Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

sports betting:

Vegas Play of the Day: North Carolina at Miami

College picks

AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

Miami coach Mark Richt high-fives fans as the team arrives at the stadium for an NCAA college football game against Florida A&M in Miami Gardens, Fla. No. 25 Miami could be walking into trouble when it visits Boone, N.C., to face an Appalachian State program in its third year in the Bowl Subdivision. Its by far the biggest game at the FBS level for the Mountaineers, who took No. 15 Tennessee to overtime two weeks ago.

We’ve entered the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015.

Miami minus-6.5 vs. North Carolina: $660 to win $600: North Carolina is coming off a 30-point loss last week to Virginia Tech where it struggled in all facets of the game. Virginia Tech wasn’t bothered by heavy rain from Hurricane Matthew, but North Carolina couldn’t get its offense going. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky entered as one of the nation’s better passers, but completed just 13 of 33 passes for 58 yards with two interceptions.

While the rain was definitely a factor, Virginia Tech’s defense was simply too much. Guess what? Miami’s defense is better.

While Miami narrowly lost to Florida State last week, it held the high-scoring Seminoles offense relatively in check. Florida State had just three points at halftime. For the season, Miami has yielded 63 points in five games.

Miami, with first-year coach Mark Richt’s leading the way, appears to be the real deal. Some will say Miami’s schedule hasn’t been challenging and point to the fact it lost to Florida State whereas North Carolina beat Florida State. North Carolina also gave up 35 points to Florida State.

Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya was shaken up in the Florida State game, but has returned to practice and appears headed for the start. The junior has been the Miami starter since his true freshman season and projected by some as a first-round NFL pick. He’ll put up big numbers to help cover the less-than-a-touchdown spread.

Current Standings: Bern (14-9, $12,297), Keefer (17-14-1, $10,081), Brewer (12-13, $9,425)

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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