Rutgers at North Carolina Line

Written by Jack Jones

The Rugters Scarlet Knights and North Carolina Tar Heels meet up for a fourth time in six seasons Saturday. UNC has won two of three, including last season’s 17-13 road victory at Rutgers. Kick off is set for 12:30 EST Saturday for the rematch. The college football lines show UNC as a 10.5-point home favorite and a total set of 48.5 points.

North Carolina

The Tar Heels are coming off a 42-10 victory over James Madison in their opener. It was a successful debut for new head coach Everett Withers, who had served as defensive coordinator the past three years here under former head man Butch Davis. Starting quarterback Bryn Renner was nearly perfect in the win. He went 22-of-23 passing for 277 yards and two touchdowns, with his only incompletion coming on an interception on a deep ball.

Renner tied a school record for most consecutive completions with 14, and nearly broke the NCAA record for highest single-game completion percentage. His 95.7 percent effort was just shy of Tennessee QB Tee Martin’s record of 95.8 back in 1998. Giovani Bernard and Ryan Houston each missed all of last season, but both are back this year and contributed in a big way Saturday. The duo combined for 123 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. For the game, the Tar Heels outgained JMU 461-211 in a dominant effort on both sides of the ball.

Rutgers

After a disastrous 2010 campaign, the Scarlet Knights erased some bad memories last Thursday with a 48-0 victory over North Carolina Central. Rutgers outgained their opposition 347-120 while forcing four turnovers and registering nine sacks on defense. QB Chas Dodd led the offense, going 9-of-17 for 113 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Highly touted freshman RB Savon Huggins made an impressive debut, scoring the first two touchdowns for Rutgers. He finished with 32 rushing yards on 10 carries. Mohamed Sanu led the receiving corps with seven receptions for 68 yards and a score on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dodd, extending the lead to 21-0 late in the second quarter. This is a team that went 4-8 last year and is looking to make some noise in the Big East.

Betting Trends

In last year’s meeting, Rutgers took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter but was held to just three points the rest of the way. UNC outgained the Scarlet Knights 307-244 en route to their 17-13 victory.

Rutgers has been a slow starter, going 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games in September. They have been solid in the role of the dog though, going 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games as a road underdog.

The Tar Heels have not fared well as a home favorite, going 11-23 ATS in their last 34 games as home chalk. They are riding a 4-0 ATS run in non-conference games, though.

The Scarlet Knights have gone OVER the number in four straight road games, while UNC has gone UNDER in five of their last six at home. Something has to give Saturday.

Expert handicapper Jack Jones will be getting all of his football picks out early for the weekend. Sign up for a premium package today and start winning more of your wagers.

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