College Football Odds: Tar Heels vs Yellow Jackets
North Carolina Tar Heels (3-0 SU, 1-1 ATS) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-1, 0-2 ATS)
Saturday, September 26: 12:00 p.m.
BetUS.com Football Betting Odds: Georgia Tech -3 ½, Total Points 45
Although North Carolina and Georgia Tech come into Saturday’s matchup with a combined five wins, each team is still trying to figure out who they are.
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For Georgia Tech, expectations have rarely been higher in Atlanta, as they came into the season ranked in the top 20, after a nine win season in 2008. But how quickly things change, as the Yellow Jackets sit at 2-1, with an embarrassing loss to Miami a week ago and a late come from behind victory over Clemson the Thursday before that. 
Georgia Tech’s problem all season has been their struggles running the ball, and the inability to pass it, which is never good when you’re an option team. The Yellow Jackets were only able to get 95 yards on the ground last week against Miami, and over 80 those yards came on the first drive. That of course put a lot of pressure on quarterback Josh Nesbitt’s shoulders, and he has struggled. Although he did throw for 133 yards in the game, he was only 6 for 15 in the pocket, and never truly appears to be comfortable when forced to throw the ball in 3rd and long situations.
As for North Carolina, it hasn’t always been pretty, but they’ve found their way to a 3-0 start. After struggling two weeks ago at Connecticut, they looked much better last week against East Carolina. On the day, their offense finally got going, as they racked up 433 yards of total offense.
But as good as their offense is, the Tar Heels bread and butter will always be their defense. On the season they are currently ranked No. 6 in the country in total defense, giving up just 198 yards per game. They’ve also only allowed 11 points a game on average, good for 11th in the country in scoring defense.
In this one, I look for North Carolina to stack the box, and force Georgia Tech to beat them in the air. We all know that Georgia Tech wants to run the ball, but when forced to throw, they become a lot more vulnerable offensively. Also, it is no secret that the Tar Heels would like to get up early in this one, as it’s always hard for option based teams to come back from large deficits.
Look for North Carolina’s defense to keep this one low scoring, but whether they ultimately cover the 3 ½ points they’re getting on the road, will be up to their offense. Quarterback T.J. Yates had one of his best performances of the young season last week against East Carolina, hitting his young receivers for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Only time will tell if he can repeat that performance.
It’s desperation time at Georgia Tech, and they cannot afford to lose this game and fall to 1-2 in the ACC. However, if the last six quarters of their season are any indication, they might be in trouble.
Look for North Carolina to play stout defense, and limit Georgia Tech’s running game. In the process, they will cover the 3 ½ point spread.
OUR Pick: North Carolina + 3 ½
