BetMGM College Football Odds: Virginia by 5 1/2. Series record: North Carolina leads 66-59-4. A year ago, Virginia notched its biggest win of the season, upsetting nationally-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
This season, the Cavaliers are the favorite, playing at home and hoping to move within a win of becoming bowl eligible for the first time under coach Tony Elliott. North Carolina is coming off of an open week, which gave it the chance to regroup after an emotional month that included four straight losses and the death of player Tylee Craft due to cancer. The losing streak is the program’s longest regular-season slide since dropping six straight in 2018.
When North Carolina has the ball, all eyes will be on star running back Omarion Hampton, the ACC’s leading rusher. But it might be the inverse matchup, Virginia’s running game against North Carolina’s run defense, that proves most pivotal. The Tar Heels rank 15th out of 17 teams in the ACC in rushing defense, allowing 160.
3 yards per game, while Elliott’s team has finally established the running identity he promised when he was hired. The Cavaliers are averaging 4.4 yards per rush, their best mark since 2021.
North Carolina: Hampton, the key for the UNC offense. He ranks fifth nationally by averaging 128.7 yards rushing to go with seven touchdowns on the ground.
That would put him on pace to crack the 1,000-yard mark this weekend. Virginia: S Jonas Sanker. Safety Antonio Clary and linebacker James Jackson bo.
