If there was any doubt as to how good of a coach Mack Brown is look no further than what he has done at North Carolina a team that was once a middle-of-the-pack team in the ACC has turned into one of the best teams in the conference with Brown as coach and Drake Maye at quarterback. 

This week they will start their ACC schedule when they travel to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers who have struggled to this point of the season with a record of 1-2. Will the Panther pull off the upset at home or will the Tar Heels remain undefeated at 4-0 to start the year? Let’s take a deeper dive into how these teams are performing this season.

The North Carolina Tar Heels enter this game ranked 17^th in the AP Poll and 17^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 3-0 following a 31-13 win at home against the Minnesota Golden Gophers while covering the 7-point spread as a home favorite in week 3 of the college football season. North Carolina scored 31 points while compiling 519 total yards offensively which included 414 passing yards and 105 rushing yards while allowing 13 points and 303 total yards defensively which included 133 passing yards and 170 rushing yards. 

Drake Maye led the team in passing, completing 29 of 40 attempts for 414 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for 34 yards. Omarion Hampton led the team in rushing with 13 carries for 46 yards and a touchdown while adding two receptions for 21 yards. Nate McCollum led the team in receiving, catching 15 of 20 targets for 165 yards and a touchdown.

Pitt enters this game with a record of 1-2 following a 6-17 loss on the road against the West Virginia Mountaineers while failing to cover the 2.5-point spread as a road underdog in week 3 of the college football season. The Panthers scored 6 points while compiling 211 total yards offensively which included 81 passing yards and 130 rushing yards while allowing 17 points and 211 total yards defensively which included 60 passing yards and 151 rushing yards. 

Phil Jurkovec led the team in passing, completing 8 of 20 attempts for 81 yards and three interceptions while rushing for 35 yards. Rodney Hammond Jr. led the team in rushing with 14 carries for 49 yards. Gavin Bartholomew led the team in receiving, catching two of three targets for 39 yards.

BookMaker has the North Carolina Tar Heels listed as 7.5-point favorites on the road against the Pitt Panthers on Saturday night in week 4 of the college football season. North Carolina has won seven of the last ten while going 6-4 ATS in those matchups, however, Pitt has won two of the last three contests while going 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. North Carolina is 2-1 ATS overall and 2-1 ATS as a favorite this season while the Pitt Panthers are 1-2 ATS overall, 1-1 ATS at home, and 0-1 ATS as an underdog on the year.

North Carolina has been the better team in the series, winning seven of the last ten games while going 6-4 ATS in those matchups. The Tar Heels have also been the better team at covering the spread this season going 2-1 ATS overall while the Panthers are 1-2 ATS overall. As a result, I am buying the .5 point and taking the North Carolina Tar Heels -7 on BookMaker for this matchup on Saturday night.