Cavaliers Travel to North Carolina in Search of Second Win in a Row
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Sept. 10, 2007
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Virginia Cavaliers (1-1, 1-0 ACC) at North Carolina Tar Heels (1-1, 0-0 ACC)
Game 3: Saturday, Sept. 15, Noon
Kenan Stadium (60,000), Chapel Hill, N.C.
Surface: natural grass
Series vs. UNC: UNC leads 56-51-4
Last Meeting: UVa 23, UNC 0, 2006
Television: LFS/Raycom ACC Network
Radio: Virginia Sports Network
Satellite Radio: XM Radio Ch. 191
TV Coverage
This game is being televised regionally on the Lincoln Financial Sports/Raycom ACC network. Steve Martin (play-by-play), Rick “Doc” Walker (analyst) and Scott Pryzwansky (sidelines) call the action.
Radio Coverage
All Virginia games are broadcast on the Virginia Sports Network, originating at WINA/WWWV in Charlottesville. Mac McDonald calls the play-by-play. He is joined in the broadcast booth by former Cavalier great Frank Quayle, the 1968 ACC Player of the Year. Former UVa quarterback Tim Sherman reports from the sidelines.
112th Renewal of the South’s Oldest Rivalry
Virginia returns to the road this weekend to face North Carolina in another ACC Coastal Division match-up.
The Cavaliers opened their ACC schedule last week with a 24-13 win over Duke. North Carolina is coming off a tough 34-31 loss to East Carolina on a last-second field goal. The Tar Heels are playing their ACC opener this week.
Virginia is looking to improve to 2-0 in the ACC for the first time since 2004. However, the road has not been kind to the Cavaliers recently. They have lost four straight road games and 10 of the last 12 going back to the 2005 season.
Things you Need to Know
• This is the 112th meeting of the South’s Oldest Rivalry
• This is only the second match-up in ACC history featuring ex-NFL head coaches.
• Virginia has won 16 of the last 22 meetings vs. the Tar Heels
• Virginia is looking to win its ACC road opener for the first time since 2003
• Since 1996 Virginia has scored 21 rushing TDs vs. five for the Tar Heels
The Series vs. the Tar Heels
• North Carolina holds a 56-51-4 advantage in the all-time series that dates back two centuries to 1892. You may notice a difference in the series record between the two schools due to the game in 1956 that North Carolina forfeited for using an ineligible player.
• Overall the Cavaliers have won four of the last five meetings (and seven of last nine).
• Virginia won last season 23-0, its first shutout of the Tar Heels in 82 years (7-0 UVa in 1924)
• Virginia is trying to win two in a row for the first time since 2002-04
• The Tar Heels hold a decided advantage in Chapel Hill as indicated by their 29-10-3 record.
• UNC has not won in Charlottesville since 1981; in that time the Cavaliers have won four times in Chapel Hill.
• The border rivalry is the most played series in the South.
• The two teams have played each other every year they have fielded a team since 1910. (Neither school had a football team in 1917-18 due to World War I.)
• Since 1982, Virginia is 17-7-1 vs. the Tar Heels.
• The Cavaliers have faced the Tar Heels more times (111 games) than any other school (next is Virginia Tech at 88 games).
• Virginia head coach Al Groh was the linebackers coach at UNC from 1973-77, where he coached Lawrence Taylor, among others.
The Most Offense Wins
• One of the factors that can be used to predict a winner of this game is looking at the team with the most rushing yards and the most total offense.
• Since 1940 the winning team has outrushed the loser 52 of 64 times, with one game featuring the same yardage for both.
• Similarly the winning team has had more offense 54 times and been outgained just 11 times since 1940. The loser has outgained the winner just four times since 1975, but two occurrences have come in the last seven years. [In both instances above the 1956 (forfeit) and 1984 (tie) games aren’t included.]
The South’s Oldest Rivalry
• This is the 112th meeting in the long history of the Virginia-North Carolina series, the South’s Oldest Rivalry.
• The rivalry is tied for the fifth longest in Football Bowl Subdivision history and was the seventh series in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history to reach 100 meetings with the 1995 game.
• The two schools have met every season since 1919 and there have been only four seasons since 1900 when they didn’t meet (1906, 1909 and 1917-18, when football was postponed at both schools due to World War I).
The longest series in FBS history
Who? Games 1st GameMinnesota/Wisconsin 116 1890
Missouri/Kansas 115 1891
Nebraska/Kansas 113 1892
Texas/Texas A&M 113 1894
Virginia/North Carolina 112* 1892
Miami (O)/Cincinnati 112* 1894
* includes 2007 meeting
Cavaliers Hold UNC Offense in Check
• Virginia has won 16 of the last 22 contests against North Carolina• One of the keys to UVa’s success has been an ability to keep the Tar Heel offense in check
• Since 1979, North Carolina has scored more than 27 points just twice (1997, 2001). In contrast, the Tar Heels topped 27 points seven times between 1970-78.
• Also since 1979, the Tar Heels have managed to score more than three touchdowns only twice (when they scored six in 1997 and four in 2002), while Virginia has done so three of the last five years.
• North Carolina’s rushing offense is another telltale sign of predicting a winner. The Tar Heels have averaged 238.8 yards in their last six wins dating back to 1983 but have averaged just 126.1 yards in their 17 losses since then (a tie in 1984 is not included).
• The Virginia defense has been even better against the run since 1993, holding the Tar Heels to an average of 118.4 yards rushing per game, while winning 10 of the last 14 meetings.
• Since 1996, UNC has scored just five rushing touchdowns with two coming in 1997. In contrast, Virginia has scored 21 times on the ground since then.
• In the last 11 games, UNC’s offense has scored 18 touchdowns, with nine coming in two games (1997, 2002), while the defense has scored five touchdowns (all on interceptions).
Turnovers Also Make a Difference
• Coaches often cite turnovers as one of the keys to a team’s success in any particular game.
• And the rivalry between Virginia and North Carolina is a good example of this coaching philosophy.
• Since 1982, the Cavaliers are 12-2-1 (.833) when committing fewer turnovers than the Tar Heels. (The losses occurred in 1995 and 2001, while the tie was in `84.)
• On the other hand, North Carolina is 4-2 (.667) when committing fewer turnovers
• There have been four games since 1982 where each team committed the same number of miscues and Virginia has won three (1985, `88, 2003).
Former NFL Head Coaches Meet
• This is only the second match-up in ACC history featuring head coaches who have also been head coaches in the NFL.
• Virginia’s Al Groh was the New York Jets head coach in 2000, while Tar Heel head man Butch Davis coached the Cleveland Browns from 2001-04
• Curiously this is the first of three consecutive games pitting former NFL head coaches
• After North Carolina, Virginia hosts Georgia Tech, coached by Chan Gailey, and Pittsburgh, coached by Dave Wannstedt
• The Groh-Gailey match-up is the first in ACC history with two former NFL head coaches going up against each other
• Overall, this is one of 10 college games this season pitting former NFL coaches against each other; currently there are 12 former NFL head coaches who are Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches.
• Several other ACC head coaches served as head coaches in the NFL after stints in the ACC, including Lou Holtz, John Mackovic, Bobby Ross and Steve Spurrier.