South Carolina vs. North Carolina fearless prediction and game preview.
South Carolina vs. North Carolina Broadcast
Date: Saturday, August 31
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Network: ESPN
– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions
North Carolina (0-0) vs. South Carolina (0-0) Game Preview
It’s a new era for North Carolina, and a must-win moment for an era at South Carolina in a strange sort of a big game for both programs.
Mack Brown is back in the college football coaching world as he looks to jumpstart a Tar Heel program that fell off the rails over the last two seasons. There’s experience, good young talent, and enough in place to make a huge early statement.
Lose, and with Miami up next, and then a trip to Wake Forest, and then a dangerous game against Appalachian State, and then the Clemson game, and then … it doesn’t stop.
South Carolina follows this up with Charleston Southern, and then it’s a giant bag of uh-oh, with Alabama right after to kick-off one of the nastiest schedules in college football. Lose, and that might be it for a bowl game – the slate is just that hard.
Why North Carolina Will Win
The offense should be able to work right away as long as the quarterback situation is fine.
The Tar Heels have veterans for new offensive coordinator Phil Longo to work with. The running backs are a major strength, the receiving corps has plenty of talent, and the line is coming off a strong season and doesn’t need a whole lot of work.
The defensive side is going to be the issue until proven otherwise, but the line has upside and veterans to get better, and most of the top tacklers return. Even so, this should be a wee bit of a shootout, and the Tar Heels should be well equipped to keep up, but …
Why South Carolina Will Win
Is the North Carolina quarterback situation going to be good enough?
Star recruit Sam Howell might be the big star recruit who’s going to be the franchise at some point, but the job wasn’t rock-solid settled in fall camp with Jace Ruder and Cade Fortin each getting their equal chances. Against this South Carolina defense, it’s not a plus to be coming in this game with a newbie under center.
The Gamecocks are great across the board – the concerns are with the schedule, not the team. The linebacking corps is fantastic, and the second is full of veterans who just need to learn how to pick off a pass or two.
Yes, the Tar Heel defense should be a bit better, but the Gamecocks should be able to grind away at will. The D that allowed 219 yards per game on the ground won’t be appreciably stronger right away – USC doesn’t need to take a whole slew of massive chances to move the chains.
What’s Going To Happen
Get ready for a little bit of fun … at least for South Carolina.
The Tar Heels are going to be decent early on, and the Gamecocks will be just wobbly enough out of the gate to not be able to pull away, but the second half will belong to the SEC side.
The Gamecock defense will rise up when it needs to, and the offense will come up with two good scoring drives to get the job done, but UNC will do just enough to make the Brown debut seem like a wee bit of a success.
South Carolina vs. North Carolina Prediction, Line
South Carolina 38, North Carolina 24
Line: South Carolina -7.5, o/u: 63
ATS Confidence out of 5: 4
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Must See Rating: 3
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NEXT: Each Team’s Schedule, Predictions So Far
Each Team’s Schedule, Predictions So Far
2019 North Carolina Football Schedule
2019 Preseason Prediction: 3-9
2019 Preseason ACC Prediction: 1-7
2018 Record: 2-9
– 2019 North Carolina Preview
Aug. 31 South Carolina (in Charlotte) L
Sept. 7 Miami L
Sept. 12 at Wake Forest L
Sept. 21 Appalachian State W
Sept. 28 Clemson L
Oct. 5 at Georgia Tech L
Oct. 12 OPEN DATE
Oct. 19 at Virginia Tech L
Oct. 26 Duke W
Nov. 2 Virginia L
Nov. 9 OPEN DATE
Nov. 14 at Pitt L
Nov. 23 Mercer W
Nov. 30 at NC State L
2019 South Carolina Football Schedule
2019 Preseason Prediction: 6-6
2019 Preseason SEC Prediction: 3-5
2018 Record: 7-6
– 2019 South Carolina Preview
Aug. 31 North Carolina (in Charlotte) W
Sept. 7 Charleston Southern W
Sept. 14 Alabama L
Sept. 21 at Missouri L
Sept. 28 Kentucky W
Oct. 5 OPEN DATE
Oct. 12 at Georgia L
Oct. 19 Florida W
Oct. 26 at Tennessee L
Nov. 2 Vanderbilt W
Nov. 9 Appalachian State W
Nov. 16 at Texas A&M L
Nov. 23 OPEN DATE
Nov. 30 Clemson L
