North Carolina vs. Florida State Prediction
ACC rivals will meet in Tallahassee on Saturday night when unranked Florida State hosts No. 5 North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. ET. Are the unbeaten Tar Heels laying too many points to their division rivals or will Mack Brown’s team role against the inferior Seminoles?
Game Snapshot
125 North Carolina Tar Heels (-13.5) at 126 Florida State Seminoles (+13.5); o/u 64
Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL
7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 17, 2020
TV: ABC
North Carolina Tar Heels Game Notes
North Carolina sophomore QB Sam Howell completed 18-of-23 passes for 257 yards with three touchdowns in a 56-45 victory over Virginia Tech. Howell just missed having a fourth touchdown pass, but his swing-out to Dazz Newsome was behind the line of scrimmage, so it was ruled a rushing score. Even without it, this was a very impressive effort from the 6-foot-1, 225-pound signal-caller. His best throw of the day was a 43-yard dart to Dyami Brown to make it 35-14 with just 14 seconds left in the first half. Howell had some issues getting the ball down field prior to this week in the first two games. He did not against the struggling Virginia Tech defense on Saturday. The Tar Heels move to 3-0, and they should have no trouble scoring points against Florida State next Saturday.
Florida State Seminoles Game Notes
Florida State redshirt freshman QB Jordan Travis (hand) was a participant in Tuesday’s practice according to HC Mike Norvell. Just how much Travis (6’3/195), who injured his hand during Saturday’s loss at Notre Dame, was able to do during the session was not divulged by his head coach. But the fact that the redshirt freshman, who is listed as the starter on the depth chart ahead of the Seminoles’ game at North Carolina, has taken part in each of the last two practices in some capacity may be viewed as a positive. Should Travis not be healthy enough to play on Saturday, former starter James Blackman would be first choice to fill the void.
North Carolina vs. Florida State Betting Prediction
The Tar Heels covered in all four of their last four trips to Tallahassee and are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven meetings with the Seminoles overall. The road team has also cashed the last six times these two ACC rivals have faced each other and the Tar Heels have covered five of their last six games overall. The Seminoles, meanwhile, have been a dreadful play for backers. They’re 0-5 against the spread in their last five home games, are 1-6 against the number in their last seven games overall and are 4-11-1 at the betting window in their last 16 games as an underdog. It’s tempting to take the home dog on a Saturday night when facing a ranked rival but I just can’t do it with FSU.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 7 BETTING PREDICTION: NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS -13.5