If Hurricane Mathew arrives, Carolina must play its smartest game of the season.

The late Bill Dooley had a favorite expression when inclement weather was forecast for one of his team’s games. “Rain is the great equalizer,” Dooley used to say. In the kind of conditions predicted for Saturday against Virginia Tech, the old trench fighter’s bad UNC team once upset nationally ranked Florida because the Gators fumbled seven times. He also lost some games in the rain he would have won otherwise.

That’s why the current Tar Heels need to play fast and physical against the Hokies but, especially, smart – the third part of their slogan. Virginia Tech is good but not good enough on a dry day. If, indeed, rain is the great equalizer, VaTech can certainly leave town with a victory and a 2-0 record in the ACC and the potential tie-breaker against the Heels in the Coastal Division.

Under new coach Justin Fuente, the Hokies are 3-1 with their only loss to Tennessee, 45-24, and one-sided wins over patsies Liberty, Boston College and East Carolina. Fuente retained defensive coordinator Bud Foster from Frank Beamer’s staff, which was a great move for continuity, and Foster’s defense has already intercepted five passes and recovered three fumbles. Carolina, by the way, is still looking for its first pick after intercepting 17 passes last season.

So, for Larry Fedora’s team to get knocked off its ACC track Saturday, Mitch Trubisky will throw his first picks of the season and the front seven will keep playing soft run defense and missing tackles. You never know what kind of effect sloppy conditions will have, but as Dooley liked to say it can certainly make the game more even than it was supposed to be and, in some cases, turn victory into defeat.

Virginia Tech is like Carolina light, with a good quarterback named Jerod Evans and decent running backs and receivers.  Tennessee ran up big numbers against the Hokies, which the Tar Heels might do on a dry field. But in the rain, not turning the ball over and being the team that forces the mistakes rather than makes them is paramount in keeping the game not so equal after all.

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