North Carolina Tar Heels vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 08/29/2024

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Thursday, August 29, 2024

Venue:  Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

Where to Watch:  FOX

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UNC +2.5, Minnesota -2.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UNC +2.5, Minnesota -2.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UNC +2.5, Minnesota -2.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

North Carolina Tar Heels:  0-0 (0-0) (ACC)

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  0-0 (0-0) (Big Ten)

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North Carolina Tar Heels:  N/A

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  N/A

North Carolina finished last season with an 8-5 record overall and they had a 4-4 record in their conference games too.  They were 6-1 in their home games, 1-3 in their road games, and they were also 1-1 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be on the road for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 34.5 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 27.3 points per game. Their offense also averaged 491.2 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 404.4 yards per game. Drake Maye led the team in passing yards with 3608, Omarion Hampton led the team in rushing yards with 1504, and J.J. Jones led the team in receiving yards with 711.

 

 

 

Minnesota finished last season with a 6-7 record overall and they had a 3-6 record in their conference games too.  They were 4-3 in their home games, 1-4 in their road games, and they were also 1-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be at home for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 20.9 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 26.7 points per game. Their offense also averaged 300.9 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 368.4 yards per game. Athan Kaliakmanis led the team in passing yards with 1838, Darius Taylor led the team in rushing yards with 799, and Daniel Jackson led the team in receiving yards with 831.

The current betting odds have Minnesota listed as a 2.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Minnesota wasn't great last season but they managed to get to a bowl game which they lost. They were terrible in the Big Ten but were a lot better in their home games with their 4-3 home record. Offense wasn't their strength last season but they did have a good defense that gave a lot of teams trouble. North Carolina had a good season last year with their 8-5 record overall, but they weren't really a threat in their conference. They were only 4-4 in their conference games and they were worse in their road games too, going 1-3 in those. They had a really good offense that was averaging 34.5 points per game, but their defense was terrible as they averaged 27.3 points allowed per game. Minnesota was the complete opposite last year with their defense not giving up many points but their offense struggling to score. Even with UNC's better offense under Mack Brown, they are still going to be transitioning this offense with a new starting QB so they aren't going to be rolling right out of the gate. Their offense will struggle more in this hostile environment, especially with defense being the strength of Minnesota, and this will end up being a tight game in the end that Minnesota edges out with the home advantage. The best way to place a bet here is on Minnesota to cover the spread in this game.

North Carolina Minnesota Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Thursday, August 29, 2024 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Minnesota 24 UNC 21.

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North Carolina Tar Heels: 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games. 0-7 ATS in the first half of their last 7 games. 7-3 to the first half over in their last 10 games. 

Minnesota Golden Gophers: 3-1 ATS in the first half of their last 4 home games. 5-3 (+1.55 units) on the moneyline in their last 8 home games. 4-2 to the over in their last 6 home games. 

North Carolina Tar Heels:  None.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  D. Taylor (RB) - Leg.

“I think college football has changed more in the last three years than my first 47. And when we left amateurism and went to name, image and likeness (NIL), where players can make money, there’s so many positive things with it, but it’s a huge change. Name, image and likeness and the transfer portal — at the same time.” - Mack Brown on the landscape of college football this season. 

“This is probably our deepest draft class that we’ve had in the eight years we’ve been here, at every position. And it’s gonna be exciting to see how this all comes together, in this new Big Ten. I really like our football team, and I like our chances. I know I sound like broken record, I’ve stood up here and been really honest every single year and I think a lot of people aren’t thinking we’re gonna be very good. I like this football team, I don’t necessarily see that piece.” - P.J. Fleck on his team coming into this college football season.

WR Jones, J.J. 

WR Blackwell, Gavin

WR McCollum, Nate 

TE Copenhaver, John 

QB Johnson, Max 

RB Hampton, Omarion

WR Spencer, Elijah 

WR Brockington, Le'Meke 

WR Jackson, Daniel 

TE Kallerup, Nick 

QB Brosmer, Max 

RB Taylor, Darius 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

North Carolina Tar Heels: Mack Brown (6th season)

Minnesota Golden Gophers: P.J. Fleck (8th season)