After two straight games of winning as an underdog, the North Carolina Tar Heels will have the opportunity to play as the favorite against the Syracuse Orange. It has been arguably the best stretch of games for head coach Bill Belichick in this season’s first six games; the Tar Heels are 4-2 after back-to-back four-point wins over Pittsburgh and Duke. Starting running back Benjamin Hill went down with an injury early on against Duke, but backup Jaylin McGill filled in with 75 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes of the game. North Carolina will look to add another win to their 2-1 conference record against the 2-4 Orange. Syracuse is 0-4 in conference and looking for their first win. However, they have played competitively against their last two opponents, losing on the road against Virginia 28-25 and at home against Louisville, 34-26. Head coach Fran Brown has tried finding the right man at quarterback, as the Orange have had five different players under center so far this season, with three of them throwing for 300 yards in at least one game. The carousel at quarterback has not fully slowed down their passing game. Receiver Umari Hatcher has still excelled, winning ACC Receiver of the Week with 224 receiving yards and a touchdown against Louisville.
Even with all the changes at quarterback this season, Syracuse still has better offensive numbers than North Carolina. Syracuse scores 31.7 points per game, while North Carolina only averages 23.5. Syracuse has North Carolina beat in the statistical categories of total yards, passing yards, rushing yards per game and even total defensive yards allowed by a short margin. It seems that no matter who Brown starts at quarterback, they will be set up to succeed with Hatcher on the outside. For what it's worth, Hatcher has recorded 50 catches for 784 yards and seven touchdowns. His talent alone makes Syracuse a difficult team to beat, despite their record. Belichick said it himself leading up to this game that Syracuse has more talent than their record portrays. I think that North Carolina’s number is inflated after their two underdog wins. They still have question marks on offense, including their quarterback play. I’m siding with Syracause to keep this game competitive.
Syracuse vs North Carolina prediction: Syracuse Orange +7.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable to +7.
