BY BRIANA GORMAN

bggorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina defensive end E.J. Wilson didn't try to mince words earlier this week.

"We are desperate for a win," he said. "We need to get our first conference win, and we really, really need to get back on track because we've let a couple games slip away from us that we had a great opportunity to win."

UNC heads to No. 14 Virginia Tech tonight (7:30 p.m., ESPN) still searching for its first conference victory after losing its first three ACC games. The Tar Heels are just one of two winless teams in the conference -- the other being N.C. State -- and they sit at the bottom of the ACC after talking in the preseason about winning the conference championship.

But getting a victory over the Hokies is easier said than done. Virginia Tech (5-2, 3-1) is 9-2 in Thursday night games played at Lane Stadium and has beaten UNC (4-3, 0-3) in the past five meetings.

Earlier in the week, UNC coach Butch Davis said he thinks this year's Virginia Tech team is the best the Hokies have had since the 1999-2000 squad, led by Michael Vick, that played for a national championship.

"Going to Virginia Tech is always a challenge from the standpoint of crowd noise," Davis said. "It's something your football team has got to be prepared for. This is probably one of the best Virginia Tech teams I've seen probably in the last eight or 10 years."

The Hokies boast the second-best rushing attack in the ACC thanks mostly to running back Ryan Williams. The freshman leads the league in rushing yards and is the seventh-leading rushing in the nation with 119.14 yards per game. Containing Williams will be one of the toughest challenges UNC's seventh-ranked defense has faced this season, as the Heels are giving up just 102.6 yards on the ground per game.

"They're a very physical offense," Wilson said. "They like to run the ball downhill, which is my kind of game. I like a physical, downhill running kind of game where it's mano-a-mano. It's you either man up or you can't play this game."

But Williams' isn't the Hokies' only offensive threat. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is ranked fourth nationally in pass efficiency, having thrown just three interceptions compared to nine touchdowns this season. He's a mobile, athletic quarterback that can keep broken plays alive.

"He makes plays," Davis said. "He's got a 159 quarterback efficiency rating, and that's about as high as I guess you can get."

But even though the Hokies are heavily favored on paper, the Tar Heels have kept it close the past two years. Virginia Tech won 17-10 in 2007, and a year ago in Chapel Hill, UNC led by two touchdowns before the Hokies rallied to escape with a 20-17 victory.

Wilson said he expects this year's game to be another low-scoring affair since Virginia Tech's defense is ranked fifth in the ACC.

"We got a battle coming in here [tonight]," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "This North Carolina team is ranked seventh in the nation in total defense. ... [It's] a very, very good, talented defense."

The Tar Heels said they need a win tonight to get back in the win column and get some confidence, but they also need a victory to help their postseason chances. UNC needs to finish at least 3-2 the rest of the way if it wants to earn a bowl bid -- something the players said they're not thinking about just yet.

"I'm not too worried about the bowl game, I'm just worried about [today's] game," wide receiver Greg Little said. "I think if you intend to look at things like that your season will slip away."