The North Carolina Tar Heels are taking on the Baylor Bears in the Russell Athletic Bowl. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the betting odds for the game have the Tar Heels favored to pick up the victory between these ranked teams.
Baylor started as the favorite in this game, but then several key guys were ruled out for this one. This is the first time the schools will meet on the gridiron, it's being played in Orlando. North Carolina won 11 games this season and nearly knocked off Clemson in the ACC title game. The Tar Heels only other loss on the season came in the season-opener to a bad South Carolina team.
The Bears will be playing without several starters — receiver Corey Coleman, tailback Shock Linewood and quarterback Jarrett Stidham will all miss the contest. Baylor is down to a third-stringer at quarterback in Chris Johnson, he's looked positive at times this season and should be helped by the time since the last game.
North Carolina is playing in their seventh bowl game in eight seasons, they are led by quarterback Marquise Williams, he's a dual-threat guy that can put points on the board for the Tar Heels. Williams combined for 32 touchdowns on the season and he has several receivers including Mack Hollins, who caught only 28 passes this season but they were for an average of better than 25 yards per completion.
Elijah Hood is one of the better tailbacks in the ACC, he ran for better than 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. Baylor's defense struggled once again this season in allowing opponents to score 27.5 points per game, the rush defense was middle of the pack for the country as well, they surrendered 156.3 yards on the ground per game.
A victory here by North Carolina would give them a school-record 12th win. With the injuries to Baylor it's going to be tough for the Bears to have a solid offensive approach for four quarters, even against a mediocre North Carolina defense.
Free Pick: North Carolina
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