UNC an eight-point favorite over NC State

Hey, everybody, guess what? NC State is an underdog again! I know, right, totally never even saw it coming. The Wolfpack opened Sunday at +5.5 against UNC, according to Vegas Insider, and State is already +8 at some places. The money is not optimistic about NC State this week, it appears.

The Tar Heels are riding a two-game winning streak, most recently demolishing Duke in what had to be UNC's most complete effort of the season. And that's good, isn't it? I mean, better that UNC comes into this week riding high than angry after a crappy game, surely. Surely.

In addition to the fact that Carolina's been playing better, oddsmakers have noticed that NC State's offense is a questionable bet even against some of the ACC's worst defenses. Because the passing game has been garbage throughout the majority of league play, as it was last year. See, for example:

Jacoby Brissett in ACC games: 5.9 yds/att, 11/4 TD/INT, 53.3 completion pct, 113.38 passer rating
2013 NCSU QBs in ACC games: 6.0 yds/att, 8/11 TD/INT, 54.7 completion pct, 106.54 passer rating

Brissett is averaging one interception thrown for every 53.5 attempts in conference games,  which is a drastic improvement over State's INT rate in ACC games last year, but beyond that ... bleh. Disappointing to say the least.

That just means he's due!