TV, betting odds and fast facts to impress your friends for UNC at Boston College
North Carolina’s first road trip of the season Saturday at Boston College will be unlike any other even for veteran players due to the COVID-19 protocols that they’ll have to follow. UNC coach Mack Brown said they’ll all be wearing N-95 masks instead of the neck gaiters that many currently use. The biggest difference might be in the way they eat and drink.
“They’re not going to be able to drink fluids on the bus or the plane,” Brown told reporters on a video conference. “I think it’s a two-hour flight so we’ve got to make sure that they they hydrate before and after really well.”
They can’t eat on the bus or plane either so Brown said the Tar Heels will spread out in the Alumni Stadium stands and eat their postgame meals before busing back to the airport.
“What we’ve told the guys is, it’s all going to be different,” Brown said. “This year is going to be different. It may be different next year, who knows when this is going to change, and the teams that play the best will be the ones that can adapt to it without griping about it because it is what it is.”
How to watch TV for UNC vs Boston College
Saturday’s game will be broadcast on ABC (WTVD-11) at 3:30 p.m.
College football betting odds: Tar Heels are favored
As of Friday, North Carolina was a 14-point favorite, according to espn.com. The over/under was 54.5.
Game notes: UNC’s Josh Ezeudu could start
* The Heels’ return to action for the first time since Sept. 12 marks their longest break between regular-season games since 1952 when a polio outbreak caused a three-week layoff.
* UNC left guard Josh Ezeudu could make his first start of the season after missing the opener with an injury. Brown said on Wednesday that the Heels’ most versatile lineman would be a game-time decision.
* In Mack Brown’s 32 seasons as a head coach, Saturday marks the first time he will face Boston College.
* The Tar Heels lead the nation in fourth-quarter scoring margin (+90) since 2019 after outscoring Syracuse 21-0 in the opener. Ohio State is second among FBS schools with a +87 differential.
* Receiver Dazz Newsome ranks second in the ACC in punt returns, but would be first in risk tolerance for fielding said punts — if that were an actual category. The one way to know when he’s not calling fair catch? “If it’s the long snapper, I’m not fair catching it,” Newsome said. “I’m not worried about getting hit from a long snapper.”
* Junior Trey Morrison has started 20 games in his career, but when he lines up at strong safety against Boston College, it will be the first time he’s started at strong safety. Morrison logged 12 starts at nickelback, mostly from his freshman season, and eight starts at cornerback.
* Before the Eagles’ 26-6 win over Duke, the last game redshirt sophomore quarterback Phil Jurkovec started was in the 2017 Pennsylvania 6A state title game. Jurkovec spent two seasons at Notre Dame, but played in just six games before transferring.
* Brown called Boston College’s Hunter Long “arguably the best tight end in the nation” and the stats back him up. Long has 16 catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns in two games and leads all ACC receivers in receptions per game.