Uncover the Surprising Shift in Strategy That Could Crush the Scoring Frenzy This Season

So here we are, at the tail end of College Football Week 1, and just when you thought Labor Day was about BBQs and backyard naps, college football throws us one last bone: TCU vs. North Carolina, airing at 8:00 ET. Now, the Tar Heels have gotten more hype for their new head coach than their players — yep, the legend Bill Belichick is stepping onto the college gridiron, and everyone’s wondering if he can translate his NFL wizardry to a team that’s historically basketball-first. Meanwhile, TCU’s coming off a middling 9-4 season but with a quarterback who’s a bit of a riddle wrapped in a mystery—does anyone really trust a signal-caller who’s essentially allergic to running? Let’s be honest, both squads are ironing out the kinks with new players and fresh faces, and the defenses look promising, which begs the question: will this be a shootout or a cautious chess match? I’m leaning toward trusting the under, because when two defense-minded teams are figuring out their offenses, fireworks don’t usually light up the scoreboard. Intrigued? Dive deeper and see what the buzz is all about. LEARN MORE

TCU vs. North Carolina, 8:00 ET

We have reached the end of College Football Week 1. After today, all of the teams should have had their first game, and some of them have had their second one under their belts. I wish each of you a Happy Labor Day, and College Football has decided to give all of us a gift before we get back to the grind tomorrow with one last game. Today, we get the TCU Horned Frogs taking the field against the new look North Carolina Tar Heels who have seemingly gotten more publicity about their coach than they have about the players.

TCU ended last season with a 9-4 record, and they went 6-3 in the Big 12. They lost at home to UCF and Houston, they lost against SMU and Baylor on the road as well. The team was kind of average, but they did have some good players on the roster. Josh Hoover was their quarterback and he threw for almost 4,000 yards for the season. He also tossed 27 touchdowns last year, but the bigger problem to me was the 11 interceptions. He is not a running quarterback, rushing just 47 carries for -19 yards. He did get four touchdowns, but the point is that the defense can key in on him to just pass instead of needing to worry about his scrambles. He will have to build rapport with his receivers though as almost everyone is new for him. He did get some help in the transfer portal that could be difference makers – Jordan Dwyer, for one. The expectation is that the TCU defense will improve this year because it will be the second year under Andy Avalos, and they did get better over the course of last season.

The bigger story in this one is that Bill Belichick will be on the sideline for North Carolina this season. Just how much of an impact he will have on the program remains to be seen. There is obviously no question about his pedigree, but that was at the professional level. Can he replicate that success at a school known more for basketball than football? I’m sure the defense should take a step forward as that is where Belichick makes his biggest impact. I have more questions about the offense than I do on the defense. They lost arguably their best offensive player from last season as Omarion Hampton is no longer on the roster. He racked up 30 touchdowns over the last two seasons. I’m not sure that their quarterback is going to make a major difference here. Gio Lopez transferred from South Alabama, but this does feel like a big step up even if his production was good. 

If you recall a few years back, there was another big name coach taking over a program as Deion Sanders took over the Colorado Buffaloes. The team he faced in his first game? TCU. Now Belichick gets the same honor. They get to do it at home. This game should be fairly close and I agree that TCU will likely win the game and probably will cover the spread, but it wouldn’t shock me to see North Carolina pull this out either. Instead of taking a side, the best look is to take the under for this game. North Carolina’s defense should be playing at a high level. TCU’s defense should be good. There is a lot to figure out for both offenses. Remember the offenses will need to figure out the new players. I’m backing the under on this one. 

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