Picking Every Bowl: Duke’s Mayo Bowl, North Carolina vs. South Carolina

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
December 30
North Carolina (6-6) vs. South Carolina (6-6), Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C., 11:30 a.m., ESPN
North Carolina -10 – O/U 57

North vs. South is always an intriguing battle, even when it’s North Carolina against South Carolina. These two programs have played 58 times, and the Tar Heels have the overall advantage, though the Gamecocks hold the edge in recent history (7-3 since 1981). As with so many other games, strength goes against strength on both sides of the ball. North Carolina has a potent offense (480 yards, 36.4 ppg), and South Carolina ranks decently on defense (43rd in yardage, 47th in points). On the other side, the Gamecocks are pretty bad on offense (320 yards, 21.3 ppg), while the Heels are slightly less bad on defense (408 yards, 31.6 ppg). Something has to give, and in both cases, North Carolina is a bit ahead of its southern counterpart. Expect QB Sam Howell to have a strong night, while the Gamecocks will continue the SEC’s bowl frustrations this postseason. (And look for UNC’s Mack Brown to get the coveted Duke’s Mayo bath after the game. Who dreamed up this horrid postgame nightmare?)
Prediction: North Carolina 34-17
Result: South Carolina 38-21

Record:
Bowl season: SU – 16-9; ATS – 13-12-0; O/U – 10-15-0
Overall: SU – 608-190; ATS – 380-332-6; O/U – 341-365-12

About Douglas Blaine

Capnpen is a writer who was a newspaper and magazine journalist in a previous life. A college journalism major, he now works as an English teacher, but gets his writing fix by blogging about a variety of topics, including politics, religion, movies and television. When he's not working or blogging, Capnpen spends time with his family, plays a little golf (badly) and loves to learn about virtually anything.

View all posts by Douglas Blaine →