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The North Carolina Tar Heels (0-0) begin their season on the road as they take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-0). It is time to continue our college football odds series with a North Carolina-Minnesota prediction and pick. We will also let you know how to watch the game.
Here are the College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: North Carolina-Minnesota Odds
North Carolina: -1.5 (-115)
Moneyline: -126
Minnesota: +1.5 (-105)
Moneyline: +105
Over: 51.5 (-110)
Under: 51.5 (-110)
How to Watch North Carolina vs. Minnesota
Time: 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
TV: FOX
Stream: fuboTV (Click Here for free trial)
Why The North Carolina Could Cover The Spread/Win
North Carolina lost Drake Maye to the NFL draft, but they have some viable backups. Their quarterback situation has not been decided, but they have a very good transfer coming in. That is Max Johnson. Johnson made starts at both LSU and Texas A&M. In his career at those two schools, Johnson played in 30 games, threw for 5,852 yards, threw 47 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has great stats heading into his opener with North Carolina, and he should be able to lead them to a win. If Johnson can play well, which he is more than capable of, the Tar Heels will win.
Omarion Hampton returns for the Tar Heels, which is great news for them. Hampton was one of the best running backs in the country in 2023. He ran for over 1,500 yards, scored 15 touchdowns, and averaged 5.9 yards per rush. When Hampton was good, North Carolina was good. The Tar Heels need him to have a good game in this one. The good news is Minnesota allowed 154.7 rush yards per game in the 2023 season. They are a new defense, but Hampton should be able to run like crazy on them.
Why The Minnesota Could Cover The Spread/Win
Minnesota has some new faces coming in this season. The biggest name of them all is Max Brosmer. Brosmer comes in from New Hampshire, but do not be discouraged by his FCS background. Brosmer passed for 29 touchdowns and rushed for five more in 2023 with New Hampshire. The best part of his game is his ability to take care of the ball. Brosmer threw just five interceptions in 2023. He has a chance to lead the Golden Gophers to a great season, and it needs to start against North Carolina.
Minnesota has two big-time offensive stars returning. Darius Taylor is the first of the two. He was one of the better running backs in the Big Ten for the first part of 2023. In fact, he rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown against North Carolina last season. Daniel Jackson is the other. He had 831 receiving yards in 2023 and caught eight touchdowns. He will be Brosmer's top target, so expect him to get a lot of attention on Thursday. If Taylor and Jackson have good games, Minnesota will win.
Final North Carolina-Minnesota Prediction & Pick
This is going to be a close game. Both teams have a new quarterback, but both quarterbacks are good players. I do like Max Johnson a little better in this game, though. Not only does he have FBS experience, but he is coming from the SEC. He knows what it takes to play, and win, in a power conference. I will take North Carolina to cover the spread on Thursday night.
Click here for more betting news & predictions
Final North Carolina-Minnesota Prediction & Pick: North Carolina -1.5 (-115)
