The college football season has officially begun allowing NCAA fans to get back into the sports betting action. Week 1 features many fascinating matchups that will have heavy implications on how the rest of the season will turnout. Included among those matchups are four games between Top 25 schools, including the matchup between No. 18 Georgia and No. 22 North Carolina to be held at the Georgia Dome. Let’s check in on the NCAA football betting odds and see what they have to say about this ballgame.
Saturday, September the 3rd
North Carolina Tar Heels +2 ½ (EVEN) 56 (-110) +125
Georgia Bulldogs -2 ½ (-120) 56 (-110) -145
North Carolina is coming off a season that saw them post an 11-3 record and even more impressive was their ACC record which was an outstanding 8-0. The Tar Heels went on to win the ACC Coastal Division Championship but ended up losing ACC Championship Game to Atlantic Division Champion Clemson. Even though the Tar Heels had an exceptional regular season, their postseason was filled with nothing but woes. After losing the ACC Championship Game Carolina went on to lose the Russell Athletic Bowl to Baylor. While the Tar Heels luck ran out in the postseason, the same cannot be said about their opponent.
The Bulldogs came in as sports betting favorites to win the Eastern Division in 2015. Georgia’s 4-0 start to the season showed that they were capable of accomplishing it too. However that hope was short lived as Georgia ended up losing 3 games by the end of the season, all to SEC rivals. The failure to live up to the preseason hype forced Georgia’s management to fire head coach Mark Richt. Some considered this move to be quite flagrant, considering that Richt had spent 15 years with the organization, posting a record of 145-51. Interim head coach Bryan McClendon led the Bulldogs to a 24-17 victory over the Nittany Lions to end the season on a high note.
Kirby Smart, who spent the last several years at Alabama, is eager to prove himself as the best Nick Saban protégé in the nation. After 8 years with the Crimson Tide, Smart is finally ready to become a head coach for the first time in his career. Luckily enough for Smart, he’s taking over a pretty solid team. Last season Georgia had no problem establishing their running game putting up an average of 190.4 YPG (yards-per-game). However, they did struggle with their passing game putting up a mere 185.1 YPG. Greyson Lambert will be returning this season for the Bulldogs. He will be looking to add to his list of NCAA records after setting the college football record for completion percentage in a game last season (96%). Defensively the Bulldogs performed well last year, but that won’t guarantee success this season considering their 4 best tacklers won’t be returning.
Looking at last year’s stats might prove that UNC has the advantage offensively; they put up 262.2 YPG through the air and 224.7 YPG on the ground. Unlike their opponent however, they will have a new quarterback stepping in on offense. Mitch Trubisky is the man getting the call but it should be noted that he did have some snaps last season, posting an 85.1% completion percentage and 555 yards with an impressive 6 touchdowns. Defensively North Carolina struggled stopping the run and if Georgia is looking to prove the sportsbooks wrong then they should exploit this weakness.
Ultimately, this matchup is too close to call and fans looking for a nail-biting game should not miss this ballgame.
