Who Will Start: Syracuse Orange vs. North Carolina Tar Heels

Post having a record of 2 against 6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a disappointing 5 against 7 in the last season in 2019, the Syracuse Orange team has entered the new UNC Football season against North Carolina Tar Heels. 

A team that had initially done well in the 2019 season with a win against Liberty Flame College with a score of 24 against 0, the Oranges had seen their share of both highs and lows, wins, and losses when they created their losing streak of four games from October 10th to November 2nd, last year.

After quite a delay to the start of the 2020 season, the Syracuse Oranges have landed in Chapel Hills. They are ready to open the season against North Carolina at Kenan Memorial Stadium with new coaches. An absent offseason practice schedule due to COVID-19 and several replacements in the offense, like running backs Jarveon Howard and Abdul Adams, who opted out of the season amidst the coronavirus pandemic, and guard Dakota Davis, Cody Roscoe, and Cooper Dawson, who might be missing it due to an injury. 

On the other hand, the Tar Heels is one of the most favorite teams this season and predictions say that they might as well make some easy mistakes, and still beat the Oranges. Plenty of sports betting websites like OddsShark, and FanSided believe that North Carolina shall win the game with a much higher margin. However, the last time these two teams had a match together at Carrier Dome, it was the Orange that somehow managed to win, and won with great difficulty.

Predictions

One of the biggest questions in the minds of the UNC Football fans is who, after last season’s top rusher Moe Neal, shall carry the football. After Abdul Adams, Cody Roscoe, Cooper Dawson, and Jarveon Howard opted out of this season (as confirmed by the head coach Dino Babers himself), it is now a freshman and redshirt Jawhar Jordan’s turn to shine out, as he appears to be on the top position of the depth chart. 

Most of us have high hopes with his performance, given the repertoire he has exhibited in the last season, after getting a touchdown, alongside 15 touches for 105 yards. If he can pull this off well, the team has higher chances to strengthen its versatility on the offense side. Quarterback Tommy DeVito (who has been sacked for as good as 35 times in the last season) is back in this one and his comeback is something that we’re all looking forward to.

About North Carolina Tar Heels 

It is almost time to find out if this season is worth all the hype or not. One of the most promising sophomore quarterback players, UNC passer Sam Howell headlines the Tar Heel defense after completing quite a commendable campaign. 

Ever since this 19-year-old passed for 3,641 yards and 38 touchdowns, the expectations have skyrocketed. His record of the third-highest single-season total, in the history of ACC, has fetched him a significant amount of fanfare and fed the offseason hype for his second-year playing quarterback. 

However, a face-off against the Syracuse team is not going to be as easy as it seems, given Syracuse’s much improved and relatively strong offensive side. For him, working with an entirely new staff and system, choosing when to sack or throw the ball will be extremely necessary.

Amongst the Tar Heels’ members Triston Miller, Javon Terry DB, Bryce Watts, and DJ Ford DB have chosen not to perform this season due to multiple injuries. 

While the Syracuse team struggled and still managed to be consistent throughout the 2019 season with an average of close to 41 points a game, the Tar Heels had exhibited quite an extreme performance by giving up 43 points to Virginia tech and 34 points to the states of Pitt and Appalachian.

Concluding Analysis 

There are several reasons that make UNC a favorite team as an ACC Coastal contender this season. It will be interesting for fans to watch who plays against whom this season. The only question will be how the unique circumstances, given the health emergency in this pandemic time, the teams have impacted them in training for their season debut.