Stanford is a slight favorite at the best sportsbooks against North Carolina in the Sun Bowl on Friday in El Paso, Texas on CBS. The Cardinal are favored even though their best odds player, running back Christian McCaffrey will not play. The Cardinal went 9-3 this season while the Tar Heels were 8-4. Let’s look at the matchup, Sun Bowl odds and Sun Bowl picks.
The 18th-ranked Cardinal takes on the Tar Heels in the Sun Bowl on Friday, December 30th with a start time of 2 pm Eastern on CBS.
Sun Bowl Odds at the Best Betting Websites
Stanford -2, total 54
Stanford vs. North Carolina
There is no question that Stanford is not going to be as good without McCaffrey who has 672 touches from scrimmage in the last two years. The Cardinal will look to Bryce Love to pick up the slack. He ran for 664 yards and 7.4 per carry this season. ”They’re not going to change what they do,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said about Stanford. ”They’re going to run the ball and pound it at you and play-action pass you.”
Stanford ended the season winning their last five sports betting games and even without McCaffrey, the Cardinal should have a lot of success on the ground as North Carolina was 113th in rush defense allowing 235.5 yards per game on 4.59 yards per carry this year.
The Cardinal averaged 26 points per game this season while giving up about 20 per contest. They were 7-5 ATS this season with 7 of the 12 games going under.
The Tar Heels will be looking to have success with quarterback Mitch Trubisky who completed 68.4% of his passes on the year. He will be going against a defense that had big trouble against top quarterbacks Jake Browning and Luke Falk this season.
North Carolina averaged 33 points per game this season while giving up 25 per contest. They were 7-5 ATS with 8 of the 12 going under the total.
Game Trends
The Cardinal are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games in December. The Cardinal are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. the ACC. The Cardinal are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 bowl games. The Tar Heels are 1-4 ATS at US betting sites in their last 5 games in December. The Tar Heels are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
The Over is 4-1 in Stanford’s last 5 Bowl games. The Over is 4-0 in the Tar Heels last 4 vs. the Pac-12. The Under is 7-1 at the best betting websites in the Tar Heels last 8 games overall.
Sun Bowl Picks
Both of these teams have capable offenses and somewhat suspect defenses. The Cardinal should still be able to score points even without McCaffrey and there is no doubt that North Carolina should have success against the Stanford defense. We’ll look for a high scoring game that goes over the total at the best betting websites like MyBookie Sportsbook.
