The Syracuse Orange continue to struggle, and that shows in the opening odds in their upcoming game at the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Orange are, once again, underdogs by a big margin. Syracuse opened as +9.5 point underdogs to UNC, according to FanDuel’s opening odds.
Syracuse is coming off another loss, the latest being a 34-26 defeat to Louisville. It is the 11th straight loss that the Orange have suffered in ACC play. A 224 receiving yard day from Umari Hatcher wasn’t enough to lift the Orange. Syracuse committed three turnovers in the second half that stalled promising offensive drives.
The Orange, once again, enter the week with questions at quarterback. Steve Angeli and Amari Odom missed the game against Louisville due to injury. Malachi Nelson started the game, but failed to complete it for the second week in a row due to injury. Danny Lauter attempted a two-minute drive to lead an Orange comeback but was denied once again.
UNC rang the Victory Bell last week as the Tar Heels won the Tobacco Road rivalry battle at Duke. The Tar Heels scored with 1:53 left in the 4th quarter to win 24-20 over the Blue Devils.
Syracuse is on a three-game losing streak to UNC. The Orange have failed to score more than 10 points in each of the three losses. The last game that these teams played was last year in the JMA Wireless Dome. That game featured the surprise start of Joseph Filardi at quarterback for the Orange. Syracuse only managed 152 yards of total offense that day as UNC won 27-10.
The Orange are 3-5 in their history against the Tar Heels. The latest two wins for Syracuse required multiple overtimes. The last Orange win against UNC was in 2018 in Syracuse, when Tommy DeVito came off the bench to replace Eric Dungey. DeVito had three touchdowns in the 40-37 win that went to double overtime. The last Syracuse win at Chapel Hill came in 2003. Walter Reyes scored his third touchdown of the day in triple overtime as the Orange won 49-47.
Kickoff at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill is set for Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 pm. The game will be aired on ACC Network. Syracuse’s next home game is on Saturday, October 31 against SMU.