North Carolina has lost their last three bowl games, as they face West Virginia in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a Duke's Mayo Bowl North Carolina-West Virginia prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Duke's Mayo Bowl began in 2002 as the Continental Tire Bowl. Originally this bowl paired an ACC team with one from the Big East and then the American Athletic Conference. The bowl has always been played at Bank of American Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, and became the Meineke Car Care Bowl, before becoming the Belk Bowl from 2011-2019. In 2020, Duke's Mayo took over, and the conference tie-ins changed. The American was replaced with a team from the SEC of Big Ten. The Big Ten plays in even years, and the SEC in odd years. Also, introduced was the Mayo Dump. Duke's Mayo is dumped on the winning coach at the end of the game.

The ACC will be represented by North Carolina. North Carolina is 8-4 on the year. They started hot, going 6-0 before they were upset in back-to-back weeks. They would lose to Virginia and Georgia Tech but rebound to beat Campbell and Duke. Still, they ended the season on a sour note, losing to Clemson and North Carolina State in the last two weeks. This is the sixth time North Carolina has played in this game, and the second in the Mayo Bowl. They have won just once though, back in 2013.

West Virginia took the SEC spot with not enough bowl-eligible teams this year. They have played in this game before though. They lost the original Continental Tire Bowl in 2002 to Virginia. Then, in 2008, they beat North Carolina 31-30. After opening the season by losing to Penn State, it was thought it would be a long year for West Virginia. They would win their next four games. After a two-game losing streak, with losses to Houston and Oklahoma State, West Virginia won four of their last five games to get to eight wins, the most under Neal Brown.

Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

Duke's Mayo Bowl Odds: North Carolina-West Virginia Odds

North Carolina: +6.5 (-105)

West Virginia: -6.5 (-115)

Over: 54.5 (-115)

Under: 54.5 (-105)

How to Watch North Carolina vs. West Virginia

Time: 5:30 PM ET/ 2:30 PM PT

TV: ESPN

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why North Carolina Will Cover The Spread

North Carolina enters the game 16th in the nation in scoring this year while sitting fifth in yards per game. They were eighth in passing yards per game while sitting 20th in the rush. Still, they are missing a lot in this game. Drake Maye will not be playing in this game, and neither will wide receiver Tez Walker. Maye had 3,608 yards this year and 24 touchdowns. Starting in his place will be Conner Harrell. Harrell attempted six passes this year, completing four of them for 71 yards and a touchdown.

The loss of Maye will put a lot of pressure on First-Team All-ACC running back Omarion Hampton. Hampton enters the game with 1,438 yards this year and 15 touchdowns. Further, he has fumbled just twice this year, both in the game with Clemson. Hampton has been solid after contact this year, with over 1,000 yards after first contact, as he has forced 63 missed tackles. He also has 35 runs over ten yards this year.

The top receiver for this team, Tez Walker, will be out in this game. He has 699 yards and seven scores on the year. Bryson Nesbit could be out too, as he is dealing with an injury. He has 585 yards and five scores this year. This will lead to J.J. Jones having to take a bigger role. He has 42 receptions this year for 658 yards and two scores.

On defense, North Carolina was 80th in points allowed per game, while sitting 101st in yards allowed. They were 116th against the run and 96th against the passing game. First-team ACC-Linebacker Cedric Gray has opted out of this game, but second-team All-ACC defensive end Kaimon Rucker is playing. He led the team with eight sacks while having 58 quarterback pressures. He also was solid in the run game with 33 stops for offensive failures and two forced fumbles.

Why West Virginia Will Cover The Spread

West Virginia finished the year 48th in points per game while sitting 30th in yards per game, They were fourth in the nation in the run, while sitting 95th in the nation in the passing game. Garrett Greene leads this passing attack. He has 2,171 yards this year on a 53.1 percent completion rate. He also had 15 touchdowns this year, with seven in the last four games. Greene also takes care of the ball well. He has just four interceptions, with just eight turnover-worthy passes.

Greene was also a major factor in the running game. He had 699 yards on the year before sack adjustment. Greene also scored 13 times on the ground. CJ Donaldson was the leading runningback having 795 yards this year on the ground with 11 scores. Jaheim White was second on the team with 792 yards and three scores.

The receiving game was led by Devin Carter, who has 501 yards and two scores this year. Still, he was injured late in the year and may not play in this one. They will then rely on the tight end Kole Taylor. He has 408 yards this year and four scores on 33 receptions. They also have Hudson Clement who has 391 yards this year and four scores as well.

On defense, West Virginia was 75th in the nation in points against per game. They were 70th against the rush while sitting 86th against the passing game. Beanie Bishop Jr. was a first-team All-Big 12 selection this year. On the year, he was solid in run support, with 19 stops for offensive failures, but he was even better against the pass. Bishop had four interceptions this year and 14 pass breakups, but he did allow four scores.

Final North Carolina-West Virginia Prediction & Pick

The players missing for the Tar Heels will be a major issue in this game. They are missing almost their entire offense. West Virginia can control the clock with an amazing running game. With that, the offense for UNC will have more pressure to take advantage of any scoring chance in this game. They do not have the players to do that in this one. Take West Virginia and lay the points.

Final North Carolina-West Virginia Prediction & Pick: West Virginia -6.5 (-115)