North Carolina vs Virginia 9/18/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions
Virginia Cavaliers (2-0) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (1-1)
September 18, 2021 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: North Carolina Tar Heels -9 / Virginia Cavaliers +9; Over/Under: +64
(Get latest betting odds)
The North Carolina Tar Heels meet the Virginia Cavaliers in an ACC college football clash from Kenan Stadium on Saturday night.
The Virginia Cavaliers will be looking to build on their 42-14 romp over Illinois in their last game. Brennan Armstong has thrown for 744 yards, 7 touchdowns and an interception on 71.6% passing while Wayne Taulapapa has a team-high 83 rushing yards and Keytaon Thompson has 67 rushing yards and a score. Dontayvion Wicks leads the Cavaliers with 163 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns while Thompson has 134 receiving yards. Kelani Woods, Billy Kemp IV and Ra’Shaun Henry each have 100+ receiving yards with a touchdown as well this season. Nick Jackson has a team-high 19 total tackles and Joey Blount has a team-high 10 solo tackles while Noah Taylor has a pair of sacks for the Cavaliers this year.
The North Carolina Tar Heels will be looking to add to their 59-17 rout of Georgia State last time out. Sam Howell’s thrown for 560 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions while also leading UNC in rushing with 139 yards and a pair of scores and Ty Chandler has 124 rushing yards as well this season. Josh Downs leads UNC in receiving with 16 grabs for 196 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Antoine Green and Emery Simmons each have 100+ receiving yards as well this season. Defensively, Ja’Qurious Conley leads UNC with 12 total tackles including 10 solo tackles and an interception this season.
Virginia is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 conference games while the over is 6-2 in their last 8 games as an underdog. North Carolina is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games as a home favorite and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall while the over is 5-2 in their last 7 home games.
I get why you’d make the case for laying the points with UNC at home, but even though Virginia’s first two games were at home, the Cavaliers have looked pretty good if we’re being 100% honest. I’m still not 100% sure about Howell and co. at Chapel Hill and I think this is going to be a battle regardless of who wins. Give me Virginia and the points here.
