Week 1 of the college football season is just about in the books, with plenty of action already having taken place. But all eyes will be on the TCU Horned Frogs vs. the North Carolina Tar Heels’ matchup in the lone Monday Night matchup and final game of the week. Bill Belichick is making his collegiate head coaching debut, with plenty of media attention sure to surround him. TCU aims to return to the college football playoff mix and build on last year’s 9-4 record.
TCU enters as 3.5-point favorites and holds -170 odds on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. North Carolina holds +142 odds of pulling off the outright upset, and the game total is set at 55.5 for the matchup.
Ahead of the Monday night headline matchup, here’s who the betting public is backing on DraftKings Sportsbook.
How is the public betting TCU vs. North Carolina?
The public is fairly split on this matchup, with 66% of the betting handle and 62% of the bets placed backing North Carolina on the +142 odds for the Moneyline. 59% of the bets placed and 51% of the betting handle are on the Tar Heels to cover the 3.5-point spread as well. This leaves 34% of the handle and 38% of the bets on the -170 odds for TCU to win outright, and 41% of the bets and 49% of the handle backing the -3.5 spread.
From a game total perspective, there is more of a consensus from the betting public. 71% of the bets placed and 75% of the betting handle are backing the game total to finish under 54.5 at -108 odds on DraftKings. This leaves just 29% of the bets and 25% of the handle on the over.
Most Popular Player Props
Here are the five player props in this TCU vs. UNC matchup receiving the most bets:
- Davion Gause Anytime TD (-160)
- Eric McAlister Anytime TD (+125)
- Gio Lopez Anytime TD (-105)
- Davion Gause First TD Scorer (+700)
- Kevorian Barnes First TD Scorer (+700)
- Kevorian Barnes Anytime TD Scorer (-140)
- Aziah Johnson Anytime TD Scorer (+260)
- Josh Hoover to record 2+ Passing Touchdowns (-190)
- Gio Lopez First TD Scorer (+950)
- Jordan Shipp Anytime TD Scorer (+340)
TCU is looking to build off its 9-4 record last season and return to the College Football Playoff threat they were two years earlier. The Horned Frogs went 13-2 in the 2022 season and defeated Michigan 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl before falling to Georgia in the National Championship Game. After only posting a 5-7 record the following year, they are back to trending in the right direction. Sonny Dykes is entering his fourth season as head coach, and Josh Hoover returns at quarterback, looking to build off the 3,949 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns he tallied last year.
The outlook is much less clear for North Carolina, with the whole world set to have eyes on Bill Belichick’s debut. He is unquestionably one of the most accomplished coaches in football history, but traveling down the uncharted waters of college football at the ripe age of 73 years old was a surprise that still does not feel completely real. The Tar Heels are coming off a 6-7 season last year, which snapped a streak of back-to-back winning seasons. Gio Lopez has been named the starting quarterback after transferring in from South Alabama.
While there has been plenty of notable college football action already this weekend, don’t be shocked if this standalone matchup ends up drawing the most viewership with all the storylines in mind.
