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Multiple Syracuse players said the Orange “beat themselves” last week against Clemson. Racking up 92 penalty yards and three turnovers, SU set the Tigers up to succeed and backed its own defense into corners throughout.

Now, Syracuse starts a three-game road trip against its first ranked opponent of the season, No. 14 North Carolina. UNC head coach Mack Brown is the seventh-winningest head coach in college football history and he’s designed an offense that’s tailor-made for star quarterback Drake Maye. The 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year is one of the highest-rated prospects in college football and has led the Tar Heels to a 4-0 record for the first time since 1997.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen when Syracuse (4-1, 0-1 ACC) goes into Chapel Hill, NC, to play North Carolina (4-0, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday:

Anthony Alandt (4-1)
The guy’s a stud
North Carolina 45, Syracuse 17

Bruised and battered. That’s how Syracuse left its matchup with Clemson for the second straight year. If you think it was bad when Cade Klubnik tore the Orange’s defense — specifically its secondary — apart, just wait for Saturday when a projected top three pick takes the field. Maye is connecting at a 73% rate through four games this season with five touchdowns and looks as polished in the pocket as anyone in the country. Head coach Dino Babers said Maye is the best quarterback SU is going to face this season and he might be the best quarterback Babers has ever faced.

Syracuse has not shown me that it has fixed the mistakes that permeated through the first four wins. The penalties, turnovers and slow starts were masked by what looked like a dynamic offense and one of the best defenses in the country. But Clemson wiped off the Orange’s makeup and revealed all the warts that persisted. North Carolina is undoubtedly going to do the same. The Orange faced a tough atmosphere against Purdue and escaped with a win, but the top players couldn’t show up when the stage was brightest.

Once again, I don’t have confidence that the players who didn’t show out last week can turn it around against one of Brown’s best teams.

Wyatt Miller (5-0)
Maye-be next time
North Carolina 34, Syracuse 21

Maye is primed to explode against Syracuse. The projected top-10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has picturesque form and consistent precision in and out of the pocket. Klubnik doesn’t compare to Maye as a pure passer or winner.

Last week, the Orange were dismantled by Klubnik, as he completed at least 50% of his passes to every area of the field. The Orange pass rush couldn’t create consistent pressure on Klubnik, allowing him to extend plays and beat them downfield. If they give Maye that kind of time and space, it’ll be a similar story. That said, after last week’s second-half failures, expect defensive coordinator Rocky Long to have more pointed adjustments against this top ACC squad.

In its injury-riddled state, I don’t think the SU offense will finish enough drives to keep pace with the Tar Heels. Maye’s elite accuracy and SU’s all-around struggles against Klubnik both give me doubts about whether SU can be competitive at all. Maye’s a dangerous passer that’s due for a big scoring game, and this could be it. Expect No. 10 in baby blue to ball out this weekend.

Henry O’Brien (4-1)
Carolina blues
North Carolina 38, Syracuse 20

Perhaps I gave this offense, though banged-up, too much credit. After SU’s first drive against Clemson, where Garrett Shrader took a massive hit to relinquish possession back to the Tigers, the passing game never looked right aside from some Dan Villari heroics. The Tigers’ defense exposed Syracuse’s lack of a true passing attack. The Orange insisted on going deep, and it never worked once. I don’t expect its offense to do any better against one of the better defenses in the ACC.

On top of that, Maye will take down “The Mob” just like Kevin Costner did in “The Untouchables.” With how Klubnik threw it deep, particularly in the second half, corners Jeremiah Wilson and Isaiah Johnson will need to have career days against Maye and his receivers.

But none of that may happen because Syracuse could hurt itself more than the Tar Heels could. Against Clemson, SU tallied nine penalties, each more back-breaking than the last. Babers keeps mentioning how it’s a problem. Players keep saying how they have to improve. But they haven’t. And if it doesn’t happen against UNC, then when?

Published on October 5, 2023 at 12:03 am