Walking into Lane Stadium on September 3, morale was high.
The North Carolina Tar Heels were ranked No. 10 in the nation, and the fans were back after a year of limited capacity.
Life was good.
Until the first drive.
Virginia Tech ate up the clock, scored in the first possession of the game, and held a halftime lead that would be enough of a margin for the eventual victory.
Fast forward through the inconsistent, frustrating, head-scratching, and completely underwhelming season to a Border War condiment bowl game that would decide which Carolina team ended up a game over .