Before they respectively joined the ACC and Big 12, did you know that UNC and West Virginia were – long before any of us were born – in the same conference?
While they’re 6.5 hours away from each other, UNC and West Virginia were both members of the Southern Conference from 1950-1952. Surprisingly, a football matchup between the two upcoming Duke’s Mayo Bowl opponents never happened in those three years.
Carolina and the Mountaineers didn’t play each other until late in the 20th century, then waited another 11 years between matchups. Both teams sit at 8-4 ahead of next week’s bowl clash.
West Virginia is in a significantly better spot, winning four of its last five games (UCF, BYU, Cincinnati, Baylor). The Mountaineers dropped their season opener to Penn State, then broke off four consecutive wins.
UNC is the exact opposite, bursting out to a 6-0 start before losing games to UVA and Georgia Tech – both whom are opponents it should have dominated. The Tar Heels rebounded with back-to-back wins against Campbell and Duke, but defensive issues re-surfaced in losses to Clemson and N.C. State.
Even though there’s not a ton to speak on between these two teams, let’s go back a couple decades and revisit the first two UNC-WVU matchups. With both teams splitting the first two clashes, you could say the Duke’s Mayo Bowl will decide the best of three.