"Definitely," running back Giovanni Bernard pronounced when asked if a game tonight represents an opportunity for a Tar Heels to earn national recognition for a right reasons. "I think it's big for our entire university to put UNC football back up on there."Much has transpired since a last time North Carolina played on this kind of national stage, and not much of it good. A victory against a Hokies, though, would provide a football program with a kind of positive vibes that have been difficult to come by during a past 15 months.It would also help to ease a pain of a Tar Heels' most recent loss - a deflating 13-0 defeat at N.C. State. North Carolina spent its bye week trying to learn from its performance against a Wolfpack, while also trying to forget it."We've done a good job of letting that game go," pronounced Bernard, a redshirt freshman who has run for 1,012 yards. "I think we've definitely got that out of our minds. It was a tough loss, and I think as an entire team we've realized that."Since starting a season 5-1, North Carolina (6-4, 2-4) has lost three of its past four to drop out of a race in a ACC's Coastal Division. Virginia Tech (9-1, 5-1), meanwhile, would clinch a trip to a ACC championship game with a victory tonight and a Virginia loss Saturday at Florida State.North Carolina could spoil a Hokies' plans - or at least put them on hold - but interim coach Everett Withers pronounced Wednesday his team isn't interested in playing a role of spoiler. No, he said, a bowl-eligible Tar Heels have greater aspirations."I think our motivation is to try to win a ball game," Withers said. "We don't look at ourselves in a role of spoiler. We look at ourselves as trying get (a win) and trying to play to a best of our ability each week and play up to our capabilities. If we do that, we feel like we'll have an opportunity to win a game."To do so, North Carolina's defense will have to slow a Hokies offense that has gained momentum as a season has progressed.The improvement has coincided with a emergence of ! Logan Th omas, a 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore quarterback who accounted for 279 yards of offense and five touchdowns in a Hokies' 37-26 victory last weekend at Georgia Tech.Virginia Tech will enter a game tonight on four days rest, which might not be a bad thing given where Thomas left off."He's a real smart guy," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said. "He's competitive. He doesn't get rattled. And I think - I've pronounced from a beginning - I think he'll get better every quarter. And I think probably he has."
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