University of North Carolina Athletics
Game Notes vs. Virginia
October 3, 2003 | Football
Oct. 3, 2003
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
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Date: Saturday, October 4, 2003
Time: 1:30 p.m.
TV: None
Site: Chapel Hill, N.C., Kenan Stadium (60,000, grass)
Series Record: UNC leads, 56-47-4
Last Meeting: Virgina 37, Carolina 27 on October 19, 2002, in Charlottesville, Va.
Rankings: Neither team is ranked
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Radio Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Woody Durham (play-by-play), Mick Mixon (color) and Stephen Gates (sideline) provide the call. A live broadcast also is available on the University of North Carolina's official athletic website, TarHeelBlue.com
Websites: North Carolina (TarHeelBlue.com); Virginia (virginiasports.com)
Injuries: CB Cedrick Holt, broken left ankle (out); WR Daunte Fields, broken right foot (out)
North Carolina and Virginia meet for the 108th time on Saturday, October 5 at 1:30 p.m. at Kenan Stadium. The game will not be televised, but is available on the Tar Heel Sports Radio Network. This is the South's oldest rivalry and it is tied for the fifth-most played series in Division I-A history. The two schools have met every year since 1919. Virginia has won four of the last five, but Carolina won the most recent contest in Kenan Stadium, 30-24, in 2001. Norfolk, Va., native Dexter Reid picked off a Matt Schaub pass and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown to seal the win.
Carolina (0-4, 0-2 ACC) is coming off a 47-34 loss at NC State last weekend, while Virginia (3-1, 2-0 ACC) has won two straight, including last week's 27-24 come-from-behind victory over Wake Forest. The Tar Heels are still searching for their first win at home since the SMU game in 2001. Since that time, UNC has lost eight straight games in Kenan Stadium.
Carolina has not started a season 0-5 since losing its first six games of the year in Mack Brown's first season in 1988.
Tar Heels Facing Top Schedule
According to the latest Sagarin rankings, Carolina's schedule is ranked as the nation's toughest. Carolina is followed by East Carolina, Colorado, Notre Dame and New Mexico State.
UNC-Virginia Notes
*The Tar Heels and Cavaliers are meeting for the 108th time in the South's oldest rivalry, a series which began in 1892. The series is the ACC's oldest and tied for the fifth-longest in NCAA history. The two schools have met every year since 1919.
* The home team has won 12 of the last 14 meetings since 1989, including eight in a row from 1991-98.
* Several UNC players are from the state of Virginia, including starters Bobby Blizzard (TE), Dexter Reid (FS) and Jupiter Wilson (OG). Fullback James Gibson, tight end Jon Hamlett and safety Kareen Taylor are also from Virginia.
* Carolina offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill and running backs coach Andre' Powell both coached at Virginia as members of George Welsh's coaching staff. Tranquill spent two different coaching stints with the Cavaliers. He was Virginia's quarterback coach from 1987-90 and helped develop some of the best passers in conference history, including All-ACC selections Scott Secules, Shawn Moore and Matt Blundin. Tranquill helped coach the Cavaliers to a No. 1 ranking during the 1990 season - Virginia's highest ever ranking. He returned to Charlottesville as the offensive coordinator for the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
efore coming to Chapel Hill, Powell spent five seasons coaching wide receivers and running backs at UVa. He coached running backs during his first season in 1996, then tutored the wide receivers for three years before returning to teach the running backs in 2000.
* Corey Holliday, Carolina's Director of Development for Football Student-Athletes and a former Tar Heel standout, is a native of Richmond, Va. Holliday is Carolina's career leader in receiving yardage.
* Many of Carolina's greatest football players have hailed from the state of Virginia. A short list includes NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor (Williamsburg), two-time ACC Player of the Year Mike Voight (Chesapeake), two-time All-America William Fuller (Chesapeake), bruising halfback Ken Willard (Richmond), All-America offensive guard Ron Rusnak (Prince George), record-setting wide receiver Corey Holliday (Richmond), linebacker Dwight Hollier (Hampton), four-time 1,000-yard back Amos Lawrence (Norfolk), three-time first-team All-America cornerback Dre' Bly (Chesapeake) and record-setting quarterback Ronald Curry (Chesapeake).
*Virginia head coach Al Groh was the linebackers coach at UNC under Bill Dooley from 1973-77.
