Free Football Pick
(NCAAF) North Carolina vs. South Carolina,
Point Spread: 13.00 | -107.00 North Carolina (Away)
Result: Loss
ESPN begins college football picks with North Carolina vs. South Carolina. Joe Duffy's Picks has what bettors need to know on the border skirmish.

Vegas college football spreads have the Gamecocks (-13) with some 12.5s out there as well. The total is at 57.5 across the board.

Joe Duffy's Picks notes that the best way to slow down South Carolina's superstar Jadeveon Clowney is to speed him up. I have seen many players, coaches, and I've seen it with my own eyes. When the offense "matriculates" the ball past the line of scrimmage, the offensive linemen's job is pretty much done. The defense is in constant pursuit. So high-powered offenses wear down the defense more than themselves. Plus they can run players in and out, while the defense has little time to adjust with match-ups.

North Carolina's fast-paced offense will challenge USC's (yes that's what they call them in Columbia, SC) defense. Both head coach Larry Fedora and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning say the defense is so much more ready for this year.

They play a unique 4-2-5 defense, something few if any played anything close to at any level. Many injuries further disrupted the defense. Well at Clemson, Kansas State, and Illinois Koenning's defenses showed substantial improvement from year No. 1 to year 2.

Even on offense, it was a big adjustment. But now the Tar Heels have a proven solid QB in Bryn Renner and a nice running back crew of A.J. Blue, Romar Morris, Kris Francis. This reminds me of when the รขโ‚ฌหœCocks opened up against Troy, another fast-paced offense. The back door was open, Troy made a late run.

UNC will catch some teams off-guard. A double-digit underdog winning outright is very possible.

Pick: North Carolina (+13).

For those who have one of our full-season passes. We enter the regular season on a 3-0 football tear. Get six winning picks for this weekend. One NFL and five college football led by the FOX Sports 1 Non Conference Game of the Year. Yes, two Wise Guy plays are up. We have enormous and very much specified information on key personnel and injuries that will affect the spread. We have a team that will have more of a home field edge than many expect. Which team is much healthier and will wear down their injured foe? Which big spreads (yes plural) will be greatly decided by some specific depth info we share?