2011 North Carolina Tar Heels Football Predictions, Odds, Picks and Schedule – 2011 UNC NCAA Football Preview

2011 North Carolina Tar Heels College Football Expert Predictions, Picks, Vegas Odds and Schedule – North Carolina NCAA Football Preview: Entering the 2010-11 season, the North Carolina football program appeared to be on the verge of winning an ACC title. However, off the field issues cost Butch David the services of several of his best players and left the Tar Heels with an 8-5 record. More off the field problems surfaced prior to the start of this year, but this time, it cost Davis his job. Everett Withers must now take over on short notice, leaving North Carolina with talent on the field but in disarray off of it. Whether or not the players will rally around the new coach remains to be seen.

The strength of the North Carolina offense last season was the passing attack. Unfortunately, starter T.J. Yates is now in the NFL after throwing for more than 3,400 yards last season. Braden Hanson and Bryn Renner will probably both see time as starter this year, but neither has any real experience starting at the collegiate level. Receiver Dwight Jones, who nearly topped 1,000 yards a year ago, leads a talented group that should help ease the transition, but it is hard to imagine the Tar Heels matching last year’s impressive passing totals without the services of Yates.

North Carolina finds itself in a similar situation when it comes to its rushing attack as well. The Tar Heels lose their top two backs from a year ago, along with the nearly 1,400 yards they produced. Gio Bernard will be asked to shoulder much of the load, but after missing last season with knee surgery, there is no guarantee he will live up to the potential he had coming out of high school. The good news for the Tar Heels’ ground game is that three strong starters are back along the offensive line, giving North Carolina one of the better groups in the ACC.

In terms of talent, the Tar Heels are stacked defensively thanks in part to last season’s suspensions that forced younger players into the starting lineup. As it stands, North Carolina returns its two leading tacklers at linebacker, along with its entire defensive front. The Tar Heels’ starting defensive ends combined for 17 sacks a year ago, and the unit as a whole should be one of the best in the ACC at rushing the passer. The secondary is the only area of concern with just one returning starter, but assuming the front seven is as effective as anticipated, the inexperience at cornerback will be masked.

 The Tar Heels catch a bit of a break with this year’s schedule. For starters, Florida State is not on it, and with an out-of-conference slate that includes James Madison, East Carolina and Louisville, North Carolina should get off to a fast start. In fact, only a road game against Georgia Tech looks like a question mark during the first six games of the season. The second half of the year gets tougher with road games at Clemson, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech, but home games against Duke and Wake Forest should all the Tar Heels to pad their win total.

For the Tar Heels, this season comes down to how well the players can deal with the distractions off the field. Losing a coach unexpectedly isn’t easy to deal with, and football requires as much mental focus as it does athletic talent. In the end, North Carolina has enough of the latter to make a bowl game in 2011-12. However, breaking in a new quarterback and a new head coach will likely cost an otherwise talented team a shot at contending with the top teams in the conference.

2011 North Carolina Tar Heels College Football Predictions: 7-5 Record

Preseason 2011 North Carolina Tar Heels NCAA Football Odds:
Odds to Win 2012 BCS Championship: +8000
Odds to Win 2011 ACC Championship: +650
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2011 North Carolina Tar Heels College Football Schedule
Sat, Sep 3 James Madison 3:30 pm —
Sat, Sep 10 Rutgers 12:30 pm —
Sat, Sep 17 Virginia 3:30 pm —
Sat, Sep 24 at Georgia Tech TBA —
Sat, Oct 1 at East Carolina 8:00 pm —
Sat, Oct 8 Louisville TBA —
Sat, Oct 15 Miami (FL) TBA —
Sat, Oct 22 at Clemson TBA —
Sat, Oct 29 Wake Forest TBA —
Sat, Nov 5 at North Carolina State TBA —
Thu, Nov 17 at Virginia Tech 8:00 pm —
Sat, Nov 26 Duke TBA —

Check out NSAwins.com’s official 2011 College Football Over Under Team Wins Odds and Predictions and 2011 ACC Football Odds and Predictions articles.

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