North Carolina vs. N.C. State Prediction
It’s Rivalry Week in college football and one of the bigger rivalries in the ACC will be renewed on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET when N.C. State hosts North Carolina. Are the Tar Heels a safe bet as a 6-point underdog?
Game Snapshot
129 North Carolina Tar Heels (+6) at 130 N.C. State Wolfpack (-6); o/u 62.5
7:00 p.m. ET, Friday, November 26, 2021
Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC
TV: ESPN
North Carolina Tar Heels Game Notes
North Carolina junior QB Sam Howell (upper body) said on Tuesday that he is feeling better every single day ahead of Friday’s matchup against N.C. State. This aligns well with a previous comment made by Mack Brown in which he said that he believes Howell (6’1/225) feels well enough to play next Friday against the Wolfpack. At 6-5, the Tar Heels are already bowl eligible, but the season has not gone the way Brown and Howell had hoped it would, in what is likely Howell’s final season. With not much left to play for, it sounds like there’s a chance that Howell will take the field against N.C. State if he is able to, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him miss whatever bowl game the Tar Heels end up playing in, as he sets his sights toward greener pastures in the NFL.
N.C. State Wolfpack Game Notes
North Carolina State redshirt sophomore QB Devin Leary completed 17-of-24 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 41-17 win over Syracuse. Leary’s (6’1/212) first touchdown of the day came at the end of the first quarter to cap off a 28-point start for NC State. He found wide receiver Christopher Toudle on a 14-yard touchdown to give the Wolfpack a 28-7 lead heading into the second quarter, and later connected with wide receiver Thayer Thomas on an eight-yard touchdown pass to put NC State up 38-10. It was a great day for Leary, who has now thrown for 300+ yards in five straight games, and has 16 touchdown passes to just three interceptions in that span. Now at 9-3 on the season, the Wolfpack will play host to North Carolina on Friday night before bowl season begins.
North Carolina vs. N.C. State Wolfpack Betting Prediction
The Tar Heels are 4-0 against the spread in their last four games against the Wolfpack and are 4-0 against the number in their last four trips to Raleigh. The road team has also had success in this series, covering in six of the last eight meetings. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack are 4-9 against the spread in their last 13 games played in the month of November and are 8-17 against the number in their last 25 games coming off a win.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 13 PREDICTION: NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS +6