Bill Belichick makes his much-anticipated and probably overly hyped college football debut on Monday night when North Carolina hosts TCU.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach brings his system to Chapel Hill in hopes of more success. However, my SGP for this matchup favors continuity and experience over whatever Belichick is bringing to the table in Week 1.
For a full breakdown and more college football picks for this game, check out my TCU vs. North Carolina predictions.
Our best TCU vs North Carolina SGP for Week 1
Bill Belichick went to work right away — reshaping this North Carolina Tar Heels team — and there are more than 60 new faces on this roster heading into the season, including starting QB Gio Lopez.
Lopez is a transfer from South Alabama who threw for 2,559 yards and rushed for another 463 last year.
But the question is, how quickly will all these new faces gel? It better be quick, because TCU is going to be a lot better than most casual college football fans will realize.
We've seen a wide variance in results for transfer-heavy teams in college football and would much rather side with the experience of TCU.
The Horned Frogs are led by junior QB Josh Hoover, who is coming off setting the school record for passing yards with 3,949. On the other side of the ball, TCU returns eight starters to a defense that ranked 25th in opponent yards per play. So, I like laying the points here.
Hoover's favorite deep threat returns this season in Eric McAlister. The senior wideout went for 762 yards and five scores last season, averaging 19.5 yards per reception. With McAlister being the receiver Hoover is most comfortable with, I like him to find the end zone.
It will also be interesting to see how the North Carolina offense performs in its first game under Belichick, but they brought in Lopez for a reason: to be a dual-threat QB.
So, expect a bunch of designed runs. Additionally, TCU's strength on defense lies in its secondary, so don’t be surprised if he is forced to tuck it and run at times on Monday night.
Note if there is an applicable parlay boost available.
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