North Carolina Tar Heels vs West Virginia Mountaineers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/27/2023

Game Time: 5:30 pm ET, Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Venue:  Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UNC +6.5, WVU -6.5; Over/Under:  54 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UNC +6.5, WVU -6.5; Over/Under:  54 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UNC +6.5, WVU -6.5; Over/Under:  54 points

North Carolina Tar Heels:  8-4 (4-4) (6th place, ACC)

West Virginia Mountaineers:  8-4 (6-3) (5th place, Big 12)

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North Carolina Tar Heels:  lost their last game on the road against the North Carolina State Wolfpack 39-20.

West Virginia Mountaineers:  won their last game on the road against the Baylor Bears 34-31.

North Carolina is entering this game with an 8-4 record overall and they have a 4-4 record in their conference games too. They are 6-1 in their home games, 1-3 in their road games, and they are also 1-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against NC State 39-20. Drake Maye was the starting QB and he completed 22/38 passes for 254 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Drake Maye led the team in rushing yards with 106 and 1 TD. John Copenhaver led the receivers with 64 receiving yards on 5 receptions and 1 TD. Cedric Gray led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 11 assisted tackles while Cedric Gray and Amari Gainer each led the defense in sacks with 0.5. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

West Virginia is entering this game with an 8-4 record overall and they have a 6-3 record in their conference games too. They are 5-1 in their home games, 3-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Baylor 34-31. Garrett Greene was the starting QB and he completed 16/25 passes for 269 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Jahiem White led the team in rushing yards with 133. Hudson Clement led the receivers with 80 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Ben Cutter led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles while Aubrey Burks, Jared Bartlett, and Edward Vesterinen each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have West Virginia listed as a 6.5 point favorite in this Mayo Bowl game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. West Virginia has looked really good in their games this season with their 8-4 record overall as they were a big surprise when most picked WVU to finish last in the Big 12. Meanwhile, North Carolina also looked great in their games with their 8-4 record overall, but they were a much stronger team at the beginning of the season. They haven't looked as good in their games lately coming down the stretch while West Virginia continued to be a steady force all season. North Carolina is also dealing with a lot more key players entering the transfer portal while West Virginia will be looking to win this game and start next season on a positive note as they continue to build this program. North Carolina hasn't looked good on defense over their last 3 games of the season either so West Virginia will be able to take advantage of that and that will be key to winning this game for them. The best way to place a bet here is on West Virginia to cover the spread in this game. 

North Carolina West Virginia Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Wednesday, December 27, 2023 (5:30 pm ET start time) is WVU 31 UNC 21.

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North Carolina Tar Heels: 11-6 ATS off an upset loss as a road favorite. 13-7 ATS after 3 consecutive games with a turnover margin of -1 or worse. 6-1 OVER when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 9-4 OVER after gaining 6.25 or more yards/play in 2 consecutive games.

West Virginia Mountaineers: 5-19 ATS in a bowl game. 1-12 ATS as a neutral field favorite. 6-12 ATS after a road game where both teams score 31 points or more. 8-4 OVER in all games. 8-4 OVER as a neutral field favorite. 6-1 OVER after a game where they committed no turnovers. 

North Carolina Tar Heels:  N. McCollum (WR) Ques Wed - Lower Body. B. Nesbit (TE) Out Wed - Lower Body. J. Copenhaver (TE) Out Wed - Lower Body. K. Paysour (WR) Out indefinitely - Foot. G. Pettaway (RB) out for season - Redshirt. R. Coe (PK) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. J. Cowan (DL) out for season - Upper Body. B. Kiernan (P) out for season - Lower Body. J. Randolph (TE) out for season - Lower Body.

West Virginia Mountaineers:  P. Fox (WR) Ques Wed - Undisclosed. C. Donaldson Jr. (RB) Out Wed - Undisclosed. Z. Frazier (OL) Out Wed - Undisclosed. J. Faverus (LB) out for season - Leg. L. Dixon (LB) Out indefinitely - Suspension. T. Lathan (LB) out for season - Ankle. K. Cobb (S) out for season - Undisclosed.

“It's on me, completely. You can't play as bad as we did in the first half without the head coach doing a poor job. And I had our team poorly prepared, obviously." - Mack Brown after his team’s loss against NC State in their last game of the college football regular season.

“Garrett’s really good in the two-minute drill. We scored two touchdowns tonight (after taking over) with less than a minute and a half and zero timeouts. He’s good with his ability to run and get the ball down the field vertically.” - Neal Brown after his team’s win against Baylor in their last game of the college football regular season.

WR Blackwell, Gavin 

WR Jones, J.J.   

WR Nesbit, Bryson 

TE May, Deems 

QB Harrell, Conner 

RB Hampton, Omarion

WR Fox, Preston   

WR Ray, Traylon  

WR Carter, Devin 

TE Taylor, Kole 

QB Greene, Garrett 

RB Donaldson Jr., CJ

FB Hamilton, Luke

Passing: D. Maye (3608)

Rushing: O. Hampton (1442)

Receiving: D. Walker (699)

Touchdowns: O. Hampton (16)

Passing: G. Greene (2178)

Rushing: C. Donaldson (798)

Receiving: D. Carter (501)

Touchdowns: G. Greene (13)

Coaches:

North Carolina Tar Heels: Mack Brown (5th season)

West Virginia Mountaineers: Neal Brown (5th season)