UVA Hosts No. 22 North Carolina on Saturday

Oct. 17, 2016

The South’s Oldest Rivalry
– Virginia and North Carolina will meet for the 121st time in the South’s Oldest Rivalry, a series that began in 1892.

Virginia vs. North Carolina
– UVA trails the all-time series with North Carolina, 62-54-4.
– There is a difference in the series record between the two schools because of the game in 1956 that North Carolina forfeited for using an ineligible player. All of UNC’s games in 1956 were forfeited by conference action. Both schools count the 1956 game as a win.
– Saturday’s game will tie the rivalry for the second-longest series in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history.
– The two schools have met every season since 1919 and there have been only four seasons since 1900 when they did not meet (1906, 1909 and 1917-18, when football was postponed at both schools because of World War I).

Five Top Storylines
– The Cavaliers have faced the Tar Heels more than any other school (120) in program history.
– TB Albert Reid has at least one rushing touchdown in five straight games and has six scores on the ground overall. He also has one receiving touchdown to lead UVA with seven total touchdowns.
– UVA is No. 2 in the country in red zone chances that result in a touchdown (80.9 percent).
– WR Olamide Zaccheaus is tied for No. 2 in the nation with at least two receptions of 70 yards or more. He scored an 82-yard touchdown against Central Michigan on Sept. 24 and recorded a 74-yard receiving touchdown against Pitt last Saturday.
– QB Kurt Benkert is one of two quarterbacks in the nation with passes of 82 yards or more, while he is the only “Power 5” quarterback with three passes of 70 yards or more. In addition to the two plays to Zaccheaus, Benkert also has an 84-yard pass to David Eldridge.

The Most Offense Typically Wins
– In UVA vs. UNC games since 1940, the winning team has out-rushed the loser 56 of 73 times, with one game featuring the same yardage for both.
– The winning team has had more offensive yards 67 times and has been outgained just 15 times since 1940. UVA was the most recent team (2014) to outgain UNC and lose (443-374).
– The loser has outgained the winner just eight times since 1975, but it has happened six times in the last 15 years, including in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2014.

… On the Ground
– Since 2006, the Tar Heels have averaged 137.8 rushing yards per game vs. the Cavaliers, with UVA winning only four of the last 10 meetings.
– Since 1996, UNC has scored only 15 rushing touchdowns with three coming in 2015 and two coming in 1997 and 2011. In contrast, UVA has scored 29 times on the ground in that span.
– In the last 20 games, UNC’s offense has scored 46 touchdowns, with 30 coming in six games (1997, 2002, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), while the defense has scored nine touchdowns (eight interceptions and one punt return).

Turnovers Make a Difference
– Since 1982, the Cavaliers are 15-2-1 when committing fewer turnovers than the Tar Heels. The losses occurred in 1995 and 2001, while the tie was in 1984.
– Over the last eight years, North Carolina has committed 13 turnovers, while UVA has committed 19 (which includes 10 combined from the 2010 & 2015 games).
– North Carolina is 10-2 vs. Virginia 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, 1988, 2003).

First Family Takes in 1928 Meeting
– President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace, attended the 1928 Virginia vs. North Carolina Thanksgiving Day football game at UVA’s Lambeth Field. The President was joined by the governors of both Virginia (Gov. Harry F. Byrd) and North Carolina (H.W. Chase). Over 20,000 spectators attended UNC’s 24-20 win 88 years ago. Lambeth Field’s grandstand only sat 8,000. Additional temporary bleachers helped hold the overflow crowd.

Nature of the Rivalry
– There is a strong historical lineage and academic standing between UVA and UNC.
– UVA was founded by Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, while UNC was the first operational state university in the United States.
– UVA had its writer-in-residence William Faulkner, while UNC is the alma mater of Thomas Wolfe.
– President Woodrow Wilson attended UVA and was president of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, while President James K. Polk attended UNC.
– UVA and UNC were also the first future members of the ACC to be elected to the prestigious Association of American Universities. UVA was elected in 1904 and UNC in 1922.
– UVA was the opponent for the dedication game at UNC’s Kenan Stadium in 1927.
– Kenan Stadium was used as a model by the designers of Scott Stadium.

Red-Zone Offense
– UVA has scored on 19 of its last 20 trips inside the red-zone, with 17 touchdowns and two field goals.
– UVA ranks second in the nation in red zone chances that ended with a touchdown (80.9 percent).
– Since Taquan Mizzell fumbled on the five-yard line against Richmond in the season-opening game, UVA scored on eight straight trips inside the red-zone, including seven touchdowns and one field goal.
– The streak was snapped on UVA’s very last play of the UConn game. Alex Furbank’s 20-yard field goal attempt as time expired at UConn on Sept. 17 halted UVA’s streak at eight. The streak included four trips inside the red-zone at then-No. 24 Oregon, resulting in four touchdowns.