When the Virginia Tech Hokies pulled off an early upset against the North Carolina Tar Heels, Mack Brown and Sam Howell got the meme treatment.
The first official Saturday of college football hadn’t even arrived when the first big upset of the season crushed No. 10 North Carolina.
Virginia Tech returned to Lane Stadium with an amped up crowd and a team not cowed by the Tar Heels’ ranking or Heisman candidate quarterback.
Thanks to a crushing interception by Sam Howell in the final minute, the Hokies pulled off the 17-10 victory.
It was college football at its best, so college football Twitter was in fine form as well.
Mack Brown looked tired on the UNC sideline
Head coach Mack Brown delivered some early meme-able reactions late in the game.
Mack Brown giving off some major I’m way too old for this shit energy tonight pic.twitter.com/8bNXiRhoFM
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 4, 2021
Mack Brown needs a nap pic.twitter.com/QcB2SK9sb8
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) September 4, 2021
mack brown looks like hes suffering real bad heartburn
— charles (“you look good” - andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) September 4, 2021
He might be so rundown because he took a beating on social media.
Today is our annual reminder that no one in college football history has won more off-seasons than Mack Brown.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 4, 2021
Mack Brown isn’t truly back until he loses a game he’s supposed to win
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 4, 2021
The Sam Howell Heisman campaign is done
It didn’t take long at all for Sam Howell’s Heisman campaign to fall off a cliff. His performance in Week 1 left a lot to be desired.
Sam Howell Heisman bid is over before it started
— Mike Farrell (@mfarrellsports) September 4, 2021
Sam Howell Heisman pic.twitter.com/6p6HGBNAoc
— Joey (@JoeyMulinaro) September 4, 2021
SAm howeLL will WiN The hEiSMaN pic.twitter.com/zIDGElbJ15
— Yahoo Sportsbook (@YahooSportsbook) September 4, 2021
Not that Howell had much help up front.
Sam Howell drops back to pass pic.twitter.com/PimfrONtZP
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 4, 2021
Then again, even if you’re running for your life, you can’t throw that interception in the end.
Sam Howell just threw an intentional grounding interception
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) September 4, 2021
Hank Bachmeier last night. Sam Howell tonight.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 4, 2021
Two truly horrific game-ending interceptions.
What does this mean for UNC? Who the hell knows, they play in the Coastal division.
I have no reaction or insights after watching UNC/VT because this is not my first rodeo and nothing in the Coastal means anything week to week
— BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) September 4, 2021
Preseason Coastal favorite UNC goes down. You know what that means. pic.twitter.com/L5qfFmV9VK
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) September 4, 2021
The Tar Heels were rightly tarred and feathered for their performance, but credit should also go to Braxton Burmeister and the Hokies. The quarterback threw one TD and ran for another while keeping the UNC defense guessing.
Virginia Tech’s defense pulled their weight as well. Facing one of the top quarterbacks in the country, they came out with a furious pass rush and three interceptions.
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