North Carolina isn't scaring anybody either, but it's figuring out how to close. The Tar Heels have won 2 straight as of this week, both 4-point road wins in the ACC: 21-17 at Pitt, then 24-20 at Duke to take back the Victory Bell for the 1st time since 2023. They're 4-2 and 2-1 in conference, and with the losses coming against Clemson and Notre Dame, there's nothing embarrassing on the résumé.
East Tennessee State35-3Still, the Duke win should bother Carolina more than it's letting on. The Heels went up 17-0 in the first 17 minutes, then didn't score for more than 41 minutes while Duke took a 20-17 lead in the last 5. Jaylen McGill bailed them out with a 24-yard touchdown run with 1:53 left, and Kenton Dopson III sealed it by picking off Walker Eget at the UNC 15 with 14 seconds to go. A team that goes that long without scoring can't assume it'll put away a Syracuse offense that just threw for 315.
The common opponent tells you a lot. Syracuse went to Pittsburgh and lost 27-13. North Carolina went there and won 21-17. Carolina's offense is also thin at 1 spot: both J. Washington and J. Warren, the tight ends on the report, are out indefinitely, so the Heels have been winning without that piece of the passing game. Kickoff is forecast at 55 degrees, clear, with a 6 mph wind, so the weather won't decide this. Turnovers will. If Syracuse protects the ball, it has hung around with everybody. If not, this looks a lot like the Louisville game.