North Carolina will open the season with an ACC game against the Syracuse Orange, who are looking to have a bounce-back season after falling to 5-7 a year ago, after what looked like a breakthrough campaign in 2018 with 10 wins.
The Orange are returning quarterback Tommy DeVito and one of the best defensive backs in the country in Andre Cisco and should be an improved team under head coach Dino Babers.
While I do think Syracuse should be better, I think the Tar Heels are a bad matchup for the Orange. Aside from Cisco, I don’t think Syracuse’s defense has enough playmakers to stop what will be one of the country’s top offenses and North Carolina’s defense should force DeVito to make some mistakes. Tar Heels win by double digits.
Final Score: North Carolina 38, Syracuse 21 (1-0, 1-0 ACC)
For their non-conference game, the Tar Heels will welcome an instate foe to Chapel Hill. Charlotte has been a pretty solid program in recent years and a big reason for that is having an explosive offense and solid quarterback play. The 49ers will return quarterback Chris Reynolds and one of the better receiving corps in Conference USA.
The defense will need to take some steps forward, as they are an inexperienced unit and that will be the difference between being a bowl team and a conference title contender.
While I think that Charlotte has developed into a solid program and should be a good team in their conference this season, they won’t be able to match North Carolina’s firepower or talent and this should be an easy victory for the Tar Heels.
Final Score: North Carolina 45, Charlotte 17 (2-0)