Virginia's Home Finale Against North Carolina Set for 12:30 Kickoff

It's becoming clearer that Virginia's struggling 2026 team isn't considered particularly relevant at this point in the season.

The Cavaliers' home finale against North Carolina on Nov. 21 will kick off at 12:30 p.m. and will air on the CW Network, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Monday. A contest that once seemed likely to have an impact on the ACC title race has been relegated to the least-popular time slot on one of the lowest-rated networks covering the league's games.

Entering this weekend's schedule, neither the Cavaliers (4-5, 2-4 ACC) nor the Tar Heels (5-3, 2-3) have yet reached bowl eligibility, and neither school has a chance of reaching the ACC championship game.

UNC has made strides in Bill Belichick's second season as coach, but the Tar Heels dropped close decisions to Syracuse (31-30) and Miami (38-35) before rebounding with a 38-21 nonconference victory at UConn last weekend.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, bring a three-game losing streak into this Saturday's home game against California (3:30 p.m., ACC Network). They need to win two of their final three games to reach bowl eligibility for a second straight season.

Virginia will close the regular season on Nov. 28 at rival Virginia Tech.

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Last year's matchup with the Tar Heels was an exciting one, with Virginia holding on for a 17-16 overtime victory. Ja'Mari Taylor ran for a touchdown in the extra period, and the Cavaliers' defense stopped UNC's Ben Hall inches short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt.

The Tar Heels went on to finish 4-8 in Belichick's debut season as a head coach, while Virginia won the ACC regular-season title.

UNC's penchant for nail-biters has continued into the current season. All five of the Tar Heels' ACC matchups have been decided by a single score. They lost to Clemson (28-20) and defeated Pittsburgh (21-17) and Duke (24-20) before falling short against Syracuse and Miami. UNC is scheduled to host Louisville this Saturday night (7 p.m., ESPN2).

The Nov. 21 contest will be the 131st meeting in what is billed as "The South's Oldest Rivalry" and will tie for the second-most meeting between two FBS rivals. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 66-59-4.

It also will serve as Virginia's Senior Day, with a long list of upperclassmen recognized before kickoff.

Until this Wednesday, Virginia Athletics will offer a ticket bundle which includes a discounted pass to the UNC football game and one to the men's basketball game against Loyola (Md.) the previous night.

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