Teams: Syracuse Orange (3-5, 1-4) vs North Carolina Tar Heels (2-4, 0-3)
Day & Time: Friday, October 31, 7:30 pm
Location: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
Line: It’s as close as you can get, but Syracuse is just a favorite, getting -2.5 points according to Fanduel’s odds.
TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3, SiriusXM 84
Rivalry: North Carolina, 4-3
Current Streak:
2, North CarolinaFirst Meeting: If you forgot how long former 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: Drake Maye had an easy day against Orange at Chapel Hill in 2023 as UNC cruised to a 40-7 win. The current New England Patriots starting quarterback threw for 442 yards and three touchdowns.
Head Coaches: Syracuse: Fran Brown (second year, 13-8) | North Carolina: Bill Belichick (2-5)
Coach Bio: Belichick was raised in Annapolis, Maryland. His dad, Steve, was an assistant football coach at Navy. Bill attended Wesleyan University and played center and tight end on the football team. He also played lacrosse and squash in college.
Belichick started his coaching career as an assistant with the Baltimore Colts, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos. His reputation grew with the New York Giants. He started as a defensive assistant and special teams coach with the Giants, eventually adding linebackers coaching to his role. Belichick would then be named defensive coordinator of New York in 1985 under head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants won two Super Bowls with Belichick as defensive coordinator.
His first head coaching job came with the Cleveland Browns. Belichick only had one winning season with the Browns and was fired after the Browns moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens. He rejoined Parcells with the New England Patriots for a season. Both moved to the New York Jets for three seasons. Parcells stepped down after the 1999 season and arranged for the Jets to hire Belichick as Jets head coach. But Belichick decided to join the New England Patriots instead as their head coach.
Belichick won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, all alongside Tom Brady. He finished his New England career with a 266-121 record. Belichick and the Patriots agreed to mutually part ways after the 2023 season. After a short media career, North Carolina hired Belichick as its head coach for the 2025 season.
Last Year: North Carolina did finish the regular season 6-6 and made a bowl game, but the Tar Heels lost all of their games to unranked teams. North Carolina announced that Mack Brown would not return to the program for the 2025 season and Freddie Kitchens coached the team in the Fenway Bowl against UConn. The Tar Heels lost 27-14.
Last Game: North Carolina and Virginia did not score in the second half as a defensive battle led to overtime with both teams tied at 10-10. The Cavaliers scored a touchdown and hit the extra point. The Tar Heels also scored a touchdown but elected to go for two to end the game. UNC running back Benjamin Hall was stopped just inches short of the goal line as Virginia escaped with a 17-16 win over the Tar Heels.
“Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: Melkart Abou Jaoude is in his first season at UNC after transferring from Delaware. He totaled 8.5 sacks in two seasons at Delaware and already has five sacks this season. That’s good for a tie for fourth in the ACC.
If Syracuse Wins: By proxy Syracuse are Super Bowl champions, right?
If Syracuse Loses: Let’s all agree that this game didn’t happen.
Fun Fact: Syracuse has won 10 of its last 15 games on Fridays. That includes two bowl victories for the Orange.
