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Virginia Tech v North Carolina

Source: Streeter Lecka / Getty

It’s been a tough week in Chapel Hill, where North Carolina lost its much-anticipated match-up with Notre Dame 31-17 last Saturday. With that loss, the 17th ranked Tar Heels (6-3) found themselves officially out of contention for the ACC Championship.

But they’ve still got a chance to play in the Orange Bowl, and to do that they need to win their final two regular season games. Miami looms next week, but first the Tar Heels have to take care of Western Carolina. The Catamounts visit Chapel Hill on Saturday for a noon kick-off on WBT.

This game wasn’t on the original schedule, but the Tar Heels’ lone non-ACC game against Charlotte was cancelled because of the 49er’s coronavirus issues. So WCU stepped up to fill the void. The Catamounts will play their regular season in the spring, but opted to play some of their non-conference games this fall, losing the two they’ve played so far.

Defense has been a big problem for the Catamounts. They’re allowing over 611 yards per game, and having given up 107 total points. But they’ve managed six takeaways, with four forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions. Linebacker Ty Harris leads the defense along with safety A.J. Rogers, he has one pick. The Catamounts have given up big yards on the ground, allowing 471 rushing yards in their two games. And while the Tar Heels were stuffed by the Fighting Irish last week, they still boast one of the best running back tandems in the nation in Javonte Williams and Michael Carter Junior.

The Catamounts have a pretty good running back in veteran Donovan Spencer, he’s averaging 135 yards per game. That’s good for WCU, because quarterback Will Jones has completed just half of his passes and has two touchdowns and two interceptions. His top targets are Owen Cosenke and Reggie Jones, who each have six catches.

This should be an easy win for the Tar Heels, considering they’re playing an over matched FCS team that has lost both games its played this season. If any game is going to be a “get right” game, this is it. I say UNC picks up its seventh win of the season and has fun doing it on Senior Day.