No matter who the coordinator is and no matter how much talent is on the field, there's one area that the UNC football team struggles to perform consistently in: defense.

In each of the past two seasons, North Carolina's defensive unit has given us hope in its first couple games. The Tar Heels generated nine sacks in the 2023 season-opening victory over South Carolina, then held Minnesota, Charlotte and NC Central to under 50 points combined this season.

That hope is quickly lost with consecutive letdowns. This year in Weeks 4-7, UNC allowed: 70 points to James Madison in Week 4, archrival Duke to win with 21 unanswered, second-half points, then over 1,000 yards in combined losses to Pitt and Georgia Tech.

In Week 9, North Carolina's defense will now be tasked with slowing down a resurgent Virginia team. The Cavaliers (4-3, 2-2) have already surpassed last season's win total, in large part thanks to an improved offense led by new starting quarterback Anthony Colandrea.

Virginia also has one of the ACC's top wide receivers in Malachi Fields, two 300-yard running backs in Xavier Brown and Kobe Pace, plus a near-automatic kicker in Will Bettridge (34-of-36 on kicks).

The Tar Heels will have their hands full at 12 p.m. Saturday in Charlottesville, even with two straight losses from the Cavaliers. If anything, Virginia will be equally as hungry to break back into the win colum.

Can UNC's defense positively impact the outcome of Saturday's game? If your answer is yes, here's five keys you should be looking out for.

First and foremost...stop the run

UNC's defense turned in yet another disappointing outing against Georgia Tech, allowing 505 total yards, but UNC's run defense was bad in particular.

Yellow Jackets starting running back Jamal Haynes ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, including the eventual game-winner in the closing seconds. Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King also gashed the North Carolina defense, collecting 107 rushing yards and two scores – and just 11 carries.

The Tar Heels have the guys up front – Jahvaree Ritzie, Des Evans and Kaimon Rucker, to name a few – who can break through the line and stop the ballcarrier. Power Echols is a star at linebacker, while there's talented guys in the young secondary.

If UNC slows down the run, it'll have a chance to counter with its own strong run game.

Another strong performance from the secondary

North Carolina's pass defense didn't look half bad against Georgia Tech, forcing 12 Haynes King incompletions to just 11 completed passes. UNC allowed just 134 passing yards, its best performance since limiting NC Central to 100 yards in Week 3.

Colandrea is a great quarterback, but not quite on King's level. The Tar Heels can't underestimate anyone, as we've witnessed firsthand how that turns out, but they need great secondary play to have a chance at spoiling Virginia's Family Weekend.

Don't let the Cavaliers break tackles

The Tar Heels needed every bit of tackling against Georgia Tech. Luckily for North Carolina, Power Echols and Antavious "Stick" Lane stepped up to lead the charge.

Echols led UNC with 12 tackles at his starting linebacker spot, while Lane recorded 10 from the secondary.

Ideally, your secondary is spending more time breaking up passes than tackling, but it's helpful knowing the Tar Heels have defensive backs who can wrap up the ballcarrier.

The Tar Heels have an issue with making the initial tackle, which they can't let happen at Virginia. The Cavaliers have three good running backs, a great QB-WR combo and can make North Carolina pay in multiple ways.

Play until the final whistle

I hope UNC didn't forget it still had just under a minute to play in the fourth quarter against Georgia Tech, after Noah Burnette's field goal tied the game at 34.

The Yellow Jackets scored the game-winning touchdown two plays later, with Haynes taking a hand-off 68 yards to the house. I'm not saying North Carolina forgot how to play defense, but players might've been looking ahead to overtime.

The Tar Heels haven't turned in a complete defensive effort since the first three weeks of their season. If UNC somehow has a late lead, the defense can't let up.

Stall Virginia's drives

Despite UNC's defensive struggles, I've noticed one area the defense performs well in: the red zone.

Two of Georgia Tech's second-quarter, Week 7 scoring ended in field goals. North Carolina also limited Charlotte to field goals on several drives, then did the same to NC Central on its second scoring drive in Week 3

The Tar Heels might allow a bunch of big plays Saturday, but they need to step up after those big plays and recover in the red zone, to have a chance at victory.

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire : UNC football's defensive keys for South's Oldest Rivalry against Virginia