Virginia Tech @ North Carolina State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 21, 2009 ) North Carolina State 10, Virginia Tech 38

They were a little late to the party, but Virginia Tech appears to have entered the ACC championship equation just in time.

Now the Hokies head to Raleigh to face N.C. State Saturday in a matchup of conference heavyweights.

The Wolfpack, who handily beat Georgia Tech last Saturday to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2002, are flying high under fourth-year coach Tom O’Brien and dynamic quarterback Russell Wilson. They'd love nothing better than to stamp their arrival atop the conference pecking order with a win over the ACC’s premier program the last five years.

The teams play in different divisions, meaning the sold-out contest could be a preview of the conference championship in December.

The timing of this week’s game couldn’t be better for Virginia Tech, which looked like a shell of itself in losses to Boise State and FCS school James Madison to start the season. Not even a Week 3 victory over East Carolina was all that impressive.

But the Hokies had no problems in Chestnut Hill last week, limiting Boston College to just 39 second-half yards en route to a 19-0 whitewash and their first shutout since 2006. For the game, a Virginia Tech defense still breaking in seven new starters forced three turnovers and registered six sacks.

Virginia Tech still has work to do offensively, however, as it was forced to settle for four Chris Hazley field goals last week. Senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor has been effective, having completed better than 65 percent of his passes (49 of 75 for 746 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions).

Taylor also paces the team in rushing with 201 yards on 47 carries, as the Hokies have yet to get their running game going. They’ll need to on Saturday.

N.C. State has been rolling thanks to Wilson. He torched the reigning ACC champion Yellow Jackets in Atlanta last week for a career-best 368 passing yards and three touchdowns. Wilson also ran for a score.

Wilson, who spent the spring and summer playing minor league baseball, has 11 touchdown passes against one interception this season. He owns the NCAA record of 379 consecutive passes without an interception.

Fifth-year linebacker Nate Irving did the rest for the Wolfpack last week, registering a career-high 16 tackles, including 4.5 for losses and two sacks, to throttle the Georgia Tech spread option attack. Irving had missed the 2009 season after sustaining serious injuries in a car wreck.