Can Daniel Jackson lead Minnesota to a win over North Carolina on Thursday night?
Week 1 of the college football season is here, and we have a great matchup on tap for Thursday, August 29. Check out our preview of North Carolina at Minnesota! Enjoy the action, and best of luck with all of your wagers!
The Tarheels lost Drake Maye and will not have an easy time replacing him. The Spring battle left the position without a clear-cut starter. Whoever gets most of the snaps will also be without Tez Waler on the outside who is now in the NFL.
Luckily, Omarion Hampton is back in the backfield and provides the offense with one of the best weapons in the conference. While the deep threats may not be there this season, Nesbit and Copenhaver will give the offense a boost from the tight end position. The issue, as always for Mack Brown and UNC, will be the defense. The group is young this season and will have a lot to prove.
Minnesota will be led by Max Brosmer at QB who transferred in from New Hampshire. The entirety of the receiving corps is full of questions except for Daniel Jackson. He was all-conference 2nd team last season and has his eyes set on being 1st team this season.
Darius Taylor is back at running back this season and is finally healthy. He looked great before the injuries piled up for him last season. He will be running behind a line that returns all but 1 starter. The defense took a step back last season, but head coach PJ Fleck brought in Corey Hetherman to take over as coordinator. He will have his hands full with holes in the secondary and defensive front.
Best Bet: Minnesota Golden Gophers -1.5
While most of the time, defenses are ahead of offenses early in the season, this matchup should be the opposite. Neither team has a defense that is coming in with any real threat of holding teams to under 20+ ppg out of the gate.
However, Minnesota looks to have the best pieces in place on the offensive side of the ball. PJ Fleck loves to run the ball and has a healthy Darius Taylor running behind a veteran offensive line. We believe the Gophers get this done in the season opener at home.
Key Betting Trends for UNC at Minnesota
UNC is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games.
UNC is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games on the road.
Minn is 6-1 SU in their last 7 games played in week 1.
Minn is 10-0 SU in their last 10 games played in August.
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Bill Christy is a seasoned bettor who operates his own handicapping business. As a senior writer, Bill provides in-depth analysis and identifies edges across several sports at EatWatchBet, including the NFL, CFB, NBA, CBB, and UFC.
