College football odds, picks and prediction for North Carolina Tar Heels vs South Carolina Gamecocks. Week 1 betting free pick and game analysis.
Saturday night features a battle of the Carolinas, as the North Carolina Tar Heels and South Carolina Gamecocks square off in Charlotte. One of the more anticipated games of the opening weekend pits North Carolina’s high-flying offense and Heisman contender Drake Maye against a South Carolina side that hopes Spencer Rattler’s play down the stretch last season wasn’t simply an aberration.
Ranked 21st in the nation, the Tar Heels are hoping to make a run at the ACC title and fix some of the issues that caused them to collapse down the stretch a season ago. On the other side, South Carolina is looking to pull off a small upset and build on what was a strong finish to last season for the Gamecocks.for Saturday, September 2. What did Stetson Bennett have in common last season with KJ Jefferson, Brady Cook, Anthony Richardson, and Tyler Buchner? If you guessed that they all led their teams to wins against South Carolina, you’d be correct. However, if you answered that all five of those quarterbacks scored rushing touchdowns against the Gamecocks, well … er… you’d also be correct. Each of them found the end zone on the ground, with Buchner doing so twice in their bowl game victory.’s run defense was in 2022. Only 13 teams in FBS gave up more than the 5.1 yards per carry gained by their opponents a season ago, and that number got worse as the season went along and competition got tougher. South Carolina also ranked 52nd in red zone defense, and ranked 105th in offensive touchdowns allowed with nearly four per contest. And how did that defense improve this offseason? Quite frankly, it didn’t. If anything, it’s likely taken a hit. Multiple starters are gone, with only one returning defensive lineman. to find the endzone with his legs — not just his arm — on Saturday against South Carolina.quarterback is an early Heisman contender, whom many consider the second-best quarterback prospect in the upcoming draft. But there might need to be some tempering of expectations regarding his passing numbers. First of all, he’s got a stable of running backs around him that are likely going to get a few more carries this season. That’s a good thing early in the season because Maye’s other concern is the talent at wide receiver. Josh Downs is now in the NFL, and the status of Devontez Walker is still in the air with many Tar Heel fans hoping the NCAA will declare him eligible on Friday just in time for the game. Either way, we’re likely to see more of the ground game from the Tar Heels. New offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey likes to run the ball from the spread, and knows setting up the play-action game could work wonders for Maye. The North Carolina coaching staff has hinted all summer that the run game is a focus, after it struggled last year. But even when Maye drops back to throw, South Carolina will need to be fearful of the ground game. That’s because Maye’s 561 rushing yards from scrambles last season were the second-most of any quarterback in the nation. Maye found the endzone with his legs seven times last season, scoring in six different games. That includes in four of his final six games, in which teams began blitzing at a much higher rate. If South Carolina has any hope of putting pressure on Maye, it’ll need to come via that route, as their pass rush is quite poor. That’ll open up a few more lanes for him to take off, enabling Maye to do exactly what every other quarterback that beat them a season ago managed to do. Bank on him to scamper into the endzone at some point and cash our best bet.
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