Mitch Trubisky and Christian McCaffrey could be early picks in the NFL in a few months. They could both aim to go out in style when Trubisky’s North Carolina Tar Heels face off against McCaffrey’s Stanford Cardinal at the Hyundai Sun Bowl.
Stanford dipped badly in the middle of the season but enters this matchup on a five-game winning streak and is favored to keep it going. North Carolina has some signature wins and some bad losses this season, so it will be interesting to see what version shows up for this one.
This contest in the bowl season will go down Friday, December 30, 2016, at 2 p.m. ET at the Sun Bowl.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
North Carolina +4
Stanford -4
Over/Under 54
Odds Analysis
The Tar Heels are small underdogs but very few gamblers like them to cover, as about 85 percent of the action has come in on Stanford thus far to cover despite giving four points.
The scoring total could be a bit low as about 78 percent of the early action has been pounding the “over” in this matchup.
North Carolina is 8-4 straight up and 7-5 against the spread on the season. The Tar Heels have been the underdog four times this year, covering twice.
Stanford is 9-3 straight up and 7-5 against the spread as well. The Cardinal has been the favorite 10 times and has covered in six of those.
Matchup to Watch
Trubisky vs. the Stanford defense -- The North Carolina junior signal-caller has a bright future and will be relied on to solve a tough Cardinal defense in this showdown.
He has thrown for 3,468 yards with 28 touchdowns and only four interceptions on the season. Trubisky had a three-game stretch in the middle of the season where he threw for more than 400 yards in each contest and while he doesn’t seem likely to do that against a stingy defense, a good performance would go a long way.
Stanford has held five of its past seven opponents to fewer than 17 points per game and will aim to hold down Trubisky.
Player to Watch
Christian McCaffrey – The Stanford running back is preparing for his last game of his college career before he enters the NFL draft next spring. McCaffrey has amassed 1,603 yards on the ground this season, averaging 6.3 yards a carry.
McCaffrey is coming off back-to-back games where he has ran for 200 yards or more, accumulating 488 yards and four touchdowns in the past two games. The junior will look to cap his college career off with a big performance in this bowl game.
Free ATS Pick
This marks Stanford’s fourth appearance in the Sun Bowl. The Cardinal has gone 2-1 in previous appearances with its most recent appearance coming in 2009. North Carolina has appeared in four previous Sun Bowls and have a record of 2-2 in the bowl game.
Stanford had a goal of winning the Pac-12, but some midseason doldrums made that an impossibility. However, the Cardinal have bounced back and found a formula that works again, leaning on McCaffrey and a strong defense.
North Carolina also had higher aspirations and picked up key wins over Florida State and Miami early on, but late losses to Duke and North Carolina State put a damper on the season.
This should be a competitive game, with Trubisky’s excellence through the air lifting North Carolina to an upset victory.
College Football Odds: North Carolina 24, Stanford 23
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