With the college football season barely a month away, the sports world’s premier media company decided to grace fans with some exciting news: College Gameday is coming to the state of North Carolina!
That’s right! ESPN will kick off the season in Charlotte as the North Carolina Tar Heels take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Duke’s Mayo Classic.
Why did ESPN choose this matchup for the first week of college football? And what can we expect from this matchup? Let’s dive in…
A Heisman Showdown?
The Tar Heels and the Gamecocks enter the 2023 season under similar circumstances. Both are firmly planted in college football’s middle class looking to break through and be real contenders. Both teams also happen to have Heisman-hopeful quarterbacks.
North Carolina is led by Drake Maye, a 20-year-old who should already be a household name. His 2022 season was one of the best in Tar Heel history. Maye threw for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns while conceding just 7 interceptions. Was that all? Of course not. Maye also ran for 698 yards and 7 touchdowns. That’s right, Maye accounted for over 5,000 yards of total offense and 45 touchdowns.
On the other sideline, the Gamecocks are led by Spencer Rattler who has had a different trajectory. Rattler was the Heisman Trophy betting favorite at the University of Oklahoma in 2021. Things didn’t go as planned that season and Rattler was benched early on for future Heisman winner Caleb Williams. At the end of the 2021 season, Rattler announced he would be transferring to South Carolina to play for Head Coach Frank Beamer, who also came to South Carolina from Oklahoma.
The Matchup
Outside of the quarterbacks, these two teams project to be very evenly matched. After a slow start, the Gamecocks won 7 of their final 9 regular season games, including enormous victories over fifth-ranked Tennessee and rival Clemson, the latter game coming in Clemson’s home stadium. They were a young team that exceeded expectations and a large percentage of their nucleus will be returning.
As far as the Tar Heels go, expectations are as high as they’ve been in a long time. Pro Football Focus (PFF) put four players donning baby blue and white on the All-ACC team, three on the offensive side of the ball. While the defense could surprise some people, this team will only go as far as the offense goes.
ESPN choosing this matchup to kick off the season is informative as to how these teams are viewed in the college football ecosystem. Both are exciting with the potential to enjoy great success this season. I, for one, cannot wait to watch.
