.jpg "College Football ATS Picks – Louisville at North Carolina")
It was by and large a bad day for the ACC in the first week of the college football season. Two of the teams that personified that were the Louisville Cardinals the North Carolina Tar Heels. Louisville struggled with Purdue and was actually down in the fourth quarter at one point before rallying for a seven-point victory. Things were worse for North Carolina, who lost to a Cal team that was in absolute turmoil just a few months ago.
Watch this regular season Week 2 matchup live on Saturday, September 9, 2017, at 12 p.m. ET
at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This game will be broadcast on ESPN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Louisville -8
North Carolina +8
Odds Analysis
The Cardinals were 25.5-point favorites over the Boilermakers last week and didn’t come close to covering. They did look better than the score indicated and got quite a bit unlucky field position wise and that kept Purdue hanging around in the game for far too long.
North Carolina losing outright to Cal as a 13-point favorite was a shocker. The Tar Heels were looking for the replacement for Mitch Trubisky and struggled to find a rhythm on offense leading to their demise. This Cal team wasn’t expected to win many games coming into the season and dropping that one hurts for Larry Fedora.
Player to Watch
Louisville struggled, but Lamar Jackson looked the part of Heisman Trophy winner once again. Jackson was exceptional in the win over the Boilermakers, despite losing a fumble in the game.
He continually made plays for Louisville on offense and finished the game with 485 total yards of offense. Jackson is one of the best runners in college football, period. He has amazing top-gear speed and world class moves and it’s hard to catch him once he’s in the open field.
Jackson spent his offseason learning to become a better passer and not rely so much on his feet and his early returns were impressive against Purdue. He still ran the ball a lot, but he was very good in the passing game and needed to use his mobility against a suddenly game Purdue team.
It’s unlikely that he’ll win the Heisman for the second straight season, yet he is playing great football and it’s hard to count him out just yet.
Key Stat
Jackson could have a field day against a North Carolina defense which struggled against Cal. The Tar Heels secondary was torn up by the Golden Bears, allowing 9.6 yards per pass attempt on the game. This unit has two senior starters and two underclassmen newbies, but the whole unit was unable to stop Cal’s offense from finding success.
There was a silver lining. UNC’s defense picked off just one pass in all of 2016 and already grabbed two interceptions in this game. Forcing turnovers is the best chance for UNC to be able to knock off Louisville, so don’t be surprised if this unit starts jumping routes.
Free ATS Pick
UNC defensive tackle Jalen Dalton will likely be suspended by the ACC for his hit on Cal’s quarterback last week. It was a clear targeting call and should earn him multiple games on the sidelines from the conference. Losing Dalton is what started the Cal turnaround last game, so UNC will definitely miss the talented player.
Expect to see more Chazz Surratt at quarterback for the Tar Heels. He and Brandon Harris split time in the season opener, but Surratt’s performance was superior. Surratt had a better command of the offense last week and should see the lion’s share of the time.
Over will be a popular play with these two offenses, but the side to take is Louisville. UNC has to do a lot of soul searching after that loss to Cal, while Louisville is by and large very unlucky. Grab the Cardinals and lay the points.
College Football Odds: Cardinals 44, Tar Heels 31
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
