Is it a sign of how far Virginia has fallen?

BLACKSBURG — Ryan Williams sat dejected on Virginia Tech’s bench as North Carolina’s players celebrated wildly on the Lane Stadium field.

Is it a sign of how far Virginia has fallen?

T.J. Yates was walking off the field at Kenan Stadium last Thursday night when something flew out of the stands and hit him in the helmet. It was thrown by a disgruntled North Carolina fan, upset by the loss to Florida State. Yates said he thought it was a pen, but he didn’t stop to find out.

BLACKSBURG - Eight games into last season, Virginia Tech’s offense needed a jolt as the Hokies prepared for their first Thursday night game of the year, against Maryland.

Kyrie Irving listened to his heart and his mind, and both told him to play basketball at Duke.

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Tony Bennett has been running basketball practices at U.Va. for a week now. In that time, and since workouts started this fall, the players have learned a few things about him.

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia has a 3-3 record, which generally denotes an average team.

An open date last Saturday gave Kendric Burney time to think about North Carolina’s season, about what was accomplished in the first six games and what was left to do.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The field was completely destroyed, waterlogged to the point where every step created a small puddle. But defensive line coach Chad Wilt didn’t have to worry about that — he got a celebratory lift to the locker room courtesy of Nate Collins.