The matchup between the No. 22 North Carolina football team and Virginia will be the 121st installment of the "South’s Oldest Rivalry." The rivalry is tied for the second-longest series in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history, trailing only Minnesota-Wisconsin.
The Tar Heels could extend their eight-game road win streak with a win over the Cavaliers, whom they've beaten the previous six meetings. A UNC victory this weekend would be the 700th in program history.
How do they play?
In the first season under former BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, the Cavaliers have struggled to find an identity.
The Cavaliers rank outside among the worst in the ACC in total offense, total defense and rushing offense. Virginia leads the conference in one category --- yards per punt. Those are not the statistics of a team that has a solid identity.
The Cavaliers have found some success through the air as of late. If that trend continues, it could bode well for Virginia on Saturday.
Who stands out?
Juniors Micah Kiser and Quin Blanding are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the ACC in tackles, after the duo led the conference last season. They are one of only two tandems in the country to lead their conference in tackles, joining TCU's Ty Summers and Travin Howard.
Kiser, whose 67 tackles rank sixth nationally, enters Saturday’s contest needing only one tackle to reach 200 for his career. Blanding, who had 62 tackles of his own, is the only defensive back from a Power Five conferences to rank in the top 20 nationally in tackles.
