Photo by Scott Taetsch/NCAA Photos via Getty Images Bad weather didn’t just ruin a fun night for fans, but it impacted two prospects’ official visits. Hurricane Ian hit Florida this week, and the destruction that it left in its path is overwhelming. We hope all of our friends and family down there are staying safe during this terrible time, and I hope all of you can return to normal as soon as possible. With that said, we do have to discuss how the hurricane has impacted things here in North Carolina, particularly when it comes to the Tar Heels. It was announced yesterday that Live Action with Carolina Basketball is postponed until next Friday, but the football game tomorrow vs. Virginia Tech is still taking place. With Live Action being moved to next week, that also meant that recruiting prospects Boogie Fland and Zayden High had to decide if they wanted to still officially visit campus this weekend, or move their visits to another date. 2023 four-star power forward Zayden High arrived on campus this morning to take his official visit as scheduled, which means that while he won’t be able to attend UNC’s basketball scrimmage as planned, he will be able to attend the football game tomorrow. High is a 6’9 senior that currently plays for Compass Prep High School in Spring Branch, TX. He is currently the 48th-best player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite, and is also the ninth-best power forward in the country. As for 2024 five-star Boogie Fland, he and his family decided not to make the trip this weekend due to the weather. While 2024 5-star guard Boogie Fland delayed his visit to UNC because of weather this weekend, the team's top remaining 2023 target is now on campus. https://t.co/y82wmINLCu— Brendan Marks (@BrendanRMarks) September 30, 2022 Fland is a 6’3 junior that currently plays for Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, NY. He is the 10th-best player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite, and is the best combo guard in the country. Right now we do not know what date Fland will move his official visit to, but hopefully we will find out more in the coming weeks. It has to be disappointing for both recruits that the hurricane postponed Live Action, but unfortunately Mother Nature has a way of ruining things sometimes. Hopefully High’s visit goes well, and once we hear more about Fland’s plans to visit campus we will let you all know.

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. UNC and Virginia Tech are both looking to get some mojo going after humbling losses last week. The Tar Heels were roughed up defensively by an impotent Irish attack made turgid by Carolina’s inability to stop either the run or pass. The Hokies lost to West Virginia on the back of some truly offensive offense. The headline for Saturday afternoon’s kick-off is chillingly similar to last week — a team with a struggling offense comes to Kenan looking to right the ship. Notre Dame’s offense was bad, but they had the pieces to get right. Virginia Tech’s offense is bad, and hopefully they do not have the wherewithal to harm Carolina... at least not enough to win. A lot of that will have to do with the weather. With Hurricane Ian heading up through Florida, it’s unknown if Chapel Hill will get dumped with rain and wind at 3:30pm, Saturday October 1st. If it’s pleasant enough, Drake Maye and Carolina’s offense should be able to punish the Hokies worse than the Mountaineers did. If it’s a deluge, thoughts of 2016’s nightmare match-up with Virginia Tech will rear their ugly head. Virginia Tech’s Thursday night loss to West Virginia was a pitiful performance on offense. The Hokies rushed for just 35 yards and quarterback Grant Wells threw 16/35 for 193 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception that was returned for a touchdown. BUST IT OPEN JACOLBY SPELLS PICK SIX! 4Q 9:36 | WVU 33 VT 10 pic.twitter.com/8rsMXu6I4D— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) September 23, 2022 God, Carolina could use one of those. Wells’ performance against the Mountaineers was actually a marked improvement since his season-opening bed-wetter against Old Dominion, when he threw for 197 yards, 1 touchdown and four picks. With that many turnovers (VaTech also had a fumble) it’s a minor miracle the Hokies only lost by 3. Keshawn King rushed for 111 yards against the Monarchs, but his output has incrementally declined since, rushing for 64 yards against Boston College, then only 4 yards against WVU. But since he has shown ability before, expect him to show it again against the Tar Heels. Option B is senior Jalen Holston, but he has been fairly pedestrian, running for 36 ypg on about 11 apg. Virginia Tech’s defense has been like a weak schoolyard bully—capable of beating up on a suddenly hapless Boston College and winless Maine, but humbled by ODU and WVU. And while their stats have been impressive—the Hokies have only given up 680 yards and two touchdowns through the air so far this season—they haven’t seen a passing attack like Phil Longo’s. Now, they may not have to see that air attack if the weather is bad, so Chris Marve is probably lighting a candle every night this week hoping for just enough rain to ruin Drake Maye’s grip, but not enough to cancel the game. That sweet spot will be where Virginia Tech’s best chance of winning lies. If the Hokies can run the ball better than UNC, a concern Mack Brown shared during his Tuesday press conference, and bad weather protects them from Carolina’s aerial attack, Virginia Tech is perfectly capable of grabbing an upset victory. If UNC’s defense can focus on defending just the run, then maybe... just maaaaybe they can crawl out of the pit they’re mired in to get Carolina back on track. For all of the doom and gloom that’s hanging over the program right now, the Heels are still 3-1 and 0-0 in conference play. I am still optimistic that the defense can improve and that the offense will have enough juice to show Virginia Tech something they haven’t seen all season... a good offense. Prediction: UNC 42, Virginia Tech 28