North Carolina vs Virginia Prediction College Football Picks 10/26/24

The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Virginia Cavaliers meet in week 9 college football action from Scott Stadium on Saturday afternoon. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a North Carolina vs. Virginia prediction.

North Carolina Recap

The North Carolina Tar Heels come into this one looking to snap a four-game losing skid after a 41-34 loss to Georgia Tech in their last game prior to last week’s bye week, sitting at 3-4 on the year. After this game, North Carolina will head on the road for a game against Florida State.

Tar Heels Trying To Get Back To .500

Jacolby Criswell has thrown for 1,367 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions on 56.2% passing. Omarion Hampton has a team-high 901 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns while Davion Gause has 197 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. J.J. Jones has 21 receptions for 364 yards while Bryson Nesbit has 24 grabs for 264 yards and 3 TDs. Kobe Paysour has 217 receiving yards while four more Tar Heels have 100+ receiving yards as well on the year. On defense, Power Echols has a team-high 48 total tackles while Jahvaree Ritzie has a team-high 5 sacks, As a team, North Carolina has combined for 15 sacks and 2 interceptions as well on the year.

Why the North Carolina Tar Heels will win

• Virginia has lost nine of its last 11 home games against conference opponents.
• The road team has won three of North Carolina’s last four games.
• The road team has covered the spread in six of North Carolina’s last seven games.

Virginia Cavaliers Recap

The Virginia Cavaliers come into this game looking to bounce back after back-to-back losses after a 48-31 loss to Clemson last time out to fall to 4-3 on the year. After this game, Virginia will head to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers after their bye week.

Cavaliers Trying To Inch Towards Bowl Eligibility

Anthony Colandrea has thrown for 1,649 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions on 63.6% passing while also rushing for 235 yards and 2 scores. Xavier Brown has a team-high 366 rushing yards and 2 TDs while Kobe Pace also has 366 rushing yards and 2 scores. Malachi Fields leads the Cavaliers in receiving with 40 grabs for 606 yards and 4 TDs while Trell Harris has 201 receiving yards and Tyler Neville has 283 receiving yards as well this season. On defense, Jonas Sanker has a team-high 57 total tackles while Kam Robinson has a team-high 3 sacks. Virginia has combined as a unit for 12 sacks and 5 interceptions so far this season.

Why the Virginia Cavaliers will win

• North Carolina has lost seven of its last eight games against conference opponents.
• Virginia has won each of its last four October games against North Carolina.
• Virginia has covered the spread in each of its last eight games in October.
• North Carolina has failed to cover the spread in each of its last eight games against conference opponents.

North Carolina vs. Virginia Prediction

I’m on the Cavaliers here. I just have no faith in the Tar Heels and it’s going to make next week’s game against a hapless Florida State team an interesting look. Virginia’s simply the better and more trustworthy team across the board in this game, and I at least know what I’m getting from the Cavaliers who put up solid numbers against a Clemson team that’s flat-out rolling. Give me Virginia here.