The North Carolina Tar Heels and the South Carolina Gamecocks will square off on Thursday afternoon at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
The Tar Heels are 6-6 this season and have failed to get on a streak of either kind. The Gamecocks are also 6-6 but have won and lost without any trend.
UNC at South Carolina Betting Preview
North Carolina Tar Heels Preview: Offensive Firepower
The North Carolina Tar Heels have been doing an incredible job offensively as they are scoring 36.4 points per game this season. Junior quarterback Sam Howell has been leading the way as he has completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 2,851 yards with 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
However, his play has struggled a bit since starting off extremely well. With senior running back Ty Chandler and sophomore wide receiver Josh Downs in this game, it will be a great time for the program to continue their offensive dominance.
The defense of the North Carolina Tar Heels have been struggling this season as they are giving up 31.6 points per game so far and 408.1 yards per game.
The defense has shown the ability to put pressure on the quarterback as the team has forced 27 sacks this season, and senior linebacker Tomon Fox is leading the team with eight sacks (double the second-place Tar Heel). The secondary has also recorded 11 interceptions in 12 games, so they have been doing pretty well in that aspect as well.
South Carolina Gamecocks Preview: The Dark Knight
The South Carolina Gamecocks have been struggling to put points on the board as they are averaging 21.3 points per game. The offense is being led by their senior running back Zaquandre Knight, as he has 88 rushing attempts for 583 yards (6.6 yards per carry) with a pair of rushing touchdowns as well as 19 receptions for 202 yards (10.6 yards per catch) with three receiving touchdowns. He needs to dominate here as well if they want to keep up offensively.
The defense has been playing pretty well as they are allowing 24.3 points per game on 357.7 total yards given up. Their defense is led by senior defensive back Jaylan Foster, who has a team-high five interceptions and has also forced a pair of fumbles.
Who to Bet on Tar Heels at Gamecocks
The UNC Tar Heels are currently listed as a nine-point favorite in this neutral-site game, but neither team needs to travel far to play in Charlotte. South Carolina needs to lean on their defense here as they are giving up 23.8 points in their last four games while North Carolina is allowing 35.4 points in their previous five games.
The Gamecocks have covered in each of their last five bowl games as an underdog so go with them getting nine points to cover the spread in this game.