Syracuse Orange v. North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction and Preview (10/31/25)

As we countdown to kickoff for the start of the Syracuse football season on Aug. 30, The Juice Online will be doing a team-by-team preview of its opponents.

We left off on Thursday with my prediction of a Syracuse ACC road win over Georgia Tech. After that game, the Orange return to the dome in week 10 to take on the UNC Tar Heels on a Friday night for a Halloween showdown.

The matchup is set to be nationally televised on ESPN. The last time these two teams faced off was in 2023 when future New England Patriot, Drake Maye, dissected the Orange defense en route to 40-7 win. This matchup carries weight as the Orange face a brutal two-game road stretch against Miami and Notre Dame following this game.

A look at the UNC offense

UNC has been in the media all offseason following the move to hire 6-time super bowl head coach, Bill Belicheck, to fill the vacant HC position. After 5 seasons of Mack Brown, UNC decided they’d seen enough.

The 2025 campaign will certainly be a turnover year for the Tar Heels as Belichick looks to build his program. The Tar Heels have yet to name a starting QB at this point. The three options are Max Johnson, Bryce Baker, and Gio Lopez. Johnson was named the starter last year but suffered a leg injury in the first game.

Jacolby Criswell took over for the rest of the season and has since transferred out of the school. Baker is an incoming 4-star first year who was the 5th ranked player in North Carolina for 2025. Baker offers a dual-threat option for the Tar Heels.

Finally, Lopez is a redshirt sophomore transfer from South Alabama who will get a chance to earn the starting role. UNC lost their most productive offensive weapon, Omarion Hampton to the draft. The running back ran for an ACC-leading 1,660 yards and found the endzone 15 times.

His absence necessitates a rise from returning sophomore Davion Gause, and incoming Michigan transfer, Benjamin Hall. In the receiver room, there was almost complete turnover with just 1 rotational starter returning. Senior Kobe Paysour (21 receptions, 365 yards) will be joined by CU Boulder transfer, Adrian Wilson, and Purdue transfer, Nathan Leacock.

The Tar Heel line presents a mix of returns and newcomers including redshirt seniors Daniel King, Christo Kelly, Jakai Moore, and Chad Lindberg, along with redshirt juniors Trevyon Green and William Boone.

Scouting the UNC defense

The defense will remain a loose end for the Tar Heels in 2025. They are coming off a season where they allowed 29.6 points per game (89th in the nation) and are currently ranked as the 74th defense in SP+.

The secondary lost key contributors Antavious Lane and Power Echols, who combined for 105 solo tackles and 6 pass deflections and 2 interceptions. The front-seven lost game-wrecker Amare Campbell, who transferred to Penn State as a 4-star. Campbell tallied 11 TFLs and 6.5 sacks. In exchange, they attracted from 4-star edge, Joseph Mupoyi away from Penn State.

On the line, they lost Beau Atkinson (7.5 sacks), Jahvaree Ritzie (6.5 sacks), and Desmond Evans (5.0 sacks). These 3 helped contribute to a sack rate of 9.95% (4th in the nation). Belichick replaced them with former Florida 4-star, D’antre Robinson and Arizona 3-star, Isaiah Johnson.

A prediction and preview for the matchup

This would be a great game for Syracuse to finally build momentum in.

Stringing together a couple wins for the first time this season would be huge for morale heading into the brute of an away stretch they have. UNC is in an adjustment year, and Syracuse should be able to take advantage of it.

I have Syracuse moving to 5-4 on the season with a 30-16 win over the Tar Heels.

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