Minnesota Golden Gophers vs UNC Tar Heels football history: H2H, records, and more ahead of Week 1 college football matchup

The Minnesota Golden Gophers begin their 2024 season tomorrow against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Led by Omarion Hampton, UNC will look to improve their horrible record in on-the-road season openers.

For the Gophers, this will be our first look at their new and improved offense, which was affected most significantly by the arrival of veteran QB Max Brosmer this offseason.

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels head-to-head

Overall, these programs have only ever played one game against each other, and it happened last year. The Tar Heels won that game, but there have been some significant roster changes for both squads since then.

While Minnesota saw many notable veterans leave the team this offseason, in terms of arrivals, they were joined by one man only, their new starting QB.

North Carolina saw multiple players arrive at Chapel Hill this year and added much-needed depth to their already solid squad. What we have in this new Tar Heels squad is a much improved offensive line and additional firepower at the QB slot as well.

The development of key players like Hampton at UNC and Darius Taylor at Minnesota cannot be counted out either and will end up making the game quite competitive.

The Tar Heels were very successful last year and reached the championship game in the ACC. Minnesota struggled through offensive issues all of last year and finished with a 5-7 record in the Big 10.

Notable Records at both programs

The Golden Gophers are historically a successful team, with national chips, 18 conference chips and a few more accolades under their belt.

While they may have lost that pedigree during the last few years, a winning culture is still a part of their roots. The Tar Heels might be Minnesota's opposite in the sense that they've had a lot more success in recent years than ever before. It'll be quite interesting to see how they fare against each other.

Who is favored in tomorrow's matchup?

If UNC's spotty defense from last year is to continue this year, Minnesota's new offense should be able to exploit it for a few good plays. But the Tar Heels are definitely the ones favored to win tomorrow, as injuries to the Gophers have rendered them a bit shallow as a team.

The Gophers have barely enough grunt to last a whole game. The prediction is that UNC will win the matchup 23-20, but there's never really a guarantee in this sort of stuff.