PREMIUM
Rogers' Thursday Night ESPN WINNER (UNC/Duke)
(NCAAF) North Carolina vs. Duke,
Point Spread: -10.50 | -106.00 North Carolina (Away)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: -10.50 | -106.00 North Carolina (Away)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Tar Heels lost their season-opener to South Carolina last year but then won 11 straight games (8-0 in ACC play) to earn a spot in the ACC championships opposite Clemson. North Carolina lost 45-37 to the Tigers and then lost 49-38 in a bowl game to Baylor. North Carolina enters this Thursday night contest 7-2 (5-1 in the ACC Coastal) at Duke (3-6 / 0-5 in ACC play) intent on staying even with Va. Tech (also 5-1), although the Hokies own the tiebreaker over the Tar Hells due to Va. Tech's 34-3 win over North Carolina. Duke entered the 2016 season off four straight bowl appearances, averaging between 31.5 and 32.8 PPG each season. However, the 2016 edition of the Blue Devils is going nowhere this season, still searching for the team's first league win while averaging just 24.1 PPG on the year.
North Carolina: Junior QB Mitch Trubisky is completing 70.3 percent of his passes for 2,707 yards and 19 TDs with only two INTs and senior WR Ryan Switzer has 70 receptions. The running game is nothing special (152.9 YPG on 4.8 YPC) but North Carolina does have two solid RBs in Hood (644 yards on 6.0 YPC & 8 TDs) plus Logan (506 yards on 6.0 YPC & 7 TDs). Last year's defense was the team's Achilles' heel (allowed 94 points in the ACC title game and in its bowl loss) but this year's unit seems to be pulling together, allowing a modest 15.7 PPG during its three-game winning streak.
Duke: The Blue Devils lost starting QB Thomas Sirk before the season and leading rusher Jela Duncan went down a few weeks ago. Freshman QB Daniel Jones has done a decent job (62.0% for 2,037 yards with 11 TDs, 9 INTs and 375 rushing yards with 5 TDs) but he's no Trubisky. Duke is the only ACC team without a conference victory and enters its home finale on a three-game losing streak. The defense has played reasonably well (23.9 PPG) but when the offense is getting just 24.1 PPG, a team tends to struggle. "We could have very easily won all three of those games, there's no doubt about that," head coach David Cutcliffe said about the team's three-game slide. As for upcoming North Carolina? "We don't really look at their record, that's not something that we pay attention to, Fedora added. "We know we're going to get their best game and hopefully we're going to give them our best game." He then added, "There's a reason we are 3-6."
The pick: This is Duke's final home game and the Blue Devils are on an 11-5 ATS run as a home dog but North Carolina will take a nine-game road winning streak into this contest, including wins this season at then-No. 12 Florida State and then-No. 16 Miami-Fla. North Carolina is an 8* play.
North Carolina: Junior QB Mitch Trubisky is completing 70.3 percent of his passes for 2,707 yards and 19 TDs with only two INTs and senior WR Ryan Switzer has 70 receptions. The running game is nothing special (152.9 YPG on 4.8 YPC) but North Carolina does have two solid RBs in Hood (644 yards on 6.0 YPC & 8 TDs) plus Logan (506 yards on 6.0 YPC & 7 TDs). Last year's defense was the team's Achilles' heel (allowed 94 points in the ACC title game and in its bowl loss) but this year's unit seems to be pulling together, allowing a modest 15.7 PPG during its three-game winning streak.
Duke: The Blue Devils lost starting QB Thomas Sirk before the season and leading rusher Jela Duncan went down a few weeks ago. Freshman QB Daniel Jones has done a decent job (62.0% for 2,037 yards with 11 TDs, 9 INTs and 375 rushing yards with 5 TDs) but he's no Trubisky. Duke is the only ACC team without a conference victory and enters its home finale on a three-game losing streak. The defense has played reasonably well (23.9 PPG) but when the offense is getting just 24.1 PPG, a team tends to struggle. "We could have very easily won all three of those games, there's no doubt about that," head coach David Cutcliffe said about the team's three-game slide. As for upcoming North Carolina? "We don't really look at their record, that's not something that we pay attention to, Fedora added. "We know we're going to get their best game and hopefully we're going to give them our best game." He then added, "There's a reason we are 3-6."
The pick: This is Duke's final home game and the Blue Devils are on an 11-5 ATS run as a home dog but North Carolina will take a nine-game road winning streak into this contest, including wins this season at then-No. 12 Florida State and then-No. 16 Miami-Fla. North Carolina is an 8* play.
