Another iteration of the South’s Oldest Rivalry is set for Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, Virginia, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Virginia Cavaliers. This year’s rendition brings two surprising teams.

Virginia has been exceeding expectations this year. Meanwhile, Carolina has won just a single game. But the tide appears to have been turning over the last two weeks for the Tar Heels with heartbreaking losses to Virginia Tech and Syracuse.

UNC head coach Larry Fedora said on Monday that the team was on the verge of breaking through.

“We’re still so close but yet so far away in being consistent in everything we do in our execution and the way we handle things,” Fedora said.

Fedora said it was important for the team to take lessons from the close losses over the last two contests.

“Learning from that situation so that when you are in that situation again, you can be successful,” the coach said. “Because you’ve been there before, and you know what you have to do. You know what the focus level needs to be, the concentration.”

The head coach said he was confident in his players being ready to get over the hump.

“Our guys are going to be ready to play – mentally they’re going to be ready to play, and they’re going to play hard,” Fedora said. “I don’t think there was any question about their effort on Saturday night, and they’re going to continue to do that.

“I feel very comfortable about that.”

UNC and Virginia will kick off in Charlottesville at 12:20. The Cavaliers are coming off on back-to-back wins knocking off the ranked Miami Hurricanes at home and beating the Duke Blue Devils by two touchdowns in Durham last weekend.

Photo via Associated Press

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