Syracuse Orange vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 10/07/2023

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 7, 2023

Venue:  Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Syracuse +8.5, UNC -8.5; Over/Under:  60 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Syracuse +8.5, UNC -8.5; Over/Under:  60 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Syracuse +8.5, UNC -8.5; Over/Under:  60.5 points

Syracuse Orange:  4-1 (0-1) (11th place, ACC)

North Carolina Tar Heels:  4-0 (1-0) (3rd place, ACC)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Kyle Hunter is on a HOT STREAK in CFB as he is 78-39 his last 117 CFB plays! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Syracuse Orange:  lost their last game at home against the Clemson Tigers 31-14.

North Carolina Tar Heels:  won their last game on the road against the Pittsburgh Panthers 41-24.

Syracuse is entering this game with a 4-1 record overall and they have a 0-1 record in their conference games too. They are 3-1 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They lost their last game against Clemson 31-14. Garrett Shrader was the starting QB and he completed 15/29 passes for 181 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. LeQuint Allen led the team in rushing yards with 52. Dan Villari led the receivers with 65 receiving yards on 2 receptions and 1 TD. Justin Barron led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Leon Lowery led the defense in sacks with 2. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

North Carolina is entering this game with a 4-0 record overall and they have a 1-0 record in their conference games too. They are 2-0 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 1-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Pittsburgh 41-24. Drake Maye was the starting QB and he completed 22/30 passes for 296 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Omarion Hampton led the team in rushing yards with 66 and 1 TD. JJ Jones led the receivers with 117 receiving yards on 6 receptions. Kaimon Rucker led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Kaimon Rucker led the defense in sacks with 2. Alijah Huzzie came away with the only 2 interceptions for them in that game.

The current betting odds have North Carolina listed as an 8.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. North Carolina has looked really good in their games this season with their 4-0 record overall and now they are coming out of their bye week too. Syracuse has also looked good this season with their 4-1 record overall but they also lost their 1st conference game of the season at home to a struggling Clemson team that already has 2 losses in the ACC this year. They didn't look good at all in that game and now they are going on the road against UNC who has a really strong offense that has been putting up a ton of points in their games. UNC didn't have much of a defense last season but even their defense has improved a lot this year as they aren't giving up as many points in their games and they aren't blowing their leads late either. North Carolina will have the home advantage here and they are the better team on both sides of the ball with something to prove in the ACC this season. The best way to place a bet here is on North Carolina to cover the spread in this game.

Syracuse North Carolina Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 7, 2023 (3:30 pm ET start time) is North Carolina 45 Syracuse 24.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Syracuse Orange North Carolina Tar Heels prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

Syracuse Orange: 7-0 ATS after a 2 game home stand. 8-1 ATS in October games. 11-6 UNDER against conference opponents. 48-27 UNDER off a loss by 10 points or more to a conference rival. 83-47 UNDER after a game where they forced 1 or less turnovers.

North Carolina Tar Heels: 6-12 ATS after playing a conference game. 8-16 ATS after 2 straight wins by 17 or more points. 8-1 UNDER after scoring 31 points or more in 4 straight games. 20-11 UNDER after a game with a turnover margin of +3 or better.

Syracuse Orange:  T. Pena (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. I. Jones (WR) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed. O. Gadsden II (TE) out for season - Ankle. D. Wohlabaugh Jr. (OL) out for season - Leg. S. Mahar Jr. (TE) out for season - Knee.

North Carolina Tar Heels:  G. Blackwell (WR) Ques Sat - Upper Body. E. Green (RB) Ques Sat - Illness. R. Coe (PK) Ques Sat - Lower Body. D. Walker (WR) out for season - Eligibility. J. Randolph (TE) out for season - Lower Body. L. Cavazos (DB) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. R. Grigsby (OL) Out indefinitely - Lower Body.

"First of all, I'd like to say congratulations to Clemson and coach Dabo Swinney. That was a fantastic effort by their guys. Obviously we saw a different football team than people had been seeing recently, but those guys are extremely talented. They were highly motivated and there's no doubt they played an exceptional game against us." - Dino Babers after his team’s loss against Clemson in their last game. 

“When you take momentum into halftime, you feel good about yourself and then you’re jacked up going back out. And the other bunch is feeling bad about themselves. It’s a huge indicator of who’s going to win the game.” - Mack Brown on his team’s upcoming game against Syracuse this week.

WR Alford, Damien 

WR Hatcher, Umari 

WR Brown, Donovan 

TE Villari, Dan 

QB Shrader, Garrett 

RB Allen, LeQuint 

FB Perry, Rashard

WR Jones, J.J. 

WR Paysour, Kobe  

WR McCollum, Nate 

TE Copenhaver, John 

QB Maye, Drake 

RB Hampton, Omarion 

Passing: G. Shrader (1148)

Rushing: L. Allen (363)

Receiving: D. Alford (282)

Touchdowns: L. Allen (7)

Passing: D. Maye (1187)

Rushing: O. Hampton (383)

Receiving: J. Jones (296)

Touchdowns: O. Hampton (7)

Coaches:

Syracuse Orange: Dino Babers (8th season)

North Carolina Tar Heels: Mack Brown (5th season)