Can the Tar Heels steal the Coastal? UNC-Pitt football top story lines, betting odds
North Carolina can still have a major impact on the ACC Coastal Division title — and keep its slim chances alive to actually win out on a tiebreaker — on its trip to Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
Pitt (7-2, 4-1) leads the Coastal by a game ahead of Virginia and Miami. The Tar Heels (5-4, 3-3) need a win against the Panthers and against N.C. State in the regular season finale, plus a lot of help to even get into a tiebreaker scenario for a chance to claim the Coastal. ESPN’s Football Power Index rankings give the Heels a 0.9 percentage chance to win the division.
UNC coach Mack Brown said on Monday because the Heels have been so inconsistent this season, they’re just looking to finish strong. He’s not calculating the multitude of scenarios where they could happen to stumble into a tie for the Coastal.
“We don’t need to be talking about the end, we need to be talking about getting better,” Brown said. “And that’s what we are because this has been a year where the talk was better than our team.”
Carolina thinking two (or too?) deep
Brown did say the transfer portal has opened up a discussion on his staff about how they use their rotation. Brown is in favor of using a two-deep as a way to ensure that they use their bench and keep morale in the locker room high.
“We did this in Texas when we got better and maybe every third series, start another team and put them in there,” Brown said. “That’s the only way people are gonna stay. They either want their degree or they’re gonna want to play so we’re all having to look at what the transfer portal is going to do to your roster management moving forward and how we coach differently than in the past.”
Pitt doing patchwork on offensive line
The Panthers offensive line has only allowed 18 sacks this season, which is the fourth fewest in the ACC. But some holes may be opening up due to injuries and ineffectiveness on their line.
Redshirt senior Marcus Minor, who started the first eight games at right guard, was benched on Saturday in favor of Blake Zubovic and did not play.
Starting right tackle Gabe Houy missed the entire second half against the Blue Devils with a right ankle injury. Sophomore Matt Goncalves may start in Houy’s place if he is unable to play against Carolina.
Pitt gave up three sacks last week against Duke, which was the second highest this season and could be vulnerable for more against the Heels.
Three Pitt players to watch
Kenny Pickett, QB: Ranks second in the ACC to Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong in total offense (379 yards per game) and passing yards (352 ypg), but leads the league with 29 touchdown passes. Pickett had the second-best individual performance in the ACC this season accouting for 509 total yards against Miami.
Jordan Addison, WR: Is tied for most touchdown receptions nationally with 11. If he catches one pass for his 18-yard average against UNC, he will become just the 10th player in school history to record a 1,000-yard season receiving. His 109 receiving yards per game trails only UNC’s Josh Downs for most in the ACC.
Habbakkuk Baldonado, DT: Ranks fourth in the ACC with 6.5 sacks on a defense that ranks second in the league with a total of 31 sacks. Carolina still leads the league having allowed 34 sacks, which has already tied its total from last season.
Three UNC players to watch
Cam’Ron Kelly, SS: Now is tied for the ACC lead with four interceptions after getting two picks against Wake Forest. He’ll have plenty of chances to add to that total against a team that averages 40 passes per game.
Storm Duck, CB: Had not played more than 40 snaps in a game since the second game of last season until Wake Forest. Injuries had limited Duck to making an appearance in just the Georgia State and Virginia games, but after Saturday he appears to be here to stay in the rotation.
Ty Chandler, RB: The graduate transfer has scored eight touchdowns in the last three games including four in the win over Wake Forest on Saturday. It was the most by a UNC player since Leon Johnson did it against UTEP in 1993. He’s also within sight of 1,000 yards rushing as he enters Thursday’s game with a team-leading 884 yards.
North Carolina vs Pitt game, TV info
Who: UNC (5-4, 3-3 ACC) vs. Pitt (7-2, 4-1)
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pa.
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN3
Vegas betting odds: UNC vs Pitt point spread
The Panthers are currently a 6.5-point favorite over the Tar Heels, according to the VegasInsider consensus line.
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 1:58 PM.