Rickenbach NCAA-F *8* North Carolina Tar Heels +3 vs South Carolina @ 6 ET Thursday - Steve Spurrier has been perfect (5-0) in his career against North Carolina. Of course, as the saying goes, that's why they play the games! In other words, I am calling for an upset here and I love the fact that this line has moved from around a pick'em to now having South Carolina favored by a full field goal. There is nice underdog value here with the Tar Heels as the Gamecocks are simply over-rated just because they play in the very tough SEC. The fact is South Carolina appears to be on a downward slide and there's no amount of coaching that Spurrier can provide that's going to change that anytime soon! The Gamecocks only return 4 starters on the offensive side of the ball this season and there is particular concern along the offensive line. Many games are won in the trenches and South Carolina has simply not had the continuity necessary for their offensive line to gel yet heading into this season. The Gamecocks saw some serious injuries in the spring carry over concern into the season in terms of production from this offensive line. As for the Tar Heels, they are certainly hungry to win this "Carolina Battle" and don't want to lose again to Spurrier. That insures the motivation factor here and while South Carolina has big games on deck with their SEC home opener next week and a visit to the Georgia Bulldogs the following week, the Tar Heels have a much lighter schedule in front of them. They don't open up ACC action until October and their next three games are against North Carolina AT & T, Illinois, and Delaware! Full focus from UNC in this one for sure! The Tar Heels have the better offense here (with 9 returning starters certainly helping the cause) and I look for swift improvement on the defensive side of the ball with the hiring of Gene Chizik. Play North Carolina +3 as an *8* selection Thursday.