Observations

ESPN might not return to the state of North Carolina for another Thursday night game. The season started with South Carolina's 7-3 win at N.C. State, and Thursday's 16-3 Virginia Tech win was equally boring.

The third game in the state this season, a 30-27 UNC loss to Florida State, was exciting but a loss by an in-state team nonetheless.

Former Boston College quarterback Dominique Davis has decided to transfer to East Carolina. His arrival can't come fast enough for the Pirates, who haven't had an effective passing game in senior Patrick Pinkney's third season as the starter.

Pinkney (16-of-33, 133 yards) air-mailed four passes in the first half, to open receivers, and has not been the same quarterback that got ECU out to a 3-0 start last season.

Virginia Tech is bowl eligible after its sixth win, but the Hokies had much higher hopes for this season after reaching No. 4 in the national rankings. They've looked like a deflated team, with nothing to play for, the past two weeks on national TV, losing to North Carolina last Thursday and sleep-walking through Thursday's win.

With Maryland, N.C. State and Virginia ahead, there isn't a team with a winning record left on the schedule, but the Hokies need to find motivation for the closing stretch, if for no other reason than the 2010 national rankings.

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