NCAA Football Wagering – North Carolina Tar Heels at Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes (2-1 SU, 2-0 ATS) will be looking to avenge last year’s loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1 SU, 1-1 ATS) when they meet up with their former coach’s team at Noon ET on Saturday at Dolphin Stadium (natural turf) in Miami.
Saturday, September 27
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: MIAMI -8, Total 45
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* NC has lost 16 of its last 24 games SU
* NC has lost 13 of its last 15 road games SU
* NC has played 18 of its last 25 road games OVER the total
* MIA has lost five of its last seven games SU
* MIA has won 11 of its last 15 home games SU
Miami has scored one point for every 9.9 yards gained. That’s actually pretty impressive, and Hurricanes backers are encouraged by the play of freshman QB Robert Marve, who got some prep time, stepped up and hit 16 of 22 for 212 yards and two TD’s against Texas A&M. The “Canes did a yeoman job of shutting down the Aggies’ running game as well. You can not ignore the Miami stop unit, and this presents an extra challenge to the Tar Heels, who have lost quarterback T.J. Yates for at least six weeks with a busted ankle. Cameron Sexton may start – he’s had starting experience from 2006 (when John Bunting was the coach), but he’s not Butch Davis’ guy, and freshman Mike Paulus threw two interceptions in eight attempts on Saturday against Virginia Tech.
Part of what should be great concern is that the North Carolina ground attack hasn’t been functioning. Sure, Greg Little got off on a 50-yard run, but aside from that it was 53 net yards in 32 attempts for the Heels. There will be a lot of pressure on all-purpose guy Brandon Tate, who has been averaging 99 receiving yards a contest. Miami is seeking a large measure of revenge for last year’s 33-27 defeat, in which four interceptions did them in. Thus far, even though the season is young, Marve has tossed just one pick.
Yates was 12th in the nation in passing efficiency when he went down. Sexton, who was a heavily-recruited high school QB, completed just 42% of his passes in his previous stint as the regular. North Carolina’s not been a road warrior, losing 11 of their last 13 games in that role. Whoever plays the QB position is going to have some talent around him, but the question here becomes who is pulling the trigger. We’re going to lay the points with Miami, the eight-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA college football betting odds.
