UNC goes to Syracuse on Saturday with a clean chance to keep its momentum rolling, but this one comes with more traps than the record might suggest. The Tar Heels are chasing a third straight win and a fifth victory overall, yet Syracuse, despite sitting 0-4 in the ACC, has not exactly rolled over in recent weeks. The Orange have been battered by injuries, especially at quarterback, but they still pushed Virginia and Louisville hard in their last two games.
That quarterback situation is the biggest wild card in the game. Syracuse has already used four quarterbacks this season, and who starts against UNC is still unclear.
The ACC availability report could list prior starters Angeli, Odom, and Nelson all as questionable, which would leave the Orange scrambling again. Steve Angeli opened the year for Syracuse but fell apart against California, throwing three interceptions, including a game-sealing pick six.
He then threw two more picks against Pitt before being benched. Officially, he is being treated for his Achilles, the injury that ended his season last year after a fast start.
Before the benching, he ranked second-to-last in the ACC in QBR, just ahead of Tait Reynolds, whose best game of the season came against the Tar Heels.
Amari Odom took over against Pitt and played the full game against UConn. In those two appearances, the Kennesaw State transfer went 35-for-45 for 386 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions, but a throwing-shoulder injury knocked him out of the job. Update: ruled out.
Malachi Nelson, a former 5-star recruit who has already made the rounds from Southern California to Boise State to UTEP to Syracuse, started against Virginia and Louisville with Angeli and Odom unavailable. He threw for 532 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 42-of-70 passing in those two games.
A foot injury late against Louisville sent him to the sideline, too. Update: ruled out.
That leaves Danny Lauter, a fifth-year quarterback who spent his previous four seasons at Georgetown. He has thrown for 74 yards and a touchdown on 5-of-11 passing this season.
If he gets the nod, it would be his first FBS start, and he would become the sixth quarterback in that spot to face Bill Belichick. It would also make him the ninth opposing quarterback with a QBR under 50 - not counting FCS opponents - to enter a game against UNC.
Even with the QB mess, Syracuse has kept its passing game active. The Orange rank fourth in the ACC in passing yards per game, and they are going to throw the ball regardless of who is available Saturday in Chapel Hill.
The receiving numbers reflect that. The ACC’s leader in receiving yards is Syracuse’s Umari Hatcher, not Malachi Toney or Carlos Hernandez, and he has done it on the same number of catches as those two.
With UNC dealing with injuries in the secondary, this game could turn into a more explosive affair than Tar Heel fans have been used to seeing.
There is also the spot in the schedule that makes this one dangerous for UNC. Bill Belichick’s team just came off an emotional win over Duke, and Miami is waiting after Syracuse.
The Tar Heels have also reached a winning record for the first time in Belichick’s tenure, which has brought positive national attention and even some chatter around a possible Game Day visit to Chapel Hill. Add in the fact that UNC is an eight-point favorite as of press time, and this starts to look like a classic let-down setup.
College football has a way of turning those spots into headaches. Teams get lifted by a big emotional win, start thinking ahead to the next spotlight game, and suddenly the one in front of them gets sticky.
Syracuse fits that mold as well because the Orange have not shown any quit. They are last in the ACC, but they battled Virginia to a three-point loss in Charlottesville and were within five heading into the fourth quarter against Louisville.
The broader challenge for UNC is staying locked in while trying to put together three wins in a row for the first time under Belichick. As Lou Holtz famously - and accurately - said, college head coaches get a different team every week, because of injuries and the shifting moods of developing players. For the Tar Heels, that means handling a Syracuse team that may be depleted, but is still dangerous enough to make Saturday interesting.
In Other News...
UNCs Bowl Picture Just Produced A Matchup Tar Heels Would Notice
North Carolina has put itself on the verge of bowl eligibility with its recent run, and the speculation around where the Tar Heels might land is already getting interesting. Various projections have started to map out possible postseason destinations, with bowl talk picking up as the regular season winds down and the bracket of possibilities begins to narrow.
One matchup that would certainly stand out is a possible meeting with Penn State in the Dukes Mayo Bowl, a pairing that would draw plenty of attention for obvious reasons. Nothing is official yet, and the Tar Heels final destination will still hinge on what happens in their remaining games and how the postseason selections shake out. [Read more 🡒]
UNC May Need To Survive Syracuse Shorthanded Again
North Carolina heads into its matchup with Syracuse carrying another familiar injury report, and this one could leave the Tar Heels thin in a few key spots. Six starters are listed as questionable, including wide receiver Jordan Shipp and running back Benjamin Hall, while defensive back Tre Miller has already been ruled out.
The larger concern is the overall depth chart, with eight Tar Heels already out for the game before kickoff even arrives. Syracuse has its own availability issues with five players ruled out, but UNCs challenge is more about absorbing the losses and finding enough healthy bodies to stay balanced on both sides of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Just Entered A Recruiting Battle Tar Heel Fans Will Watch Closely
Grant Duggins has officially landed a scholarship offer from North Carolina, adding another major local name to the Tar Heels recruiting board. The five-star prospect from Greensboro received the offer during an in-state visit from Coach Michael Malone and his staff, a move that underscores how seriously UNC is treating the early chase for one of the countrys premier young players.
Duggins is already rated as the No. 8 prospect nationally in the Class of 2029 and the top player in North Carolina, which makes this the kind of recruiting battle that will be watched closely around Chapel Hill. For the Tar Heels, keeping a high-profile in-state target in the pipeline is always important, and this one has the feel of an early test of how much traction UNC can build before the competition really heats up. [Read more 🡒]