When they scheduled this season opener, the North Carolina Tar Heels had little way to know how much they might need a relaxed start to the season. Facing the Florida A&M Rattlers will not be the easiest possible way to kick off the post-Sam Howell Era, but it should be pretty close to it.
Here are our free college football betting picks and predictions for Florida A&M vs. North Carolina on August 27.
Florida A&M vs North Carolina odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Tar Heels opened as 34.5-point favorites on Thursday morning, though most books waited longer than that to post a line due to the FCS participation. The total opened at 55.5.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full college football odds before placing your bets.
Florida A&M vs North Carolina predictions
- Prediction: North Carolina -34.5 (-110)
- Prediction: Under 55.5 (-110)
- Best bet: North Carolina -34.5 (-110)
Predictions made on 8/25/2022 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Florida A&M vs North Carolina game info
• Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
• Date: Saturday, August 27, 2021
• Kick-off: 8:15 p.m. ET
• TV: ACC Network
Florida A&M vs North Carolina betting preview
Weather
Monitor gametime conditions with our College football weather info.
Key injuries
Florida A&M: No injuries to report.
North Carolina: British Brooks RB (Out), Antoine Green WR (Out), Tyler Craft WR (Out).
Find our latest College football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
When facing FCS opponents during his second stint at North Carolina, Mack Brown has gone 2-1 against the spread, and his defenses have held those three teams to 10 points per game. Find more NCAA betting trends for Florida A&M vs. North Carolina.
Florida A&M vs North Carolina picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Spread analysis
Tar Heels' head coach Mack Brown elicited some mocking headlines last fall, when halfway through the season he criticized the media for hyping up North Carolina with a No. 10 preseason ranking, essentially arguing everyone should have known better than to think the Tar Heels were that good. While he phrased it quite poorly, the point Brown was really trying to make was that he had those high hopes for 2022.
That may be hard to fathom after Sam Howell set just about every quarterback record in program history, but the Tar Heels now start a former five-star prospect in sophomore QB Drake Maye, still enjoy an All-American caliber receiver in slot Josh Downs, and have a rather experienced defense led by a strong line. There is plenty here to work with, even if North Carolina did not land in the preseason polls this year.
Meanwhile, Florida A&M is … Florida A&M. After finishing last season just inside the FCS Top 25, the Rattlers now project as more of a middling team. Losing leading rusher Bishop Bonnett certainly does not help that cause, but after he earned three degrees in his college career and rushed for 1,000 yards last season, it was also expected.
To lend some broader context to the quality of Florida A&M football, its one game against an FBS team last season was at South Florida — one of the absolute worst FBS teams in the country. Still, the Rattlers fell 38-17.
Prediction: North Carolina -34.5 (-110 at BetVictor)
Over/Under analysis
To reach this Over, the Tar Heels will have to do it nearly all on their own. While they should score plenty — simply based on the talent disparity — cracking 50 points may be too much of an ask for a first-time starting QB.
The worry in suggesting an Under play would be late-game defensive lapses, allowing for a couple of individual Rattlers to enjoy a highlight. But in the last three years, Brown’s teams have simply not allowed that in these FCS games. They have given up 10 points per game against these opponents.
Furthermore, new defensive coordinator Gene Chizik has reason to keep his defense focused throughout the game. Chizik hasn’t coached since 2016. Reestablishing the effectiveness of his system may be fool’s gold against Florida A&M, but he would rather that than have anyone doubt the defense after facing the Rattlers.
Prediction: Under 55.5 (-110 at BetVictor)
Best bet
Maye and Downs should connect for multiple scores. North Carolina cornerbacks Tony Grimes and Storm Duck should look to get their hands on a few passes each after disappointing 2021 seasons (Duck missed most of the season to injury). An aggressive defensive line may force a fumble or three.
The Tar Heels will push, and that will keep this game wide open. Florida A&M may have enjoyed a +10.75 point differential last season, but that number will be hard to attain this year after a walloping from North Carolina.
Brown has not eased off the gas against FCS foes since he returned to Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels pasted Mercer State 56-7 in 2018 as 38-point favorites. In 2020, they were only 19-point favorites before beating Western Carolina 49-9. Last season, in the first game Sam Howell missed of his career, North Carolina beat Wofford by a mere 20 points despite being favored by 37.
If Brown is that relentless toward the end of the season, he will be even more aggressive in this opener when he still needs to test his new QB and defensive coordinator.
Pick: North Carolina -34.5 (-110 at BetVictor)
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