{"id":366317,"date":"2025-09-01T14:13:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T18:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/?p=366317"},"modified":"2025-09-01T14:13:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T18:13:29","slug":"tcu-vs-north-carolina-prop-picks-ncaaf-september-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/tcu-vs-north-carolina-prop-picks-ncaaf-september-1\/","title":{"rendered":"TCU vs. North Carolina prop picks Sept. 1: Eric McAlister should star for Horned Frogs in Bill Belichick&#8217;s NCAA coaching debut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill begins on Monday night, as the North Carolina Tar Heels host the TCU Horned Frogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The pregame narrative:<\/strong> Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion as an NFL head coach, has never coached at any collegiate level. He takes over a North Carolina program that went 6-7 last season and is a 3.5-point home underdog in its season opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out my TCU vs. North Carolina prop picks for the Week 1 matchup on Sept. 1, featuring Gio Lopez and Eric McAlister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">TCU vs. North Carolina prop picks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Best Bet: Lopez over 32.5 rushing yards (-120)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just because it wasn&#8217;t Tom Brady&#8217;s style, who says Belichick can&#8217;t work with a mobile quarterback? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wouldn&#8217;t go as far as to say Lopez is a running quarterback, but at 6 feet and 203 pounds, he definitely moves well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And his willingness to scramble was evident in his 11 starts last year as a redshirt freshman:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>463 rushing yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>7 rushing TDs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>25+ yards in 9 of 11 games<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>7+ carries in 8 of 11 games<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Lopez spent his first two collegiate seasons at South Alabama, and he didn&#8217;t opt to transfer until after the Jaguars&#8217; spring game in April. ESPN reported that Lopez will receive $4 million over a two-year contract with the Tar Heels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given that Belichick already had three quarterbacks on the UNC roster in the spring, it&#8217;s noteworthy that he went into the portal to get his starter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year, Lopez ranked 22nd in NCAA Division I in total offence per game (274.7 yards). The Tar Heels will need a spark in the ground game after Omarion Hampton graduated to the NFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TCU struggled against the run last year, ranking 116th among 134 D-I schools in EPA per rush, according to Game On Paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key stat:<\/strong> Lopez averaged 42.1 rushing yards per game last season. He went 7-4 vs. this line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.northstarbets.com\/sportsbook\/sports\/american_football\/competitions\/11489\/matches\">Full NCAAF betting markets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Quick picks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>McAlister over 68.5 receiving yards (-118):<\/strong> McAlister was way down the Horned Frogs&#8217; depth chart last year, but it seems like now is his time to shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TCU&#8217;s top three receivers combined for 179 receptions last year, and all three of them have moved on to the NFL (two on active rosters, one on a practice squad).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McAlister, now a senior, flashed his big-play ability with 39 catches for 762 yards. In three D-I seasons, he&#8217;s averaged 19.5 yards per catch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think the 6-foot-3 wideout will see a notable uptick in volume as the top returnee for quarterback Josh Hoover. But it may only take a few catches for McAlister to cash this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hoover had a great year for TCU in 2024, throwing for 250+ yards in 11 of 13 games. The pre-existing connection between him and McAlister is a definite plus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Picks made at 2:10 p.m. ET 09\/01\/2025.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill begins on Monday night, as the North Carolina Tar Heels host the TCU Horned Frogs. The pregame narrative: Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion as an NFL head coach, has never coached at any collegiate level. He takes over a North Carolina program that went 6-7 last season [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":366297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sidebar_plugin_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[452,77],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-366317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-com","category-college-football","tag-college-football-betting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>TCU vs. North Carolina prop picks &amp; predictions: Sept. 1 | NSB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Check out our top TCU vs. North Carolina prop picks for Week 1. 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