North Carolina head coach Mack Brown has never beaten his alma mater(FSU football), but Saturday afternoon could be another first to come to fruition when the Tar Heels travel to Tallahassee in week 10.
North Carolina ended a four-game losing streak with a dominant win over Virginia last week. The Noles have lost four and seven of their last eight. However, oddsmakers have this game as nearly a toss-up, with North Carolina as a -2 point betting favorite.
North Carolina has played a weak schedule through eight games. They played one ranked team and lost 34-24. I was at their home game against James Madison, and they played soft on defense. They also don't have a quarterback who's a huge threat to run every play, which benefits FSU's defense. They've played well against those types of offenses, just see the Duke game.
Where do they rank via advanced metrics?
North Carolina ranks No. 50 overall. They have the No. 29 offense, the No. 76 defense, and the No. 38 ranked special teams. The offense has a high ranking, but they only average 27 ppg against Power 4 competition. FSU will be among the most talented defenses they'll face. However, we know the FSU defense hasn't been the biggest issue all season. It's the FSU offense and their inability to score.
The FSU offense looked promising, with freshman Luke Kromenhoek leading the way. He led the offense to a touchdown on his first possession against Miami and had them in position to kick at least one field goal in another one(they went for it on fourth down instead of attempting the long field goal). Miami and Duke have better defenses than North Carolina. If the FSU offense can avoid turning the ball over, I can see them holding this North Carolina offense to about 20 points.
Can FSU finally score 21+ points? We'll see, but it's a winnable game if they finally decide to show up.