Appalachian State vs North Carolina Prediction - College Football Picks 9/9/23

North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0) vs Appalachian State Mountaineers (1-0)

Game Info: Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 5:15 pm (Kenan Memorial Stadium)

Betting Odds: North Carolina Tar Heels -18.5 -- Over/Under: 58.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The North Carolina Tar Heels and Appalachian State Mountaineers face off on Saturday in a Week 2 college football showdown at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

Maye Needs to Clean Up the Turnovers

Drake Maye led the Tar Heels to a victory in the first game, but he had two turnovers and he’s going to need to be good here. Maye completed 24 of his 32 passes for 269 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. North Carolina scored 31 points, but even more impressive was the defense giving up only 17 points. In the second half, North Carolina gave up only three points. And if the defense can be that good all season, this is a team that win the ACC. British Brooks finished with 15 carries for 105 yards. Kobe Paysour had a strong game out wide finishing with seven receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.

North Carolina Betting Preview

North Carolina has lost four of its last five games.
North Carolina has covered the spread in four of its last five games against non-conference opponents.
North Carolina has won the first half in five of its last six games against non-conference opponents at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
North Carolina has won the first quarter in seven of its last eight games against non-conference opponents at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
Six of North Carolina's last seven games have gone UNDER the total points line.

App State Had an Easy Warm Up

The Appalachian State Mountaineers opened up their season against Gardner-Webb and they dominated the game. At halftime, Appalachian State was up 14-7 at halftime, and they pulled away in the second half, and ended up winning 45-24. Under center for Appalachian State is Joey Aguilar completed 11 of his 13 passes for 174 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. This is going to be a very good running team, and Nate Noel finished with 24 carries for 117 yards and one touchdown. The defense gave up 24 points, but the defense actually was pretty good. They finished the game with two interceptions and they are going to need the defense to create a couple of turnovers here.

Appalachian State Betting Preview

The home team has won 10 of Appalachian State's last 11 games.
The underdog has covered the spread in each of Appalachian State's last six games.
Appalachian State has won the first quarter in each of its last three games against non-conference opponents.
Appalachian State has won the first half in 17 of its last 22 games against non-conference opponents.
Six of Appalachian State's last seven games in September have gone OVER the total points line.

North Carolina vs Appalachian State Facts

North Carolina was one of only 20 FBS teams to win 3+ games when trailing at HT last season.
North Carolina ranked 20th among FBS teams for Q2 points per game last season (11.1).
Appalachian State ranked 17th among FBS teams for Q2 points per game last season (11.3).
Appalachian State ranked 19th among FBS teams for H2 points per game last season (17.3).

Shane’s Free Pick

This game is going to be high scoring. Drake Maye is going to find success through the air, and he’s going to be better with the turnovers. I don’t expect him to throw any interceptions in this game and the Tar Heels are going to bei pushing 50 points in this game. I do expect the Mountaineers are also going to find success, especially with the running game, and that is going to be the difference as this game is going to be higher scoring. This will go well over the total. Back the over to cash.