Georgia State at North Carolina - 9/11/21 College Football Picks and Prediction
Photo by Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
North Carolina Tar Heels (0-1) vs Georgia State Panthers (0-1)
Game Info: Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 7:30 pm (Kenan Memorial Stadium)
Betting Odds: North Carolina Tar Heels -26 -- Over/Under: 66 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Georgia State Panthers will travel to Kenan Stadium to take on the 24th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels this Saturday night in College Football action.
The Georgia State Panthers (0-1) opened their season in disappointing fashion after being defeated by the Army Black Knights, 43-10, this past Saturday. Army dominated Georgia State on both ends of the field throughout the game and the Panthers could not fight back into the game after going into halftime trailing by a 27-7 margin. Georgia State was outgained by Army by a 356-177 margin and lost the turnover battle by a 2-0 margin in the loss. Offensively, Georgia State was led by RB Destin Coates who had 48 rushing yards & 1 TD on 13 carries. QB Cornelious Brown completed 12 of 20 passes for 129 yards & 1 INT. The top receiving threats for Brown and the Panthers were Jamari Thrash (7 rec, 87 yards), Roger Carter (2 rec, 17 yards), & Terrance Dixon (1 rec, 10 yards).
Defensively, Georgia State allowed the Black Knights rushing attack to pile up 258 rushing yards & 4 TD’s and were also burned by their limited passing game as Army completed 3 of 4 passes for 98 yards & 2 TD. Leading the way for the Panthers defense was Thomas Gore (8 tackles, 0.5 TFL) & Jordan Veneziale (8 tackles, 1 TFL).
The 24th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels dropped to 0-1 on the season after being upset by the Virginia Tech Hokies, 17-10, this past Friday. North Carolina and their high-octane offense led by Heisman hopeful Sam Howell could not get anything going against the Hokies defense and could not fight back after a 48-yard FG by Virginia Tech’s John Parker gave the Hokies a 17-7 early in the 4th quarter. UNC outgained Virginia Tech by a 354-296 margin, however, lost the turnover battle by a 3-2 margin in the loss. Offensively, North Carolina was led WR Josh Downs who had 8 receptions for 123 yards & 1 TD. QB Sam Howell completed 17 of 32 passes for 208 yards, 1 TD, & 3 INT. The other top receivers outside of Josh Downs were Emery Simmons (3 rec, 46 yards) & Antoine Green (2 rec, 20 yards). Leading the way for the North Carolina backfield was the duo of Ty Chandler (10 car, 66 yards) & D.J. Jones (6 car, 43 yards).
Defensively, North Carolina had trouble containing the Hokies QB Braxton Burmeister who completed 12 of 19 passes for 169 yards, 1 TD, & 1 INT while also rushing for 42 yards & 1 TD. Leading the way for the Tar Heels defense was Ja’Qurious Conley (7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT) & Trey Morrison (7 tackles).
The Panthers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, however, are just 5-11-2 ATS in their last 18 road games. The Tar Heels are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite.
Georgia State was solid last season finishing the season with a 6-4 record, however, they still have a young, turnover prone QB and lost a few key pieces on a defensive that ranked just 113th in passing defense. North Carolina struggled on the road against a very good Virginia Tech defense, however, the Tar Heels still have arguably the best QB in College Football which will put up plenty up TD’s this season and a defense that looked quite improved against Virginia Tech last weekend. Georgia State didn’t put up much of a fight against Army and between the fact that I think UNC’s defense will force some turnovers and that Sam Howell rebounds with a 5+ TD game against a weak pass defense, I’m taking North Carolina to cover this spread. Good Luck!
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Brett’s Pick North Carolina Tar Heels -26
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
