UNC Football: Should you take Tar Heels as 19-point favorites over Duke?

The UNC football program will be a huge favorite in this week’s rivalry game against Duke, but should you consider taking the points?

The North Carolina Tar Heels will come out as 19.5-point favorites when they face off with rival Duke at Kenan Memorial Stadium on Saturday. That spread from WynnBET seems a bit generous considering the performances we saw from both teams last weekend, and I’d be tempted to take the points on this one.

The Tar Heels were heavily favored in a road game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, but failed to play even half-way admirably in a 45-22 thrashing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Three turnovers, poor offensive line play, an embarrassing performance by the defense and questionable coaching marred the Tar Heels’ attempt to win their second conference game in as many weeks.

The Blue Devils, on the other hand, came out and took care of business against the Kansas Jayhawks in a convincing 52-33 home victory. The Jayhawks are, admittedly, one of the worst teams in the Power 5 and beyond, but the Blue Devils’ offensive showing in that game is still worth noting as they prepare to play a team that is finding it difficult to come up with big plays and stop opponents from scoring at will.

Also noteworthy is that Duke hasn’t played anyone to speak of through four weeks of the season, and lost a season-opening game to Conference USA’s Charlotte 49ers. That same Charlotte squad lost to 1-3 Georgia State last week, a team that North Carolina beat 59-17 two weeks ago. But which teams will show up on Saturday when the two storied basketball schools meet up on the gridiron?

Will North Carolina be able to win the battle in the trenches, and protect junior quarterback Sam Howell? And if they do, will the UNC receivers be able to create separation and catch balls when they have opportunities to do so? Will the Tar Heels be able to get the ground game going, and will play-calling be suspect on a 2nd and 1 that eventually results in a turnover on downs?

Those questions will be answered in a few short days, but Tar Heel fans certainly hope to rebound against a team that they hate to lose to on any surface, be it grass, turf or hardwood. We’ll be here with complete coverage of the matchup throughout the week and leading up to the teams’ noon start on Saturday.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for that, and all the latest on the UNC football program.