Cavs out to make it to back-to-back bowls
Becoming bowl eligible is something Virginia fans haven’t been used to as of late. The Cavaliers haven’t gone bowling in back-to-back years since making appearances in four straight seasons from 2002-05.
That could change Saturday.
A win over North Carolina (1-5, 1-3) in The South’s Oldest Rivalry would get Virginia (5-2, 3-1) to the six-win mark and bowl eligible for the second-straight season.
“We know our program is being built sequentially. Building fortitude and people is our first goal, that leads to enough wins to make the postseason,” Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
“Over time that leads to conference championships.”
While a conference championship may seem a few years away for the Cavaliers, they currently sit just a 1/2 game behind their in-state rival Virginia Tech for first place in the ACC’s Coastal Division halfway through the conference season. A win over North Carolina would raise Mendenhall’s team’s confidence even higher as the Cavaliers kick off a three-game home stretch.
North Carolina has struggled this season to the tone of just one win, but three of those loses have been by a touchdown or less including a 40-37 overtime loss to Syracuse last week. The Tar Heels have a tough task of knocking off a Virginia team that has won two straight and four of its last five games.
Quarterback Nathan Elliot threw a school-record 52 passes without an interception against Syracuse and will try to solve a Virginia defense that has given opposing teams fits this season. In all three of the Cavaliers’ wins in conference, they have allowed just three touchdowns and have picked off seven passes.
“As the defense continues to play more and more consistently, the number of places you can look to generate points is shrinking,” Mendenhall said.
“If there are areas of vulnerability, we are targeting that hopefully before our opponents.”
Virginia is undefeated at home this season which includes a “home” game in Nashville against Ohio earlier this season after the game had to be moved due to weather.
North Carolina won 35-14 the last time the two teams played in Charlottesville.
