This has zero to do with either team's talent level but simply the final game as UNC coach for Mack Brown -- he has been dismissed and won't coach in a bowl. By all accounts, he remains beloved by the players so you have to think they are full-bore today. Plus, obviously home finale and get to keep a hated rival from a bowl with a win. If I liked UNC even a little more I'd bet a real lot on this one.

North Carolina decided to part ways with 73-year-old coach Mack Brown following an uneven season that saw a 4-game losing streak marked by giving up 70 points to James Madison and squandering a 20-point lead to rival Duke. Even so, Brown salvaged bowl eligibility for the sixth consecutive season despite a transitional season that saw QB Drake Maye and other talent lost to the NFL along with myriad injuries. Brown's players historically adore him and his firing should be a galvanizing force to beat rival NC State and deny the middling Wolfpack a bowl bid.