Pitt vs. North Carolina Fearless Prediction, Game Preview

By Pete Fiutak | September 19, 2018 4:02 pm

Pitt vs. North Carolina fearless prediction and game preview.

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, September 22
Game Time: 12:20 ET
Venue: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
Network: ACC Network

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Pitt (2-1) vs. North Carolina (0-2) Game Preview

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One Reason Why Pitt Will Win

East Carolina 41, North Carolina 19.

Even if it’s an aberration, things aren’t going all that well if you’re a Power Five team losing to East Carolina by 22 points.

The Tar Heel passing game is an issue, the suspensions continue to be a problem, and the offense just isn’t moving the chains.

North Carolina is last among ACC teams in first downs, it’s last in yards per completion, and it’s only converting 27% of its passes – the offense isn’t doing enough. If Pitt can get up fast, the Tar Heels will be in big, big trouble.

However …

One Reason Why North Carolina Will Win

If the Tar Heels can get the running game going at all, it should have some success.

Penn State was able to rip off over six yards per carry, and while Georgia Tech is Georgia Tech – the running game stats are always going to be a wee bit skewed – allowing way over 500 rushing yards and six scores over the last two weeks is a problem.

North Carolina has a running game – it averaged over six yards per carry against ECU – but it’s not using it all that much. This is the week the Tar Heels have to commit to the ground game and stick with it, no matter what.

On the other side, yeah, North Carolina is having offensive issues, but Pitt isn’t scoring on a regular basis, either.

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What’s Going To Happen

Can either team score?

North Carolina has had two weeks off to rest up after the East Carolina devalue, but that’s because of the hurricane nightmare to the region. Can the Tar Heels be night-and-day sharper than they were to start the season?

Not really.

The Pitt offense won’t be anything special, but the North Carolina turnover margin problems will continue. The Tar Heels on’t take the ball away, and they won’t this week, either.

The Panthers will take advantage of the mistakes and come up with a decent win with the offense showing enough balance to get out with a win. North Carolina will play better, but it’ll bog down late.