College Bowl Game Odds: Pittsburgh at North Carolina

The Pittsburgh Panthers will have to shake off the disappointment of two straight last-minute losses, including a heartbreaker against Cincinnati that cost them the Big East title as they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels on December 26 at 4:30 PM ET at Bank of America for the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

College Football Betting Odds:

North Carolina Tar Heels +3
Pittsburgh Panthers -3

There is no doubt that North Carolina’s best weapon is their defense, especially against the run. They allowed just 11 TDs over the ground and average less than 93 rushing yards per game, their defensive line is disciplined and don’t give up too many yards.

This is some bad news for Pitt RB Dion Lewis and the rest of the Panthers offense; they will have a tough night because they haven’t faced a defense like this all season.

Pittsburgh might have to put the ball in senior QB Bill Stull hands; but keep in mind Stull played in both losses against West Virginia and Cincinnati. He threw 2 interceptions in each game.

NCAA college football betting fans know the Tar Heels also can also defend the pass game; they have of playmakers in the secondary that will give Stull a headache.

On offense, North Carolina should combine both the passing and rushing game as the Tar Heels shouldn’t lean too much on QB T.J. Yates, he easily makes naïve mistakes that could cost them the game, instead they should give the ball to RB Ryan Houston.

Houston has been off the last 3 weeks, he needs to step up in this game if they want to prove all College Bowl projections wrong.

A fun fact for this game is that both coaches, Panthers’ Dave Wannstedt and Tar Heels’ Butch Davis’, are former Jimmy Johnson disciples.

Consider these college betting trends: Pittsburgh is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games and North Carolina is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games. The total has gone OVER in 4 of North Carolina’s last 6 games but it has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh’s last 8 games.

My pick: Upset by the North Carolina