I miss when UNC was bad at football
Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images
Teams: Syracuse Orange (4-1, 0-1) vs. #14/13 North Carolina Tar Heels (4-0, 1-0)
Day & Time: Saturday, October 7, 3:30 pm ET
Location: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Line: Syracuse is an 8.5 point underdog according to DraftKings.
TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3, Sirius 108/XM 204
Rivalry: 3-3, Tied
Current Streak: 1, North Carolina
First Meeting: If you forgot how long UNC Head Coach Mack Brown has been around college football, let this be a reminder. The 20th-ranked Tar Heels began their 8th season during Brown’s first stint at Chapel Hill in 1995 with a home game against Syracuse. There, a redshirt freshman by the name of Donovan McNabb led ‘Cuse to a 20-9 victory at Kenan Stadium. Whatever happened to him?
Last Meeting: Syracuse got a shocking introduction to the Sterlin Gilbert era as the new Orange offensive coordinator didn’t impress in his first showing. The 3-3-5 defense also made its debut, but a tired unit couldn’t keep the UNC offense at bay as the Tar Heels opened the 2020 season with a 31-6 win.
Head Coaches: Syracuse - Dino Babers (eighth year, 40-50) | North Carolina - Mack Brown (15th year, 103-68-1)
Coach Bio: Brown first led the Tar Heels from 1988 to 1997, where the boys in baby blue made six consecutive bowl appearances and achieved three 10-win seasons. He went on to lead Texas from 1998 to 2013, where he notably won the 2005 BCS National Championship over USC. Brown was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in December 2018, but the game called him back to replace Larry Fedora at UNC for the 2019 season.
Last Year: UNC went from one star quarterback to another after Sam Howell left. Drake Maye immediately filled his place and led the Tar Heels to an ACC Championship appearance. However, the end of the season did not go UNC’s way as the Tar Heels dropped its last four games, including upsets to Georgia Tech and NC State.
Last Game: Pitt’s no good, terrible season continued at the hands of UNC as the Tar Heels comfortably won 41-24. An eight-minute stretch in the second half saw UNC outscore Pitt 21-7 to seize control.
“Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: Drake Maye was the ACC Player of the Year last season for good reason. His form hasn’t dipped all that much, as the projected top-two pick in the upcoming NFL Draft hasn’t thrown below 200 yards in a game this year.
If Syracuse Wins: Reports of Syracuse’s demise were greatly exaggerated.
If Syracuse Loses: PLEASE NO ONE ELSE GET HURT.
Fun Fact: Syracuse is set to play three straight road games for the first time since 1996.
