Tar Heels Look For Sixth Straight Win Saturday

October 24, 2015 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL --- Riding a five-game winning streak, North Carolina plays host to Virginia in what is often referred to as the “Oldest Rivalry in the South,” on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 3:30 p.m. This will be the 120th meeting between the two schools that first met in 1892.

The Tar Heels are coming off a 50-14 victory over Wake Forest last week. The win was the biggest ACC win (36 point margin) for UNC since a 38-point win over Duke in 2000. Wide receiver Mack Hollins had three receptions for 103 yards and all three went for touchdowns. Defensive end Junior Gnonkonde had two sacks and spearheaded a defensive unit that allowed just 310 total yards of offense. QB Marquise Williams rebounded from a slow start to throw three TD passes and rush for a score.

Virginia is coming off a 44-38 win over Syracuse in triple overtime. The Wahoos have played the nation's eighth-most difficult schedule this season with losses to four teams that have appeared in this year's AP Top 25 Poll.

Carolina has won five straight against Virginia for the first time since winning nine straight from 1974-82. Following the UVA game, Carolina plays at Pittsburgh on Thursday, Oct. 29.

AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 5-1 (2-0 ACC), Virginia 2-4 (1-1 ACC)
Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
TV: RSN. Wes Durham (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst) and Rayven Tirado (sideline) have the call.
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (click to listen), a division of Learfield Communications. Jones Angell (play-by-play), Ethan Albright (analyst) and Lee Pace (sideline) have the call.
On The Web: GoHeels.com | UNC Notes | VirginiaSports.com | Virginia Notes
Twitter: @TarHeelFootball, @CoachFedora | @UVAFootball | @CoachMikeLondon
Fan Information: Tickets | Parking Information

QUICK HITS
• North Carolina is the only unranked Power 5 conference team in the country with just one loss.

• OG Caleb Peterson is scheduled to start his 30th career game Saturday vs. Virginia. He will become one of five current Tar Heels with 30 career starts. Quinshad Davis leads the way with 39 starts, followed by OG Landon Turner (34), OT Jon Heck (30), LB Jeff Schoettmer (30).

• North Carolina is 10 for 10 in non-quarterback passes under Larry Fedora. WR Quinshad Davis has completed all four pass attempts of his career for touchdowns. He is 4 of 4 for 121 yards and four touchdowns for a passer rating of 684.1. WR Ryan Switzer has completed all three of his attempts

for two touchdowns.

• Carolina ranks second in the country in passing yards allowed, 13th in pass efficiency defense and 17th in scoring defense. UNC is allowing just 135.5 passing yards per game and 17.3 points per game.

• Carolina is 10th in the nation in scoring offense and is the only team in the ACC averaging more than 200 yards per game rushing (218.5) and 250 passing (263.7).

• Carolina has converted 50.8 percent of its third down opportunities this season, which ranks fourth nationally. UNC is one of seven schools converting at least 50 percent on third down.

• After struggling in this category the last few seasons, Carolina is 14th in the country in penalty yards per game (39.5) and 28th in penalties per game (5.0).

• Carolina has punted just 15 times this year. Only Baylor (12) and Navy (13) have fewer punts.

• Marquise Williams has been responsible for 76 career touchdowns, which is three shy of the school record of 79 held by Darian Durant (2001-04) and ranks 10th in ACC history. Williams has rushed for 27 scores (UNC record for QB), passed for 46 and has three receiving TDs.

• Williams is 85 yards shy of becoming just the fifth quarterback in ACC history to rush for 2,000 yards.

• Preseason first-team All-America guard Landon Turner will make his 35th career start Saturday against Virginia. Turner has graded out at 90 percent or higher in five of six games this season and has already been named the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week on two occasions.

• Senior wide receiver Quinshad Davis is eight receptions shy of becoming the school's all-time leader in catches. He is already UNC's all-time leader in touchdown receptions with 22.

ACC STARTS
• North Carolina is looking to start 3-0 in ACC play for the first time since 1997 and just the second time since 1983. The 1997 team started 5-0 in the ACC and finished the season No. 6 in the AP Top 25 Poll.

SERIES NOTES VS. VIRGINIA
• North Carolina leads the series with Virginia, 62-53-4, and has won five straight in the series for the first time since winning nine in a row from 1974-82.
• In last year's game in Charlottesville, QB Mitch Trubisky threw a 16-yard touchdown pass on his only play of the game, giving North Carolina its first lead with 4:05 remaining, and the Tar Heels stunned Virginia 28-27. Trubisky was called into action when Williams was sacked and his helmet came off, setting up a third-and-15 from the 16. Trubisky hit a wide open T.J. Thorpe to give North Carolina the lead.
• In the most recent meeting in Chapel Hill, QB Marquise Williams wore the No. 2 jersey in honor of his teammate Bryn Renner who had been lost for the season due to injury the previous week in a win over NC State. Williams did not disappoint, throwing two touchdown passes, rushing for a score and catching a 29-yard touchdown pass on a trick play from WR Quinshad Davis.
• Saturday's game will be the 120th meeting in the rivalry known as the “Oldest Rivalry in the South.” Only two other rivals in the country have played more often (see chart).
• North Carolina's final game of the regular season was typically played against Virginia prior to 1950. In fact, from 1919-1950, Carolina played its regular season finale vs. Virginia 28 of 32 times.
• Eight current Tar Heels are from Virginia: sophomore defensive end Malik Carney (Alexandria), redshirt freshman defensive lineman Jeremiah Clarke (Alexandria), freshman defensive tackle Aaron Crawford (Ashburn), redshirt freshman quarterback Caleb Henderson (Burke), sophomore defensive tackle Tyler Powell (Midlothian), sophomore cornerback M.J. Stewart (Arlington), senior offensive guard Landon Turner (Harrisonburg) and junior kicker Nick Weiler (Fairfax Station).
• Durham, N.C., native T.J. Thorpe, who played three seasons for the Tar Heels, is playing his final year at Virginia in 2015. Thorpe graduated from UNC last December and transferred to Virginia. At UNC he had 42 receptions for 574 yards and five touchdowns in his career.
• Corey Holliday, Carolina's Assistant Athletic Director for Football Administration and a former Tar Heel standout, is a native of Richmond, Va. Holliday ranks second at UNC in career 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), recordsetting 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 (Hampton).