MisterGopher
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North Carolina at Minnesota, Thursday, 8 p.m. ET (Fox)
: Minnesota by 1½.
Series record: North Carolina leads 1-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
For North Carolina, the challenge of moving forward from star QB and No. 3 overall NFL draft pick Drake Maye begins with a difficult opener on the road. The Tar Heels have a prime opportunity for a strong start to the season, with three straight home games against non-power conference opponents followed by a relatively soft ACC slate. This is will also serve as an assessment of progress under new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, the former Temple and Georgia Tech head coach.
Minnesota faces a much tougher schedule in the supersized Big Ten with games against seven of the top 11 teams — and four of the top six — in the league's preseason media poll, so an opening win against a power conference team would go a long way toward a bounce-back season from a disappointing 6-7 finish in 2023 that only saw the Gophers get to a bowl game because of their academic score. They also have a new defensive coordinator in Corey Hetherman.
KEY MATCHUP
North Carolina passing game vs. Minnesota pass rush and coverage. The Tar Heels entered preseason camp with a competition between transfer Max Johnson and returnee Conner Harrell to succeed Maye. Harrell started the Duke's Mayo Bowl loss to West Virginia and Johnson played the last two seasons for Texas A&M after starting his career at LSU. The Gophers have a deep and experienced front led by DEs Jah Joyner and Danny Striggow, but they lost SS Tyler Nubin to the NFL and gave up 23 passing touchdowns last season.
www.espn.com
: Minnesota by 1½.
Series record: North Carolina leads 1-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
For North Carolina, the challenge of moving forward from star QB and No. 3 overall NFL draft pick Drake Maye begins with a difficult opener on the road. The Tar Heels have a prime opportunity for a strong start to the season, with three straight home games against non-power conference opponents followed by a relatively soft ACC slate. This is will also serve as an assessment of progress under new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, the former Temple and Georgia Tech head coach.
Minnesota faces a much tougher schedule in the supersized Big Ten with games against seven of the top 11 teams — and four of the top six — in the league's preseason media poll, so an opening win against a power conference team would go a long way toward a bounce-back season from a disappointing 6-7 finish in 2023 that only saw the Gophers get to a bowl game because of their academic score. They also have a new defensive coordinator in Corey Hetherman.
KEY MATCHUP
North Carolina passing game vs. Minnesota pass rush and coverage. The Tar Heels entered preseason camp with a competition between transfer Max Johnson and returnee Conner Harrell to succeed Maye. Harrell started the Duke's Mayo Bowl loss to West Virginia and Johnson played the last two seasons for Texas A&M after starting his career at LSU. The Gophers have a deep and experienced front led by DEs Jah Joyner and Danny Striggow, but they lost SS Tyler Nubin to the NFL and gave up 23 passing touchdowns last season.
North Carolina vs. Minnesota (Aug 29, 2024) Pregame - ESPN
Pregame analysis and predictions of the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAAF game to be played on August 29, 2024 on ESPN.