The North Carolina Tar Heels are 55-1 in college football odds to win the national championship this season.The Tar Heels finished their last season at 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC Conference. They could be improved this season and they should be favored more often than not in college football betting odds. College football odds list the Tar Heels as 1.5 point underdogs in their opening game of the 2010 season against LSU. That will be a tough opener but if the Tar Heels can win the game it would probably vault them close to the Top 10 in the country. North Carolina returns 18 starters from last season and they have the potential to win the ACC.
The question for North Carolina is at quarterback. T.J. Yates is just too inconsistent. Sometimes he is great but other times he makes bad decisions. Redshirt freshman Bryn Renner could see action this year. The Tar Heels return four players who will get carries at running back. Shaun Draughn is back from injury and he will combine with Ryan Houston, Johnny White and Anthony Elzy to give North Carolina a lot of options in the backfield. Zack Pianalto is a good tight end, Greg Little is the go-to receiver and Jheranie Boyd is the deep threat.
The defense for North Carolina should be very good. All-ACC defensive end Robert Quinn is back and he will combine with Marvin Austin and Tydreke Powell for a very good front line. The linebackers are excellent with Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant leading the way. The secondary is also very good as all four starters return. Cornerback Kendric Burney and free safety Deunta Williams were All-ACC picks last season.
North Carolina is going to get their chance to move up in the rankings this season. If they can defeat LSU they will get national attention. They host Georgia Tech after a bye week and then they go to Rutgers. They should win home games against East Carolina and Clemson and a road game at Virginia before a very tough game at Miami in late October. They also have to go to Florida State and host Virginia Tech this season. The schedule is tough but North Carolina has the talent to win any game they play this season.