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UNC Football Preview: North Carolina vs. Virginia

North Carolina hosts Virginia on Saturday in the Tar Heels' first ACC home game of the season.

Isaac Schade

North Carolina will host their first ACC game of the season on September 18 when Virginia comes to Chapel Hill for their first conference game and their first came away from Charlottesville. While the Tar Heels have split their first two games, the Cavaliers come in with an undefeated 2-0 record.

Saturday’s contest will mark the 126th meeting between the two schools, the second oldest rivalry in the FBS. Minnesota and Wisconsin lead the way, having played 129 times.

Carolina has lost four straight to Virginia since winning in Charlottesville in 2016. The Tar Heels have also lost two straight at home to the Cavs (2019, 2017), having won last in 2015.

There must be something special about squaring off against the Cavaliers for Tar Heel quarterback Sam Howell. He totaled 796 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns in his first two games against Bronco Mendenhall’s club.

The Tar Heel defense will be looking to enact a measure of revenge against a team that gashed them for 44 points and 418 yards of total offense last season.

TAR HEELS ON OFFENSE

The known quantity for the Tar Heels on offense is Sam Howell. The question to be answered is: Can he continue to make the talent around him better?

WR Josh Downs has been the breakout star, hauling in 16 receptions for 196 yards. The problem is that no other receiver has more than six receptions (Emery Simmons). Simmons and Antoine Green have each gone over 100 receiving yards (119 and 137 respectively).

Howell will continue to feed Downs while looking to establish a few more reliable quantities in the receiving game.

The Tar Heel quarterback would also like to see a teammate wrest the rushing lead away from him. Howell leads the team with 139 rushing yards on 24 attempts. Ty Chandler is just behind him with 124 yards on 25 attempts.

TAR HEELS ON DEFENSE

Virginia’s passing attack is off to a hot start, with quarterback Brennan Armstrong throwing for 744 yards and seven touchdowns in just two games. He hasn’t done much on the ground yardage-wise (35 total rushing yards), but has punched in two rushing touchdowns.

Carolina’s secondary and linebackers will have a lot of work to do as five different Cavalier receivers have over 100 receiving yards on the year, led by Dontayvion Wicks’ secven receptions for 163 yards.

While UNC will focus a lot of defensive attention on the passing game, they likely won’t have to focus as heavily on the rushing attack. No Cavalier has gone over 100 total rushing yards for the season. Only two players even have double-digit rushing attempts on the season, one of which is QB Armstrong (12 attempts). The other is Wayne Taulapapa who has 15 total rushing attempts for 83 yards.

PREVIOUS GAMES

UNC

  1. L 17-10 | @ Virginia Tech
  2. W 59-17 | vs. Georgia State

Virginia

  1. W 43-0 | vs. William & Mary
  2. W 42-14 | vs. Illinois

Here’s everything you need to know about Game 3 of the 2021 UNC football season:

#21/19 North Carolina (1-1,0-1) vs. Virginia (2-0, 0-0)

  • Chapel Hill, NC
  • Kenan Stadium
  • Saturday, September 18, 2021
  • 7:30 p.m. ET
  • ACC Network

All-time Series: UNC lead 64-57-4
Series Streak: UVa won last four
Last Meeting: Saturday, October 31, 2020 | Charlottesville, VA | UVa 44, UNC 41
Last time UNC won: Saturday, October 22, 2016 | Charlottesville, VA | UNC 35, UVa 14

NORTH CAROLINA
Record: 1-1 (0-1 ACC)
Head Coach: Mack Brown (Florida State, '74)
Overall Record: 260-133-1, 33rd year
Record at UNC: 85-57-1, 13th year

VIRGINIA
Record: 2-0 (0-0 ACC)
Head Coach: Bronco Mendenhall (Oregon State, ’88)
Overall Record: 131-75, 17th year
Record at Virginia: 32-32, 6th year

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Isaac Schade
ISAAC SCHADE

I grew up in Atlanta knowing that I was going to be the next Maddux or Glavine or Chipper. Unfortunately, I never grew six feet tall, ran 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, threw 90 m.p.h. on the radar gun, or hit 50 home runs. So I had to find a different way to dive head first into sports - writing about it. My favorite all-time sports moment? 1992. NLCS. Game 7. Sid Bream. Look it up. Worst sports moment ever? Two words: Kris. Jenkins. I live in the bustling metropolis of Webb City, MO, where ministry is my full-time job. I spend my free time with my wife, Maggie, and my two children, Pax & Poppy.

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