The North Carolina Tar Heels will try to end the season with a winning record for the first time since 2016 when they take on the Temple Owls in the 2019 Military Bowl on Friday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. After going 8-5 in 2016, North Carolina went 3-9 in 2017 and 2-9 last season. This year, with coach Mack Brown back at the helm, the Tar Heels (6-6) have been one of the surprise teams in college football and are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as a favorite. Meanwhile, the Owls (8-4) finished in third place in the East Division of the American Athletic Conference. Kickoff is noon ET.

The Tar Heels are 5.5-point favorites in the latest North Carolina vs. Temple odds after the line dropped as low as 4.5, while the over-under for total points scored is 53.5. Before you make any Temple vs. North Carolina picks or 2019 Military Bowl predictions of your own, you need to hear what SportsLine's resident Tar Heels expert, Emory Hunt, has to say.

Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007, and a former running back at Louisiana-Lafayette. He knows the game from a player's perspective. 

The football analyst has been SportsLine's No. 1 college football expert this season. Hunt has a 97-59 record with his college football picks, returning a whopping profit of $3,288 to his followers. In addition, he has his finger on North Carolina's pulse. He is 11-1 on his last 12 against-the-spread picks involving the Tar Heels, and anyone who has followed him is way up. 

Now, Hunt has zeroed in on North Carolina vs. Temple. You can go to SportsLine to see it. Now, here are the college football odds and trends for North Carolina vs. Temple:

  • North Carolina vs. Temple spread: Tar Heels -5.5
  • North Carolina vs. Temple over-under: 53.5 points
  • North Carolina vs. Temple money line: Tar Heels -225, Owls +183
  • UNC: LB Chazz Surratt leads the ACC in tackles (110)
  • TEM: DE Quincy Roche ranks sixth in the nation in sacks (13)

Hunt knows that Temple's defense has been vulnerable to big plays through the air this season. In fact, the Owls have given up 104 passing plays of 10 or more yards. That bodes well for North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell and the Tar Heels, who average 14.3 yards per completion, the 17th-best mark in the country. 

In addition, Hunt has factored in that Temple's defense has occasionally struggled against the run. In five games against winning FBS teams, the Owls have given up 215.4 rushing yards per game, which ranks 102nd. That could spell good news for North Carolina tailbacks Michael Carter, Javonte Williams and Antonio Williams, who have rushed for 919, 848 and 306 yards, respectively.

But just because the Tar Heels appear to have the edge on paper does not guarantee they will cover the North Carolina vs. Temple spread in the Military Bowl 2019.

The Owls have effective at getting to the quarterback this season. They average 3.25 sacks per game, tied for 10th in the country. The unit is led by defensive end Quincy Roche, the AAC Defensive Player of the Year who leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation in sacks (13).

In addition, Temple will force North Carolina to prepare for two quarterbacks. Both Anthony Russo and Todd Centeio will play for the Owls. Centeio is a dual-threat playmaker who comes off the bench for a handful of snaps and will face a Tar Heels defense that has struggled at times this season against running quarterbacks. Virginia Tech's Quincy Patterson II and Virginia's Bryce Perkins rushed for 122 and 112 yards, respectively, against North Carolina. 

We can tell you Hunt is leaning under, but his much stronger play is on the spread. He's found a critical x-factor that makes one side of the spread hit hard. He's sharing what it is, and who to back, only at SportsLine. 

Who wins Temple vs. UNC in the Military Bowl 2019? And what critical x-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Temple vs. North Carolina spread you should be all over, all from the expert who is up almost $3,300 on college football picks this season.