North Carolina vs Minnesota Prediction College Football Picks 8/29/24

Minnesota Golden Gophers Betting Preview

The Minnesota Golden Gophers won 6 games last year and enter the eighth season under coach P.J. Fleck. Minnesota has made a bowl appearance in each of the last 3 years. Minnesota has a new quarterback in New Hampshire transfer Max Brosmer, who has over 8,000 yards and 66 touchdowns for his career. It will be interesting to see how quickly Brosmer can adjust to the FBS ranks. The good news is Minnesota has an elite 1-2 punch in running backs Darius Taylor and Jordan Nubin and that’s the strength of this Golden Gophers team. There’s also four starting offensive linemen returning from a year ago. This is going to be a bully ball offense from Minnesota.

Defensively, Jack Henderson returns after leading Minnesota with 53 tackles, Jah Joyner had 7.5 sacks and Devon Williams had 1 interception. Minnesota is built like an old school Big Ten team in that it can run the ball and play defense. The problem is this is 2024, and you need a passing attack to be a legit contender. In order to make a realistic run this season, Minnesota can’t be one dimensional offensively.

Why the Minnesota Golden Gophers will win

• Minnesota has won nine of its last 10 games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams.
• North Carolina has failed to cover the spread in six of its last seven games.
• Minnesota has covered the spread in four of its last five games against non-conference opponents at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Total Points Facts

• Five of North Carolina's last six season openers have gone UNDER the total points line.
• Four of Minnesota's last five games as an underdog have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• North Carolina ranked T14th among FBS teams for Q2 points per game last season (11.3).
• North Carolina ranked 20th among FBS teams for points per game last season (34.5).

North Carolina vs Minnesota Prediction

The North Carolina Tar Heels has the better overall talent and a more balanced offense to where you can make a case for a nice road win. The concern is UNC returns just one starter on the offensive line, and this is a physical Minnesota squad that's going to want to dominate the trenches.

That Minnesota Golden Gophers running game could punch North Carolina in the mouth if it's not careful, and Jah Joyner has to be drooling at the UNC inexperience up front. Joyner said this offseason that he's coming for double-digit sacks. This could be a start. I like Minnesota and its physicality to lead the way for a hard fought week 1 victory.