Oregon vs North Carolina prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, Wednesday, December 28
Oregon vs North Carolina San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl Prediction Game Preview
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Oregon vs North Carolina How To Watch
Date: Wednesday, December 28
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: Petco Park, San Diego, CA
How To Watch: FOX
Record: Oregon (9-3), North Carolina (9-4)
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Oregon vs North Carolina San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl 5 Things To Know
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History
– Yeah, Oregon is losing a boatload of talent, and yeah, the focus is on head coach Dan Lanning and all the talent coming in, but the offense gets back star QB Bo Nix for this and next year, and whatever happens here is just a game to get through before preparing for what should be a monster 2023.
– Like Oregon, North Carolina has lost a ton of main guys. It hurts to not have WR Josh Downs – he’s off to the NFL – and way too many parts of the defense are done. It’s not like the D could afford to lose much, and it just did. However, also like Oregon, it gets its fantastic quarterback back with Drake Maye retuning instead of bolting through the transfer portal.
– The Tar Heels have been awful in bowl games whether it’s Mack Brown, or Larry Fedora, or Butch Davis. The program has dropped the last two bowls – including last year’s Duke Mayo to South Carolina – and five of the last six and eight of the last 11.
– For all of the good things Oregon has done, it’s having a tough time in bowl games. It was missing players and got rolled by Oklahoma in last year’s Alamo as part of a run of five losses in the last seven bowls. Even the two wins – 7-6 over Michigan State in the 2018 Redbox and 28-27 over Wisconsin in the 2019 season’s Rose Bowl – were tight.
– The Holiday is back. It was canceled in 2020, and last year it was halted at the last moment with UCLA having COVID issues. Before that it was a clunker for a few years with three straight relative blowouts – all decided by 11 or more – and eight of the last 11 weren’t close. This one should at least be a blast.
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Why Oregon Will Win The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
North Carolina’s defense gets a wee bit of a bad rap. Its job is to hold serve once in a while, and it’s not bad at doing that.
To a point.
It’s still a bad D overall with absolutely no pressure whatsoever generated into the backfield, not enough takeaways to make up for the problems, and with no discernible ability to stop anyone from throwing – partly because of the lack of pressure.
Statistically it was the ACC’s worst defense in both yards and scoring, and now to make things even more fun, several of the main defensive backs are done.
Even with a few parts gone, Oregon QB Bo Nix should be able to do whatever he wants. On the other side, the North Carolina offense should still work, but it won’t have star WR Josh Downs or new Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo.
But …
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Why North Carolina Will Win The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham is off being the new Arizona State head coach. That doesn’t mean Nix won’t be great, but things might not be quite as smooth.
For all of the dogging the North Carolina defense receives, Oregon’s isn’t exactly the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.
It generates even less of a pass rush than the Tar Heels do, it’s even worse on third downs, and the last time out it. was hammered on by the Oregon State running game for 268 yards and five touchdowns.
Of course Drake Maye is one of the headliners, but the Tar Heels can run a little bit. They’re 3-0 when running for more than 165 yards and 8-1 when coming up with more than 120 – and. 1-3 when they don’t.
The North Carolina offense will still work, Maye is Maye, and …
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History