North Carolina at Virginia

Written by Steve Janus

This Saturday the Virginia Cavaliers will look to end a two game losing streak when they host the North Carolina Tar Heels. Virginia lost for the second week in a row, as they fell at Georgia Tech 33-21. The Tar Heels on the other hand, grabbed their third straight win, as they beat Clemson at home 21-16. The Cavaliers have dominated the Tar Heels in recent years, as they have won four straight and 10 out of the last 12, with the Tar Heels last win coming in 2005. The oddsmakers seems to think North Carolina will get things turned in the right direction this season, as the current college football odds have the Tar Heels favored by 6.5 points over the Cavaliers on the road.

North Carolina (3-2. 1-1 ACC): After two straight losses to start the season, the Tar Heels have really started playing some good football, as they are getting it done on both sides of the field. Offensively the Tar Heels struggled to get things going against the Tigers last week, but got the big plays when needed. Running back Johnny White finished with 89 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and also led the team with six catches for 90 yards. Quarterback T.J. Yates completed 18 of 34 passes for just 164 yards, but did have a 9 yard touchdown strike to wide out Jheranie Boyd that gave the Tar Heels an early 14-3 lead. Defensively the Tar Heels really played well in front of their home crowd, as they held the Tigers to just two touchdowns and only 91 yards rushing.

The Tar Heels will likely need another strong showing from the defense this week, as the offense only managed 17 points in their only other road game this season. Look for White to have another big day for North Carolina, as the Cavaliers have been torched on the ground this season, giving up 210 yards a game.

Virginia (2-3, 0-2 ACC): The Cavaliers were simply out played in their loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday, as they gave up a ridiculous 477 yards rushing. With the Yellow Jackets able to run at will, Georgia Tech held the ball for nearly 14 more minutes than Virginia. The Cavaliers defense kept things interesting early, as they only trailed 13-7 at half, but were no match for the Yellow Jackets in the second half.

For Virginia to win this game they are going to need a big time defensive effort, as the Tar Heels are still strong on the defensive side of the football, despite all the players they have lost this season. On offense the Cavaliers are going to have to make some big plays early, as they can not afford to play catch up with the way their defense has allowed opposing teams to run on them.

Looking at the Odds: The Cavaliers are simply not a very good football team, as they really don’t have much to offer on either side of the football. The Tar Heels offense has played surprisingly well this season, and should move the ball well against the Cavalier defense. If North Carolina can avoid the big plays on defense and keep from turning it over I see no reason why they can’t win this game by at least two touchdowns. My final score prediction is North Carolina 24, Virginia 13.

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