2008 North Carolina Tar Heels College Football Predictions
2008 North Carolina Tar Heels College Football Predictions Courtesy of Alex Smart, An Award Winning Football Handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are wagering on college football games this season be sure to purchase Alex’s college football picks and guarantee a winning football season.
North Carolina Tar Heels (4-8, 3-5 in 2007, 4th place in ACC Coastal)
The first year of the Butch Davis era wasn’t completely successful, but the North Carolina Tar Heels certainly took steps in the right direction. With 18 starters returning from last season, this could be the year that Chapel Hill is thrilled to be at football games even after the basketball season starts.
2007 Highlight: It’s rare that your highlight of the season is a loss, but it’s very arguable that the most important game of the year for the Tar Heels was a loss to the #7 South Carolina Gamecocks. UNC fell behind 21-3 in the first half, but rallied to make it 21-15 in the 4th. If there was another minute in that game, the Heels probably would’ve scored the game-winning touchdown, but their last drive came up a bit short. It was a defeat, but Davis and the Tar Heels showed the rest of the country that they can play with the big boys.
2007 Lowlight: In one of the few games that Carolina got blown out in all year, the Heels got knocked off by the South Florida Bulls 37-10. It was the worst offensive game of the year for UNC, as they only mustered 164 total yards. Freshman QB TJ Yates threw four INTs and only threw for 85 yards in the defeat.
Offensive Outlook: Ten, count ‘em, ten starters return for the Tar Heels from 2007. Yates will be the catalyst for the offense yet again, and should thrive under the direction of Davis. Fellow sophomore running back Greg Little had two fantastic games down the stretch last season, and could exceed 1,000 yards with ease this year. The offensive line is full of experience, with four returning starters. Watch out for WR Hakeem Nicks to have another breakout season after posting 74 catches for 948 yards a year ago.
Defensive Outlook: Eight starters return to the UNC defense in 2008. One of the three newcomers will be DT Marvin Austin, who was a 5-star recruit in 2007. He should make a huge impact in the middle of the Carolina defensive line. Three of the returning four starters in the Tar Heels secondary are just sophomores, but started as freshmen and could turn into one of the best units the ACC has to offer.
2008 Preview: We’ll know by the end of September whether the Tar Heels are for real or not. After a tune-up against McNeese State, UNC takes on Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and Miami. If they can survive that portion of the schedule, things set up nicely for a run at as many as nine wins. Don’t be surprised if that game against VT on September 20th turns out to be the deciding factor in who wins the Coastal Division.
2008 will be a success if… Yates limits his mistakes. Davis knows what he’s doing, having led Miami to prominence years ago. This is clearly one of the more talented teams the ACC has to offer, and as long as they don’t make the mistakes that young players usually commit, the Tar Heels could be a huge dark horse to win the conference.
Truth be told, North Carolina is probably still a year away, but this team should drastically improve from a four-win season a year ago.
Prediction: 8-4, 2nd place in ACC Coastal
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