North Carolina Tar Heels at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Saturday, 9/8/12, 3:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN3
Opening Point Spread: North Carolina -8
Current Betting Line: North Carolina -10.5
Opening Total: 54
Current Total: 55.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
North Carolina is coming off a 62-0 blowout win over Elon as 32.5-point home favorites, as it managed to win the statistical battle by 354 yards. The Tar Heels are looking to pick up the pace under new head coach Larry Fedora and offensive coordinator Blake Anderson, which places a lot of pressure on quarterback Bryn Renner. “As far as getting that tempo going, it starts with me,” commented Renner this week. The Tar Heels ended a two-year losing streak in this series last year, picking up a 49-24 win as seven-point home favorites, as it gained 562 total yards. North Carolina is 5-3 ATS in September the last two-plus seasons.
The Tar heels scored six of their seven touchdowns on drives that took 1:55 or less, with all nine of their scoring drive lasting a total of 11 minutes and 48 seconds. North Carolina has a talented running back at its disposal, with Giovani Bernard matching his career high with three touchdowns, finishing with 203 all-purpose yards. On the other side of the ball, senior linebacker Kevin Reddick demonstrated that he loves the new 4-2-5 defensive scheme, while Sylvester Williams tallied two sacks.
Wake Forest gutted out a 20-17 victory over Liberty in its season opener, as it prepares for the 105th meeting in this rivalry. The Demon Deacons have won their last six ACC openers, but will be up against it here, especially due their 34-68-2 mark in this series. “Coming from last year, they’re big, they’re strong with a great running back,” commented Demon Deacons nose guard Nikita Whitlock about this Saturday’s matchup. Wake Forest is 7-9 ATS versus conference opponents the last two-plus seasons.
The Demon Deacons have tallied an impressive 30-8 record against fellow North Carolina schools during his career on campus, which includes winning two of the last three meetings in this series. Quarterback Tanner Price will need to continue to protect the football, as he was one of just two players nationally to throw for more than 3,000 yards and have six or fewer interceptions last year. One of his main targets figures to be Michael Campanero, who is coming off a 96-yard receiving performance.
Sports bettors will likely back the Demon Deacons due to the home team going 5-1 ATS in this series, while the Tar Heels are 0-5 ATS following a straight-up win.
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