The Week 1 college football schedule kicks off on Thursday night when the Minnesota Golden Gophers host the North Carolina Tar Heels. Both teams will be gunning for an early season victory and oddsmakers are expecting a close contest on Thursday night. 

Kickoff from Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. The Tar Heels are 1.5-point favorites in the latest North Carolina vs. Minnesota odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 52. Before making any Minnesota vs. North Carolina picks or CFB predictions, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It is also coming off a profitable 13-9 season on top-rated spread picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen STRONG returns!

The model knows UNC lost quarterback Drake Maye to the NFL, but the Tar Heels will have a seasoned running back in the backfield on Thursday night. Omarion Hampton rushed for 1,504 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, so he's expected to be heavily involved in North Carolina's game plan. Hampton averaged 5.9 yards per carry last season while recording 253 carries. 

The model has also taken into account that the Golden Gophers feature an experienced offense and return their leading rusher from a season ago. Darius Taylor rushed for 799 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. As a team, Minnesota rushed for more than 2,048 yards, and they'll likely feature a ground and pound offensive attack again in 2024. 

The model has simulated North Carolina vs. Minnesota 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time!

Who wins North Carolina vs. Minnesota, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over, all from the model on a 13-9 roll on top-rated CFB picks!