Pittsburgh @ North Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2015 ) North Carolina 26, Pittsburgh 19

With early-season non-conference games out of the way, teams expected to compete for an ACC Coastal Division championship meet Saturday when Pittsburgh visits North Carolina. The defending division champion Tar Heels, who are seeking a ninth consecutive home win, were a perfect 8-0 in conference play in 2015 while Pittsburgh was 6-2, including a 26-19 home defeat to the Tar Heels.

"Pittsburgh is a critical game for us and we need to prepare as hard as we do every week,” North Carolina fifth-year coach Larry Fedora told reporters this week. "Our guys can’t have the mental mistakes we saw in last week’s game. If there are players that aren’t yet playing up to their standard, then they need to create a personal plan to accomplish that this week." Fedora was no doubt talking about his defense which yielded 21 first-quarter points against FCS foe James Madison, 28 first downs and 495 yards without forcing a turnover in the 56-28 triumph. Pittsburgh is also struggling on defense, being torched through the air for 540 yards by Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph in last week's 45-38 loss after surrendering 39 points to Penn State in a three-point win. “We just have to keep coaching them; that’s our job,” second-year coach and defensive guru Pat Narduzzi said this week about the pass defense. "They have to believe in what we do. They must understand it works when you do it right, and it doesn’t work if you don’t do it right."

TV: 3:30 p.m. ESPNU. LINE: North Carolina -7.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (2-1, 0-0 ACC): The surprising Panthers offense is averaging 36 points per game, with James Conner leading the ground attack with 281 yards, a 4.5 yard-per-carry average and five total touchdowns. Quarterback Nathan Peterman has thrown for 503 yards on 44 completions, with tight end Scott Orndoff (10 catches, 88 yards, one TD), wideout Quadree Henderson (nine, 113, one) and Conner (nine, 105, two) his favorite targets. Defensive end Ejuan Price (7.5 tackles-for-loss, 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles) leads a defensive line that ranks 10th in FBS in rushing yards allowed per game (75.7) and has 13 sacks.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (2-1, 0-0 ACC): First-year starter Mitch Trubisky threw for a career-high 432 yards passing on 24-of-27 passing, including a school record 18 straight completions, against the Dukes while breaking another school mark with 156 consecutive passes without an interception. Elijah Hood, a first-team All-ACC performer last season (1,463 yards, 17 TDs) and T.J. Logan have combined for 441 yards, 6.6 yards per carry and eight TDs, while Ryan Switzer leads the receiving core with 17 catches for 221 yards. The defense is yielding 426 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry but is hopeful that defensive tackle Nazair Jones (14 tackles, three tackles for loss), who missed last week with an undisclosed injury, will return.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Tar Heels lead the overall series 7-3, have won all four in Chapel Hill and are 3-0 in ACC encounters.

2. Hood, who rushed for 106 yards and two scores against James Madison, joins Florida State's Dalvin Cook, Baylor's Shock Linwood, LSU's Leonard Fournette and Oregon's Royce Freeman as the only returning Power 5 backs from last season with 1,000 yards rushing, 10 touchdowns and an average of at least six yards per carry.

3. Henderson is averaging 192 all-purpose yards per game (tops in the ACC and third in FBS) and leads the country in kickoff returns with a 40.8 average, while North Carolina running back T.J. Logan ranks fourth in all-purpose yards per game (188.3).

PREDICTION: North Carolina 35, Pittsburgh 31