The North Carolina Tarheels host the Golden Bears from California in a ACC versus PAC-12 match-up on Saturday, September 2nd at 12:20 p.m. EST. The game in Chapel Hill can be seen on the ACC Network. As of today, odds makers have the Tarheels as -11 point favorites and the over/under has dropped from 61.5 points to 53.
The Golden Bears went 5-7 with a 3-6 record in the PAC-12. To finish off their unimpressive campaign, California was gifted a bowl game against the Air Force Falcons. The Golden Bears took full advantage and beat the Falcons 55-36 in the Armed Forces Bowl. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep head coach Sonny Dykes employed.
The Tar Heels finished with 8-5 record and a 5-4 record in the ACC last season. Because of their resume’, the Tarheels found themselves in the Sun bowl against the Stanford Cardinal. North Carolina performed well, but fell just short in a 25-23 defeat. Now, Mitch Trubisky has moved on to quarterback the Bears and the rebuilding process begins.
California Golden Bears
The Golden Bears trudge into the 2017 season in a rebuilding mode of their own. That could make scoring points an issue for the boys from Berkeley. Davis Webb has moved on to play for the New York Giants. As of now, California has yet to name their starting quarterback for their opener against the Tar Heels. Three young quarterbacks are vying for the starting role.
Sophomore Ross Bowers, who did not see any action last season, should get a chance at some point. Freshman Chase Garbers or South Carolina transfer Brandon McIlwain will also be in the mix.
Fortunately, the Golden Bears do have a solid running attack led by senior Tre Watson. In 2016, Watson recorded 709 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Tail back Vic Enwere pitched in another 336 yards and two more scores.
California also has a decent receiving core, that includes Demetris Robinson. Robinson had an outstanding freshman campaign. The greenhorn brought in 767 receiving yards with seven touchdowns. He is poised for another big season in 2017. Melquise Stovall will hold down the other side. Last year, Stovall reeled in 42 catches for 415 yards and three end zone grabs.
The CAL defense was awful last season, so there is a ton of room for improvement. Last year’s leading tackler Devante Browns, is back after making 83 tackles and two sacks last season. Also, corner back Marloshawn Franklin will return. Franklin held his own in the pass-happy PAC-12. The cover corner deflected six passes last season and will be relied on in the secondary.
Overall, the Golden Bears are in for a tough season again and could find themselves finishing near the bottom. The Golden Bears allowed an average of 42.6 points per game in 2016, placing them at 127th in the nation in scoring defense.
North Carolina Tarheels
Like California, The North Carolina Tar Heels head into the 2017 season having to replace a majority of their offense. They also have three options at quarterback. However, it likely will fall on the arm of LSU transfer Brandon Harris. Over three years in Death Valley, Harris recorded 20 touchdowns with 10 picks.
Keeping with the theme, the Tarheels also brought in Stanton Truitt on a transfer from Auburn. Truitt has tallied 215 rushing yards in his NCAA College Football career. North Carolina also will play tail back Jordon Brown. Brown has only rushed for 45 yards in his 2016 freshman season.
Lastly, the North Carolina offense also lacks experience and depth at wide receiver. Wide receiver Austin Proehl returns to try and stop the bleeding. The 5-foot-10 senior wide out made 43 catches for 597 yards with three trips to the end zone last season.
Defensively, the Tarheels were solid last year with the exception of stopping the run. Once again, they will rely heavily on their defense this season with several starters returning for 2017.
Line backer Cole Holcomb returns to the squad after a tremendous 2016 season. The junior linebacker led the Tar Heels with 115 tackles and deflected five passes. They also return Malik Carney who led them with 5.5 sacks last season. Overall, The North Carolina defense conceded 24.9 points per game, ranking them 43rd in the country.
Prediction
North Carolina will be going with an unproven starter, who has limited experience at quarterback. To make matters worse, they also have two inexperienced running backs. I can’t imagine them pulling away in this football game. There are just to many new players to adjust to the system for that to occur.
Furthermore, the Golden Bears will bring a solid running game to the party. Although the Tarheels will get pressure on CAL’s quarterback, their run defense is their weak link. I see the Golden Bears grinding it out, having some success on the ground. No matter what, these two young teams are too close for the 11 point spread. Take the underdog with the +11 and watch an ugly game unfold before your eyes.
Trends
The Golden Bears are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.
The Golden Bears are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
The Over is 5-2 in the Golden Bears last 7 road games.
The Over is 10-4 in the Golden Bears last 14 games overall.
The Tar Heels are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games.
The Tar Heels are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
The Under is 4-0 in the Tar Heels last 4 games overall.
The Over is 4-1 in the Tar Heels last 5 vs. PAC-12.
The getmoresports.com NCAA College Football Throwdown Podcast will be returning to the air on August 24th. We will be highlighting the first five games on August 26th of the 2017 NCAA College Football season. That will be the first of three installments leading into the first week of the season. We also we will be covering our expectations for the Heisman Trophy front runners as well as predictions for conference winners and team totals.
Our second NCAA College Football Throwdown is penciled in for August 29th. In that installment, we will be discussing all the games that will be played on August 31st and the 1st of September.
Our third segment will officially be airing on August 31st. In this edition of the NCAA College Football Throwdown, we will be covering all the relevant games for Sept 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
