North Carolina UNC Tar Heels football history at Scott Stadium Virginia Cavaliers Mack Brown wins losses

From 1983-2008, the Tar Heels left the land of Thomas Jefferson licking their wounds each time. Some were downright painful. Some were embarrassing. And some were simply the byproduct of the George Welsh says at Virginia and the Tar Heels sliding over a cliff following Mack Brown’s departure in 1997.

So, with the Tar Heels headed to UVA this weekend in a renewal of the series long dubbed “The South’s Oldest Rivalry,” that stretch of futility still rests in the backs of some Carolina minds.

A UNC team riding a four-game losing streak heading to Scott Stadium, and a natural reaction by fans with some tread under their tires is something like, “Oh no. you know how things go up there.”

Like in 1991 when UNC lost 14-9, a punt that caromed off a Carolina returner giving UVA the ball. The blown 17-3 lead in 1996 that remains the most devastating loss in program history. The 56-24 ugliness from 2004. A Wahoos overtime win in 2008. The 24-22 loss to a backup QB in 1985. And. So. Much. More.

Yet, the Tar Heels long ago extinguished the curse of Monticello having won five of their last seven trips up north. In fact, the average score in Carolina’s victories in this span is 35-14.4. The Heels have left no doubt about it, except for a 28-27 win in 2014.

The average score in the two losses in this span is 37.5-31. The one that should bite UNC fans for a while is 44-41 in 2020. A fake punt UNC was not equipped to handle remains a vivid memory from that loss by a Carolina team that ended up in the Orange Bowl to a UVA club that finished 5-5.

All of this matters because UNC heads to Charlottesville for a noon kickoff Saturday having lost four consecutive games overall, while the Cavaliers have dropped their last two.

A North Carolina win would move Mack Brown to 2-6 all-time at Scott Stadium. The lone previous victory there came two seasons ago when the Tar Heels escaped with a 31-28 win over a team that finished 3-7.

It would also move the Tar Heels to 4-4 overall, and with games still left at Florida State, Wake Forest at home, at Boston College, and NC State at home, chances for bowl eligibility would be fairly strong.