North Carolina Tar Heels vs Appalachian State Mountaineers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/03/2022

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 3, 2022

Venue:  Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, NC

Where to Watch:  ESPNU

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UNC PK, App State PK; Over/Under:  55.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UNC +1, App State -1; Over/Under:  56 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UNC -2.5, App State +2.5; Over/Under:  55.5 points

 

North Carolina Tar Heels:  1-0 (1st place, ACC Coastal)

Appalachian State Mountaineers:  0-0 (Sun Belt Group A)

 

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North Carolina Tar Heels:  won their last game at home 56-24 against the Florida A&M Rattlers.

Appalachian State Mountaineers:  N/A

 

UNC is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall to start their college football season and they will be playing their 1st road game of the season here. They won against the Florida A&M Rattlers in their last game at home 56-24 in Week 0. Drake Maye started that game at QB and he completed 29/37 passes for 294 yards and 5 TDs. Omarion Hampton led the team in rushing with 101 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 rushing attempts while Josh Downs led the team in receiving with 78 yards and 2 touchdowns on 9 receptions. Power Echols led the defense in that game with 9 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle. Storm Duck had the only interception for the team in that game while Power Echols, Kaimon Rucker, and Noah Taylor all led the defense in sacks with 1 each.

 

 

 

Appalachian State is playing their season opener here on Saturday and this will also be their first home game on the college football schedule this season. They finished last season with a 10-4 record overall and were 6-0 in their home games. They were also 7-1 with their conference record and finished in 1st place in the Sun Belt Group A. They ended their season with a 59-38 loss against Western Kentucky in the Boca Raton Bowl. Their offense was averaging 441.6 YPG and 34.5 PPG while their defense was allowing 349.9 YPG and 22.1 PPG against them. Chase Brice led the team in passing with 3,337 passing yards, Nate Noel led the team in rushing with 1,128 rushing yards, and Corey Sutton led the team in receiving with 904 receiving yards. 

The current betting odds have Appalachian State listed as a PK in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. App State is playing their first game of the season here while UNC has already played in a game Week 0, winning 56-24 over Florida A&M from the FCS, but APP State still has a lot of returning players from last season, like their starting QB and leading rusher, and they were a very good team last season as they have been dominating their conference over the past few years. UNC may have won their first game last week but they have not played against an FBS team this season and their team is a lot weaker than it was last year. A big chunk of their offense ran through their starting QB Sam Howell who is no longer with the team now. They have a lot of new faces in this starting offense and that will spell trouble for UNC as Appalachian State has most of their offense returning and will be able to move the ball a lot better with players who already know the system and have been in the same program for a longer period of time. The best way to place a bet here is on Appalachian State to win this game or cover the spread.

 

North Carolina Appalachian State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 3, 2022 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Appalachian State 27 UNC 20.

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North Carolina Tar Heels: 4-0 ATS after playing a non-conference game. 27-18 UNDER off a home win by 17 points or more. 27-21 UNDER after allowing 75 or less rushing yards last game.

Appalachian State Mountaineers: 11-19 ATS in a home game where the total is between 49.5 and 56. 14-9 UNDER in games played on turf. 13-9 UNDER as a favorite.

 

 

North Carolina Tar Heels:  T. Grimes (DB) Ques Sat - Upper Body. T. Craft (WR) Out indefinitely - Illness. J. Conley (DB) Late Sept - Lower Body. B. Brooks (RB) out for season - Lower Body. A. Green (WR) Late Oct - Upper Body.

Appalachian State Mountaineers:  None.

 

 

"I can be more versatile and play different positions. I'm playing more wideout this year. I'm going to line up in the backfield again some and in the slot. Just being more versatile on offense and being able to play everywhere.” - Josh Downs on his game in the summer before their season opener against Florida A&M last week.

 

 

"Every year we've gotten better and better. The whole running back corps, we're able to feed off each other's energy, and there's not any drop off no matter who's coming in." - Nate Noel on the team constantly improving each year.

 

 

 

WR Carter, Devin

WR Rooks, Porter

WR Thomas, Thayer 

TE Pennix, Trent

TE Toudle, Christopher

QB Leary, Devin

RB Houston, Jordan 

 

WR Wells, Christian

WR Horn, Christan 

WR Davis, Dashaun 

TE Pearson, Henry

QB Brice, Chase

RB Noel, Nate 

 

 

Passing: D. Maye (294)

Rushing: O. Hampton (101)

Receiving: J. Downs (78)

Touchdowns: O. Hampton (2)

 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

 

Coaches:

North Carolina Tar Heels: Mack Brown (4th season, 14th season non-consecutive)

Appalachian State Mountaineers: Shawn Clark (4th season)