North Carolina Tar Heels at Miami Hurricanes
Saturday, 10/23/2010, 7:30 PM EST, TV: ESPN2
Opening Point Spread: Miami -6.5
Current Betting Line: Miami -6.5
Opening Total: 49.5
Current Total: 48
Current Moneyline: Miami -255 / North Carolina +215
North Carolinas is enjoying a four-game winning streak despite having 16 players sanctioned during an NCAA investigation and is coming off an impressive 44-10 win at Virginia. The Tar Heels have also won all three meetings in this series under current head coach Butch Davis. “They’ve got our number now,” Miami head coach Randy Shannon stated. “We’ve got to find a way to change it.” Both coaches became good friends during Davis’ stint at running the program at Miami before heading off to the NFL. “This will probably be the biggest challenge that our football team’s had this season,” Davis commented. North Carolina hasn’t won fivein a row since accomplishing the feat in 2001, as the program has posted consecutive wins over Rutgers, East Carolina, Clemson and Virginia to rebound from an 0-2 start. The team is 5-1 ATS this season and the total is 3-3 O/U in those contests.
The Tar Heels are led by quarterback T.J. Yates and his 1,495 passing yards that ranks third in the ACC and he also possesses the lowest interception percentage in the country. He has just once interception in 182 attempts this year. North Carolina is definitely aware of how important protecting the football has been in this series recently, with Miami having 10 and the Tar Heels only committing one in the last three games in the series. Carolina leads the ACC and ranks seventh in the country in turnover margin (+1.17). Each of the last three meetings have been decided by 10 points or less.
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Miami is 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play heading into an ACC matchup against the Tar Heels at Sun Life Stadium. The Hurricanes are coming off an impressive 28-13 win at Duke in a game which Miami created seven turnovers and tallied a season-best 448 yards offensively. Quarterback JacoryHarris threw for 224 yards and a touchdown, while not throwing an interception for just the second time this season. Harris is tied for second in the conference with nine interceptions. Miami’s offensive attack also has been lifted by the recent performance of senior running back Damien Berry, who comes in having recorded three straight 100-yard rushing games. The team is 7-12 ATS versus conference opponents.
The Hurricanes defense was dominating versus the Blue Devils in their last game, forcing five interceptions and two fumbles while holding a solid passing attack to 187 yards. Miami has also led the country in tackles for loss all season, averaging 9.5 per game. The defense leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in total defense and pass defense. On the other side of the ball, Miami’s offensive line has been great this season, ranking third in the ACC in allowing just eight sacks through six games. The unit’s 1.33 sacks per game is an improvement of over a sack per contest from last year (2.69 pg).
Bettors will be interested in the Tar Heels 16-5 ATS mark as an underdog, while the Hurricanes are a dismal 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games as a home favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. North Carolina is the only way to look in the this game and taking 6.5 or 7 looks like a decent wager.
There are plenty of other games on the Saturday card that are offering much more value including a rare 20 unit release from the Maddux Sports handicappers. So far this season in college football they have released five 20 unit picks, the record is 5-0. This is the closest thing to a sure thing you will find in the handicapping industry. Get signed up for this big release via the college football handicapping page of the site.
