CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — After three straight league games away from home, North Carolina finally plays an ACC opponent at Kenan Stadium. The Tar Heels host Syracuse at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with the game on ACC Network.
UNC arrives at 4-2 and 2-1 in the conference, riding back-to-back road wins at then-No. 25 Pitt and at Duke. Last week’s 24-20 comeback in Durham kept the Victory Bell in Chapel Hill and was the first time Duke had lost at home this season. The Tar Heel defense held a Duke offense that had been averaging 226.6 rushing yards to just 124.
That unit is the team’s calling card. UNC gives up 19.2 points and 329.8 yards a game. Linebacker Derek McDonald tops the ACC with 55 tackles and now faces the program he played five seasons for, and fellow linebacker Peyton Seelmann earned league linebacker of the week honors after making 16 tackles against Duke. Up front, Xavier Lewis of Rolesville has seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss, and his 1.17 sacks per game is best in the ACC.
Billy Edwards Jr. has 1,260 passing yards and nine scoring throws at quarterback, and the offense has reached at least 20 points in five of six games. The Tar Heels have also been one of the least penalized teams in the nation, with 202 penalty yards all season.
Syracuse is 2-4 and still looking for its first ACC win at 0-4. Injuries have forced the Orange to use four quarterbacks. Their biggest threat is receiver Umari Hatcher, who leads the FBS with 8.33 catches a game and just posted 13 receptions for 224 yards against Louisville.
North Carolina has won the last three meetings, including a 27-10 win at Syracuse last season that was the first ACC victory under coach Bill Belichick, and leads the all-time series 5-3. A win would give UNC three straight league victories for the first time since 2024 and would be the 760th in program history. It is also the Tar Heels’ Cancer Awareness Game, with coaches wearing sneakers painted by patients at UNC Children’s Hospital.
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