The #17 North Carolina Tar Heels (7-1) visit the Virginia Cavaliers (3-5) on Saturday. The kickoff is scheduled for 12 pm ET. Below we continue our College Football odds series with a North Carolina-Virginia prediction and pick.

North Caroline is 7-1 with their lone loss coming at home to Notre Dame. UNC is 4-0 in ACC play and currently sits in first place in the ACC's Coastal Division. The Tar Heels are coming off a convincing 42-24 victory over Pittsburgh. Despite their strong record, the Tar Heels are just 4-3-1 against the spread. UNC's games have been strong over plays, with five of their eight games going over.

Virginia enters this matchup with a 3-5 record. The Cavaliers are just 1-4 in ACC play and currently reside in 6th in the ACC's Coastal Division. Virginia is coming off a 14-12 barn-burner loss to Miami last weekend. The Cavaliers are just as bad against the spread – covering just three of their eight games. Virginia has been one of the most reliable under matchups in the country as six of their eight games have gone under.

Here are the North Carolina-Virginia college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: North Carolina-Virginia Odds

North Carolina Tar Heels: -7.5 (-102)

Virginia Cavaliers: +7.5 (-120)

Over: 60.5 (-110)

Under: 60.5 (-110)

Why North Carolina Could Cover The Spread

The Tar Heels have been one of the surprise teams in College Football this season. After losing now- Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell to the NFL draft, UNC was picked to finish third in the Coastal Division. However, with four conference games remaining the Tar Heels are now the clear front-runners to play in the ACC Championship. A win on Saturday would do wonders for their Coastal Division chances, as they have two huge games remaining against #21 Wake Forest and #22 North Carolina State.

North Carolina has vastly outperformed expectations thanks primarily to their electric offense. The Tar Heels are eighth in the country in total offense – averaging 502 yards per game. 334.4 of those yards come through the air which is UNC's bread and butter. The Tar Heels have the country's sixth-ranked passing offense thanks to a breakout season from true freshman Drake Maye.

Maye was a four-star, top-100 overall prospect who immediately made his mark on the ACC. Maye has exploded this season and leads the ACC in every quarterback statistic. His 2671 yards and over 600 more than the next closest quarterback, while his 29 touchdowns are seven more than anyone else. He's done this while throwing the fewest interceptions (3) of starters in the conference. Oh, and he's completed a league-high 71.3% of his passes. Virginia does have the country's 24th-ranked passing defense, but Maye has proven his ability to perform against top defenses. In their loss to Notre Dame's comparably-solid pass defense, Maye threw for 301 yards and five touchdowns.

North Carolina's defense is certainly a major question mark, however, they're in a nice spot to have a get-right game against an abysmal Virginia offense. The Tar Heels' defense may be suspect, but they have the potential to take advantage of a careless Virginia team. Virginia has lost the second-most turnovers in the entire country. They've fumbled 10 times and thrown nine interceptions.

Why Virginia Could Cover The Spread

Virginia has struggled mightily this season despite being projected to finish right next to North Carolina in the preseason rankings. They are a defensive-minded team who has relied on low-scoring games to get to this point. The Cavaliers are 94th in total offense and have not surpassed 20 points since week one.

While the defense will have to slow down UNC, if Virginia wants to cover the spread they're going to need to figure things out on offense. Senior quarterback Brennan Armstrong had a monster year last season where he threw for over 4000 yards and 31 touchdowns. He's yet to replicate that same success this year, however, as he's only thrown for 1826 yards with a 6:9 touchdown to interception ratio. He has a good opportunity to right the ship on Saturday, however, as the Tar Heels have a horrendous defense that ranks 122nd in both total defense and passing yards allowed.

The Cavaliers' strength lies in their defense – one that will have a tall task in containing North Carolina's fearsome offensive attack. Virginia may be up to the task, however, as they allow just 21.5 points per game. They've been particularly stingy against the pass – allowing just 193 yards per game. While they may not force many turnovers, the Cavaliers possess an all-around solid that ranks third in the ACC in defensive efficiency.

Final North Carolina-Virginia Prediction & Pick

Even with North Carolina's defense getting torched this season, I don't see Virginia's poor offense putting up enough points in this one to keep up.

Final North Carolina-Virginia Prediction & Pick: North Carolina -7.5 (-102)