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Boxing West Virginia Mountaineers vs North Carolina TARHEELS Picks: December 27 Mayo Bowl Preview, Betting Odds and NCAAF Picks
A pair of 8 – 4 teams will contest the Dukes Mayo Bowl on Wednesday night in Charlotte, NC when the West Virginia Mountaineers face the North Carolina Tar Heels. There is no bigger news than the absence of Drake Maye for the Tar Heels, as he has declared for the NFL Draft and has now become a spectator as his school plays for a trophy.
There is even more news to report, so let’s let our resident NCAA Football expert Ej Garr fill you in on all you need to know for the 2023 Dukes Mayo Bowl.
- West Virginia Mountaineers vs North Carolina Tar Heels Picks and Prediction
- West Virginia Mountaineers vs North Carolina Tar Heels Game Info
- West Virginia Mountaineers vs North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Lines
- West Virginia Mountaineers vs North Carolina Tar Heels Trends
- West Virginia Mountaineers vs North Carolina Tar Heels Stats & Form
- West Virginia Mountaineers vs North Carolina Tar Heels Where to Watch
- Safer Gambling
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS VS NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS PICKS AND PREDICTION
While the biggest news out of Chapel Hill is Drake Maye throwing his name in the hat for the 2024 NFL Draft, he is not alone in that decision as many of his teammates are also not participating in the Dukes Mayo Bowl for the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Joining Maye in the decision to declare early for the NFL Draft is linebacker Cedric Gray and wideout Tez Walker already announced his entry to the list on the last day of the regular season. Those are three major absences for a team that was already not playing their best football as the regular season came to a close.
The Tar Heels jumped out to a 6 – 0 start to the 2023 campaign, and head coach Mack Brown’s program was hoping that they would be the team in the ACC to beat not Florida State or Clemson. Well, we saw what 13 – 0 did for Florida State, and now we also are watching an ugly battle unfold with programs trying to buy their way out of the league. That news alone is a 1000-word article, if not more, so I will let you look into what is now going on with the future of the ACC after Florida State got left out of the FBS Playoff.
Let’s get back to the field and overall, the Tar Heels have seven starters sitting out of the bowl game, and the list doesn’t end there. I will paste the link to the team page so you know where I found out how many players are not playing in this game. The backup QB Jefferson Boaz has already put his name in the transfer portal, so that leaves Conner Harrell as the guy calling the snaps.
Harrell has a total of 1 TD pass in his career, and it came against Campbell in a mop-up role where he threw a total of 4 passes. Harrell has only attempted 6 career passes as a collegiate, and the West Virginia defense might be licking their chops, to say the least.
This line opened at -3, and now that all of the news and all of the sharps are getting their money moving, this line has inflated to -6.5. I am suggesting that you put your Christmas bonus money on the West Virginia team total to fly over the 30.5 points, and I see a mere 1.89 at Bet365 for the action.
Between the mistakes that the Carolina offense makes, and how atrocious the Tar Heels defense is to boot, the Mountaineers will have 28 points by halftime and we’ll just need them to kick a field goal in the entire second half to get paid!
48 – 13 is my final score prediction for the convincing Mountaineer win on Wednesday in the Dukes Mayo Bowl.
- Selection: West Virginia Mountaineers Team Total Points Over 30.5
- Best Odds:1.89
- Bookmaker: bet365
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds available as of December 26, 2023. Odds may now differ.
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS VS NORTH CAROLINA TARHEELS GAME INFO
- Wednesday, December 27, 2023
- Time: 22:30 UK Time
- Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS VS NORTH CAROLINA TARHEELS BETTING LINES
| Mayo Bowl Betting Lines | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| bet365 Odds | Moneyline | Match Total 54.5 | Handicap/Spread – 6.50 |
| West Virginia | 1.40 | 1.90 | 1.90 |
| North Carolina | 3.10 | 1.90 | 1.90 |
Odds available as of December 28, 2023. Odds may now differ.
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS VS NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS TRENDS
- The North Carolina Tar Heels finished the regular season 1 – 5 ATS.
- The West Virginia Mountaineers are 5 – 0 ATS in their last 5 games against ACC opponents.
- The Game Total Over is 4 – 0 in Tar Heels last 4 against Big 12 foes.
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS VS NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS STATS AND FORM
The Mountaineers and Tar Heels’ last meeting came in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl, which is essentially this bowl with a different sponsor, now the Dukes Mayo Bowl. Both teams were 8 – 4, and West Virginia won 31- 30, although the Tar Heels covered the +2.5 Handicap.
In the 1996 campaign, the Tar Heels earned a 20 – 13 win over the Mountaineers on January 1, 1997, at the Gator Bowl in the first and only other meeting between the two programs.
The North Carolina Tar Heels have a bowl record of 15 – 22, having lost their last 3 and 6 of their last 7 post-season games.
The West Virginia Mountaineers have a similar bowl record of 16 – 23 and have lost 4 of their last 5 post-season games.
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS VS NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS WHERE TO WATCH THE DUKES MAYO BOWL
The Dukes Mayo Bowl can be seen on ESPN and ESPN+. Check your local listings for more programming information.
SAFER GAMBLING
At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.
