North Carolina Tar Heels vs NC State Wolfpack Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 11/29/25

Rivalry week comes to the Carolinas on Saturday night as the North Carolina State Wolfpack hosts the North Carolina Tar Heels. The inaugural season of Bill Belichick has not gone well, and taking a shot at their in-state rival will be the end of the road for the 4-7 Heels. The Wolpack have pulled off a couple of upsets, including a defeat of then-unbeaten Georgia Tech and then a win over Florida State last week. In this kind of rivalry, heaven only knows how the game will go, and it is hard to think that metrics and trends will hold. Instead, I am going to play the over, especially at a relatively low number. Give me the game total over 47.5.

I love to pick on the NC State defense; they are really bad. The Pack ranks 127 out of 134 in total defense, and prior to Florida State’s ineptitude last week, NC State had given up 41, 36, 53, and 36 in the previous 4 games. I just don’t see how they stop anyone, and I am happy to fade that defense any time. UNC has struggled on both sides of the ball though, and that has this number low. Still, this is a rivalry game, and everyone will pull out all the stops, with nothing to lose. I think this game is really likely to escalate quickly, and it is far more likely to turn into a shootout than a grind.

North Carolina vs North Carolina State Prediction: Over 47.5 (-110) available at the time of publication. Playable at that number.