Miami vs North Carolina College Football Lines
Written November 13, 2009 by Rock Henderson
Butch Davis has his North Carolina Tar Heels playing some of their best football of the season heading into their match-up against his former team the 14th ranked Miami Hurricanes. After an upset win at Virginia Tech, the Heels pulled off a 19-6 win against an upstart Duke team that ran their record to 6-3. They will look to even their ACC conference record at 3-3 with a win over a much improved Hurricane team. Randy Shannon has done an outstanding job of turning the Miami program around in a short period of time and knows his team is capable of beating anyone on a given night. Looking at our NCAA football odds, Miami is a 3 point favorite on the road.
The Miami Hurricanes are coming off arguably their most dominating performance of the season in a 52-17 romp over an over-matched Virginia Cavalier team. QB Graig Cooper rushed for a career high 152 yards and one score in the win. The Canes’ have been led all year by QB Jacory Harris. The sophomore signal caller has thrown for 2336 yards and 18 touchdown passes supplanting himself as one of the top young quarterbacks in the nation. While Cooper stepped up and had the big game rushing for Miami last weekend, the Hurricanes have used a stable of backs to run the ball. Third string RB Damien Berry leads the team in rushing touchdowns with six on the year. What makes Miami so dangerous on offense is that they have a plethora of playmakers that makes it impossible for defenses to key on a couple players. WR Leonard Hankerson has made quite a few big plays in the passing game, averaging over 19 yards per catch and hitting the end zone four times. TE Jimmy Graham and speedy WR Travis Benjamin also have four touchdown receptions. LB Colin McCarthy is the leader of the defense, racking up 65 tackles including eight for loss. The Canes’ seem to have their swagger back and are set to be a force in college football once again.
Things were looking pretty bleak for a talented Tar Heel team after two conference losses to open up the season in which they scored a combined 10 points in those games. The UNC defense is one of the best in the nation as they are fast and physical. Even in the games where the offense could not manage to put points up on the board, the defense kept them in the game until the final horn. QB Tyler Yates is a three year veteran of Butch Davis’s system and knows the offense well. His numbers won’t jump off the page, but he is the best option the Heels have. 12 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions won’t get it down in most systems, but Yates has improved his play recently and North Carolina has won two straight. RB Shaun Draughn leads the team in rushing with 567 yards, but suffered a fractured left shoulder blade against Duke last week and will miss the rest of the season. Backup Ryan Houston is capable of replacing Draughn as he has rushed for 451 yards and seven touchdowns in limited duty. He will be the featured back from now on and will need to play a much more important role down the stretch. Converted RB to WR Greg Little leads the team in catches with 40 grabs for 374 yards and two touchdowns. He has made the transition seamlessly and has been a huge plus in the passing game. Sign up for a new account with BetUS and receive a $500 match bonus that you can use to bet college football this season.
No doubt the loss of North Carolina’s starting running back will hurt an already stagnant Tar Heel offense. UNC’s defense is one of the if not the best D that Miami has faced all season. They have the speed to slow down the Hurricane attack and I think they will muster enough points to actually win this contest straight up. Play: North Carolina +3
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