Syracuse Football: Staff picks do include an Orange upset of UNC

Ryan Lee

Syracuse Football heads to North Carolina to start the 2020 season. Yes, you read that correct, college football in 2020 will at least start. Syracuse drew a tough draw with North Carolina. The Tar Heels are far removed from the team that showed up in 2018 and hung with Syracuse in a double OT thriller.

Now UNC has legendary coach Mac Brown back for his second run with the team and 2019’s break out performer Sam Howell who lit up opposing defenses during his freshman campaign for 3,641 yards with 38 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions.

Howell is not alone and in a shortened offseason he will have several key weapons back with him. Thousand-yards rusher Michael Carter will be back with Javonte Williams who just missed a thousand yards himself. Add in a pair of thousand-yard receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome and Syracuse’s new defense under Tony White will have their hands full.

The key to slowing down an offense like the Tar Heels would be to keep them off the field and promote as much ball control as you can. However, that might be a tough ask for the Orange with no Abdul Adams or Javeon Howard listed on the depth chart in week one leaving a lot to ask from Jawhar Jordan.

Later in the year, it might be reasonable to ask the Orange defense, who needs to carry to Orange in 2020, to do just that against North Carolina but as mentioned earlier they will be taking the field for the first time under new defensive coordinator Tony White and expecting them to slow down potentially one of the nation’s premier offenses.

2020 might be another rebuilding year for the Orange that might be stunted a bit because of pandemic and lack of practice time and those who are missing on game day but I express everyone to use patience this season even though this Tar Heels opener might make it tough. North Carolina 45 Syracuse 14.