the battle for the Commonwealth Cup next Saturday will decide which of the two state rivals plays Clemson in the Dec. 3 ACC championship game in Charlotte, N.C.

"I plan on beating Virginia. That's my goal, regardless of what it's for," Hokies senior wide receiver Danny Coale said. "I think the team wants to win. Whether it's for the Coastal crown or not, that doesn't really matter. But I'm not really looking towards that one right now."

As hard as it may be, Tech is trying not to look ahead to next week. It hosts a UNC team tonight that has faced its share of turmoil this year but is still capable of damaging a team's championship hopes.

"I don't know why their record isn't better," Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. "They're talented and as good as anybody we play in our league."

The Tar Heels are looking to duplicate the success they enjoyed in 2009 when they came into Blacksburg on a Thursday night and dashed the Hokies' hopes of going to the ACC title game with a 20-17 win.

"They came off a tough loss and came in here and took it to us and beat us," said Tech coach Frank Beamer, who is one win away from 250 for his career. "They have capabilities."

UNC would love nothing more than to muddle the ACC championship picture and put a damper on what figures to be an emotional night for the Hokies. Tonight marks the final home game for 17 Virginia Tech seniors, a group that includes nine offensive and two defensive starters.

"It's going to be a special moment," Coale said. "As a senior class, we've had a lot of special moments inside that stadium and with those fans. And knowing it's your last one, I'm going to try to enjoy every moment of it."

Tech's defense faces the challenge of stopping one of the ACC's most balanced offenses one week after matching up with Georgia Tech's unusual spread option.

UNC has a 1,000-yard rusher in redshirt freshman Giovani Bernard, a big-play receiver in senior Dwight Jones and a quarterback capable of carving up defenses in sophomore Bryn Renner.

"They can get the ball into different guys' hands and they can make plays," Tech junior cornerback Jayron Hosley said. "We see it on film. It's an offense that's dynamic, probably one of the best we've faced all season talent-wise."

The effectiveness of UNC's offense depends greatly on Renner, a West Springfield native, who has passed for 2,271 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season.

The Tar Heels are hard to stop when he plays well, such as when he passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-24 win over Wake Forest on Oct. 29. But they have struggled to overcome his bad outings, such as his two-interception performance in a 13-0 loss at N.C. State on Nov. 5.

Renner, the son of former Hokies punter Bill Renner, suffered a mild concussion and missed most of the second half of the N.C. State game, but he is expected to play tonight.

The Hokies are hoping to take care of business against the Tar Heels and for a little help from Florida State on Saturday. If not, next Saturday's game in Charlottesville could be one of the biggest in the history of the Virginia Tech-Virginia rivalry.

"Right now, we're just trying to look at what's in front of us, and that's North Carolina," Tech sophomore free safety Antone Exum said. "We'll take it how we've been approaching it all season, and that's one game at a time, but if it gets down to that and the U.Va. game decides who wins the division, then that will just make it more exciting."