The North Carolina Tar Heels and Minnesota Golden Gophers will each be playing their first game of the season on Thursday, August 29th. This game will be played at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and televised on FOX.

At 8:00 ET, North Carolina and Minnesota will kick off their seasons at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The game will be broadcast on FOX, and the over/under line is currently set at 49.5 points. North Carolina is the slight -2-point favorite on the road. The money line odds are -132 for North Carolina and +109 for Minnesota. This is the first game of the season for both teams.

North Carolina Tar Heels vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

North Carolina Records And Recent Play

Minnesota Records And Recent Play

North Carolina Offense Breakdown

North Carolina was 21st in the country in scoring last season, putting up 34.5 points per game. A big reason for their offensive success was their ability to convert on 48.7% of their third down chances, which was 9th best in the nation. The Tar Heels were also effective in the passing game, averaging 298.5 yards per game (13th), while their rushing attack averaged 192.5 yards per game, led by Omarion Hampton, who rushed for 1504 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

Heading into the season, Omarion Hampton has the 5th best odds to win the Doak Walker Trophy. North Carolina also added quarterback Max Johnson, who threw for 1452 yards last season at Texas A&M. Conner Harrell, who threw for 270 yards last season, is also back for the Tar Heels.

Minnesota Offense Breakdown

Minnesota’s passing game was a struggle last season, with the team ranking 118th in passing yards per game. Overall, the Gophers ranked 83rd in scoring, putting up 20.9 points per game. Their rushing attack, led by Darius Taylor, was more effective, ranking 61st in the nation. Taylor finished with 799 rushing yards and five touchdowns for the season.

Minnesota has also added quarterback Max Brosmer, who threw for 493 yards and four touchdowns at New Hampshire last season. The Gophers hope that Sieh Bangura, who ran for 811 yards last season at Ohio, will provide a boost to their backfield. In the passing game, Daniel Jackson returns as the top receiver after putting up 831 yards last season.

North Carolina Team Defense

North Carolina’s defense allowed 27.3 points per game last season, ranking them 63rd in the nation. Their pass defense was a significant weakness, giving up 241.2 passing yards per game, which was 128th out of 130 teams. On the ground, the Tar Heels gave up 164.5 rushing yards per game, placing them 116th in college football. Opposing offenses also ran the ball an average of 38.2 times per game against them.

North Carolina Team Defense

Minnesota’s defense allowed 26.7 points per game last season, ranking them 61st in the nation. They had a tough time stopping the run, giving up 149.5 rushing yards per game, and their pass defense was also a weakness, ranking 85th in passing yards allowed. Opposing quarterbacks completed 61.3% of their passes against the Gophers, and they finished 80th in rush yards allowed.

North Carolina vs Minnesota Trends

• Across the North Carolina Tar Heels last ten road games, the team averaged 29 points per game while allowing 31. Their record vs the spread in these contests was 4-6, while going 5-5 straight-up.
• Across their three previous home games, Minnesota has an ATS mark of 1-2. Their straight up record in these matchups was 1-2 while averaging 15 points per game.
• Going back to their previous ten games as the underdog, Minnesota has an ATS mark of 4-6 while going 4-6 straight up.
• Spanning across their last five games as the betting favorite, the North Carolina Tar Heels have gone 1-4 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 2-3.

Tar Heels vs Golden Gophers Prediction

North Carolina is favored by -2 points on the road in their week one matchup against Minnesota. We expect the Tar Heels to win by a score of 27-24, making them the best bet to cover the spread.

With the over/under line set at 49.5 points, our projection of 51 total points suggests that taking the over is the best play for this game.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.