The No. 15 North Carolina Tar Heels (7-1, 4-0 ACC) travel to Charlottesville to take on the Virginia Cavaliers (3-5, 1-4) Saturday at 12 p.m. ET (ACC Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the North Carolina vs. Virginia odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong was among the best QBs in the nation in 2021 and put up monster numbers under coach Bronco Mendenhall. The same cannot be said under coach Tony Elliott. Armstrong has 1,826 passing yards in 8 games with 6 TDs compared to 9 INTs.
On the other side, Drake Maye, in his 1st season after replacing Sam Howell, has had a great season. In 8 games he has 2,671 passing yards (5th in the nation) with 29 TDs (tied for 1st in FBS) compared to only 3 INTs.
Mack Brown has found another great QB. One who will be around for a few more seasons as the Tar Heels try to prove they belong in the playoff chase moving forward. The only thing keeping them from being elite is the defense which has given up an average of 31.3 points per game this season. If UNC can fix this side of the ball, they can beat anyone in the ACC conference.