North Carolina vs. VMI

North Carolina and VMI have 22 meetings on file, the first in 1902; North Carolina leads the series 16–⁠5–⁠1 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s North Carolina 8–⁠2, and North Carolina has won the last 5.

North Carolina wins
16
VMI wins
5
Ties
1
Earliest on file
1902
Longest streak
5 North Carolina
Current streak
5 North Carolina
Last 10 meetings
North Carolina 8–⁠2
Most recent
1989

The series at a glance

Every meeting by decade, colored by the winner
’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1900s3–⁠1
1910s3–⁠1–⁠1
1920s5–⁠3
1930s1–⁠0
1960s1–⁠0
1970s1–⁠0
1980s2–⁠0
Average margin
21 points; 6 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At North Carolina
11–⁠2 North Carolina’s record at home
At VMI
3–⁠5–⁠1 VMI’s record at home
Shutouts
9

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. North Carolina’s biggest win1935: North Carolina 56, VMI 0by 56 points
  2. VMI’s biggest win1920: VMI 23, North Carolina 0by 23 points
  3. Upset1921: North Carolina 20, VMI 7North Carolina had a 27% chance, by our ratings before kickoff

Coach against coach

YearsNorth CarolinaSeriesVMI
1921–⁠1925William Fetzer4–⁠1Blandy Clarkson

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from North Carolina’s side (Fetzer 4–⁠1 against Clarkson). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of North Carolina and VMI, 1902 on130015001700192019401960198020002020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

From the newspapers

  • The The Washington herald's story of the 1909 game: CAROLINA DEFEATEDBY V.M.I. Surprise Sprung on the Gridiron at Lynchburg. Score Is , to O-GOaI from Field BIZ kfnsOIvinE Wins the Game. Special 20 The Washington Herald.

    1909 · The Washington herald, Washington, D.C., Oct 17, 1909

  • The Evening star's story of the 1914 game: NORTH CAROLINA HAS SPEED. Defeats Virginia Military Institute BY 80 to Z.

    1914 · Evening star, District of Columbia, Nov 8, 1914

  • The The Richmond Virginian's story of the 1915 game

    1915 · The Richmond Virginian, Richmond, Va., Oct 25, 1915

  • The The Washington herald's story of the 1921 game: TARHEELS DOWN FLYING CADETS Work Of Johnson Features North Cardinals 20-to-7 Win Over v. M. l.

    1921 · The Washington herald, Washington, D.C., Nov 6, 1921

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

Every game

Sep 9, 1989North Carolina 49, VMI 7at North Carolina
Sep 28, 1985North Carolina 51, VMI 7at North Carolina
Nov 7, 1970North Carolina 62, VMI 13at North Carolina
Nov 8, 1969North Carolina 61, VMI 11at North Carolina
Nov 9, 1935North Carolina 56, VMI 0at North Carolina
Nov 5, 1927VMI 7, North Carolina 0at VMI
Nov 6, 1926North Carolina 28, VMI 0at North Carolina
Nov 7, 1925North Carolina 23, VMI 11at VMI
Nov 8, 1924North Carolina 3, VMI 0at North Carolina
Nov 10, 1923VMI 9, North Carolina 0at VMI
Nov 11, 1922North Carolina 9, VMI 7at VMI
Nov 5, 1921North Carolina 20, VMI 7at VMI
Nov 6, 1920VMI 23, North Carolina 0at North Carolina
Nov 8, 1919VMI 29, North Carolina 7at North Carolina
Oct 28, 1916North Carolina 38, VMI 13at North Carolina
Oct 23, 1915VMI 3, North Carolina 3at VMI
Nov 7, 1914North Carolina 30, VMI 7at North Carolina
Oct 1, 1910North Carolina 6, VMI 0at North Carolina
Oct 16, 1909VMI 3, North Carolina 0at VMI
Nov 18, 1905North Carolina 17, VMI 0at North Carolina
Oct 14, 1903North Carolina 28, VMI 6at VMI
Nov 1, 1902North Carolina 17, VMI 10at VMI

Every game is listed as played on the field.