It sounds like there will be more Thursday night home football games in Chapel Hill if North Carolina coach Butch Davis has anything to say about it.

The Tar Heels played their first Thursday night home game last week. For years, campus leaders had resisted playing at home on Thursday nights.

CHAPEL HILL — Junior tight end Zack Pianalto, who sustained a mild concussion during last Thursday’s loss to Florida State, returned to practice Sunday and is listed as “probable” to play Thursday at Virginia Tech.

“We’ve got the leading experts in the entire field,” coach Butch Davis said. “They immediately do [tests] at the ball game. Then they test him and reevaluate him the next day. They deemed him healthy and ready to go.”

How is Pianalto ready to play so soon after the concussion?

CHAPEL HILL -- Florida State's coming to town on Thursday and as far as North Carolina is concerned, it's the old Florida State, the powerhouse of the 1990s, not the current version, winless in the ACC and mired in coaching turmoil.

"They're still Florida State," UNC cornerback Kendric Burney said. "Growing up in the 90s, Florida State was pretty much all you heard about in the ACC."

An 0-2 start in the ACC has North Carolina looking for answers, especially on offense. The Tar Heels have scored 10 points and rushed for 56 yards in the two losses.

UNC coach Butch Davis was steadfast in his support of offensive coordinator John Shoop, who has been with Davis all three seasons in Chapel Hill, after the Georgia Tech loss and again on Monday.

North Carolina football spokesman Kevin Best was in the Kenan Football Center suites last week beyond the west end zone at the stadium, explaining that players use them for study periods during the week because the school's student academic enrichment center is so cramped.

School officials are determined to solve that space problem, announcing Friday that the public sales phase for the planned Student-Athlete Center for Excellence - and more suites and club seats - will begin Saturday.

North Carolina coach Butch Davis said Wednesday he “absolutely” still has confidence in kicker Casey Barth, despite the fact that the sophomore has missed two field goals from inside 40 yards this season.

But has Barth’s confidence been shaken?

Virginia's 0-3 with a home loss to a Division I-AA team, but the Cavaliers have a fan in UNC coach Butch Davis.

Davis called the Cavaliers a "talented" and "dangerous" football team on Monday. Maybe it's because Davis is 0-2 against UVa as UNC's head coach, or maybe Davis is genuinely impressed.

Coming off the first loss of the season and out of the top 25 for the first time, North Carolina's not going to panic.

Tar Heels coach Butch Davis said he won't make any changes for the sake of making changes and the lineup that lost to Georgia Tech will remain intact against Virginia on Saturday.

UNC went 0-6 on the road in Butch Davis' first season. The Tar Heels improved to 3-2 last year, including their first win outside the state since 2002.

The 23rd-ranked Tar Heels are off to a 1-0 start on the road and hope to build on that Saturday at Georgia Tech. UNC hasn't won at Tech since 1997.

Offensive line is the one position North Carolina could not afford injuries. Two games into the 2009 season, the Tar Heels are scrambling for healthy bodies.

Guard Jonathan Cooper, who missed the UConn game with an ankle injury, practiced Wednesday and coach Butch Davis hopes he will be available for Saturday's game with ECU, if not be able to start.