North Carolina State Wolfpack @ North Carolina Tar Heels Free Pick

North Carolina State Wolfpack @ North Carolina Tar Heels Free Pick: Russell Wilson has been impressive, tossing 22 touchdown passes while leading the Wolfpack to a 7-3 record, and a chance at the ACC title. But from my point of view, T.J. Yates has been even more impressive. He’s 300 yards behind Wilson, but he’s completing a higher percentage of passes, he throws fewer interceptions, and his yards per attempt (8.25) is more than a yard better than Wilson’s. When you take into account the absence of key players on the Tar Heels’ squad, Yates’ season becomes that much more impressive.

What this game comes down to is what scares me about each team. There are things, oh yes, there are. For North Carolina, they just looked so bad last week against Virginia Tech that I worry about how they’ll respond. They couldn’t move the ball on the ground or through the air, and a talented quarterback (Tyrod Taylor) chewed them up.

But for NC State, they haven’t played well on the road the last two times out, and they played a very soft Wake Forest team last eek, maybe setting them up to struggle against an underrated North Carolina defense.

The Heels are tough at home, and they’ve beaten two teams the Wolfpack have lost to. East Carolina and Clemson. I think this will be a close one, and home field gets the nod.

North Carolina State Wolfpack @ North Carolina Tar Heels (-2.5)