As the college football season keeps pressing on, the better UNC is playing.
After narrowly surviving a scare from App State in Week 2, the Heels bounced back with convincing wins against Minnesota and Pitt. Nate McCollum properly introduced himself to the Tar Heel faithful with a 15-catch, 165-yard, 1-touchdown performance against Minnesota, while Drake Maye was the talk of college football highlights with his one-handed touchdown throw vs. Pitt.
UNC, coming off its bye week, will face a Syracuse program recently dealt its first loss by Clemson. ‘Cuse kept it close initally, trailing only 14-7 after the opening quarter, yet the visiting Tigers expanded their lead to 17 entering the fourth quarter. Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader was sacked five times, while the Orange fumbled it on three more occasions.
Carolina can attack you in a variety of ways.
Maye can beat you with his strong, accurate arm or escape pressure with his running ability. He has 1,187 passing yards, five passing touchdowns and four interceptions, while adding 119 rushing yards and three ground scores. Omarion Hampton burst onto the scene with his monster performance against App State – he now leads the Heels with 383 rushing yards and seven scores. There’s a new receiver leading the charge every week, whether it be Kobe Paysour, Nate McCollum or J.J. Jones.
Oh, and did we mention the defense isn’t half-bad this year? See the 9-sack performance against South Carolina.
Syracuse has a very similar style of play to UNC – high-scoring and the ability to attack through the air or on the ground. Shrader has 1,148 passing yards, eight passing touchdown and four interceptions, while LeQuint Allen and Shrader give the Orange a pair of 300-yard rushers.
Syracuse only played one Power 5 team before Clemson, when it traveled to Purdue on Saturday, Sept. 16 and won 35-20. Orange victories against Colgate (65-0), Western Michigan (48-7) and Army (29-16) are nonetheless impressive, but those opponents aren’t nearly as challenging as South Carolina, App State, Michigan and Pitt.
Let’s take a deeper dive into Saturday’s matchup, which is set for 3:30 p.m. in Chapel Hill.