North Carolina Tar Heels at No. 25 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-6.5), Total 59 |
North Carolina won its ACC opener for the first time since 2000, coming away with a 28-17 win over Virginia as 10-point home favorites. The Tar Heels are a perfect 3-0 coming into this contest, but will be playing on the road for the first time.
A major concern coming into this game is the 468 yards it gave up to Virginia, as Georgia Tech possesses one of the more potent offensive attacks in all of college football. “The yards concern you, but you can look on tape and you can correct some things that happened to you,” commented interim head coach Everett Withers.
Carolina has not allowed a first quarter point this season, outscoring opponents. On the other side of the ball, the offense has scored on nine of 11 opportunities inside the red zone, with each score being a touchdown.
Quarterback Bryn Renner leads the offense, completing 81.4 percent of his pass attempts, while ranking eighth nationally in pass efficiency. Running back Ryan Houston also provides a lift for the team offensively, scoring 20 touchdowns in his last 28 games.
The entire team relies heavily on three offensive linemen that returned from last year, as the trio have combined for 63 starts.
North Carolina and Georgia Tech will be meeting for the 47th time, with the Tar Heels trailing in the series, 18-25-3, including a 7-16-1 mark when playing in Atlanta.
college football betting players will find that the Tar Heels are 8-9 ATS versus conference opponents and the ‘under’ is 10-7 in those betting prediction contests.
Georgia Tech has put up some record-breaking statistics in coming up with a 3-0 record, which has moved the team into the national rankings. The Yellow Jackets broke and NCAA record for rushing yards per attempt, while also breaking a school record in gaining 768 total yards in a 66-24 win over Kansas.
“When we’re making our blocks, it’s like a video game,” commented running back Embry Peeples. “It’s score after score after score.”
The program scored on nine straight possessions at one point against the Jayhawks, which has directly led to the nation’s top-scoring offense and rushing game.
Georgia Tech will be looking to move its record to 4-0 for the first time since the 1990 season when it won a share of the national title. Saturday’s matchup is simply Georgia Tech’s rushing attack against the 16th-best stop unit versus the run.
This type of success on the ground is nothing new for the program, being the only school in the nation to produce a 1,300-yard rusher in each of the last five seasons. The Jackets have scored at least five rushing touchdowns in every game this year.
Sportsbooks bettors will find that Georgia Tech is 3-0 ATS as a favorite this year and 11-7 ATS in that role the last two-plus seasons.
Grabbing the points at your sportsbook with a solid rush defense may be the play, as North Carolina is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings.
