CHAPEL HILL‒This Saturday, September 18th, the Virginia Cavaliers (2-0) enter ACC play against the #21 UNC Tarheels (1-1) in Chapel Hill, NC at 7:30 P.M. The Wahoos come into this game after two 40+ point games against William and Mary and Illinois the previous two weeks. However, UNC will be their biggest test yet.
North Carolina was ranked #10 in the preseason College Football AP Top 25 poll. During week 1 of the season, UNC suffered a 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. UNC bounced back last week in a dominant 56-17 win over Georgia Southern to level their season record.
The Cavaliers will be relying on another big game from quarterback Brennan Armstrong. Last week against Illinois, he had a career game going 27-for-36 for 405 yards, the third-most passing yards in UVA history. By the end of the game, the Hoos had a huge 538 yards of total offense.
Armstrong needs another massive game when facing UNC’s quarterback, Sam Howell, a potential Heisman Trophy contender. In the loss to Virginia Tech, Howell threw three interceptions and was sacked six times. If the Wahoos’ defense can shut down Howell and his long passes, they give themselves a great opportunity to win this important game.
The Hokies were able to hold the Tar Heels’ time of possession to 25:01 earlier in the season. In UVA’s win over UNC during the 2020 season, Virginia was able to limit Carolina’s time of possession to 25:26. UVA will need to hold onto the ball and create long possessions in order to win Saturday night.
UVA has won the last four meetings between the two teams in the Oldest Rivalry in the South. The Cavaliers desperately want to take down their ranked Coastal Division opponent in their first real test of the season and to put themselves in good standing for the division title later in the season. Wahoo fans can watch this game on the ACC Network.
