North Carolina Football: 3 bold predictions for season-opener vs. Syracuse

1. Syracuse offense held to single digits

The Orange offense really struggled last season with Tommy DeVito under center. He put up good numbers, throwing for 2,360 yards with 19 touchdowns to only five interceptions, but would get killed every week from a bad offensive line.

The Syracuse front gave up 50 sacks last year which was the second-worst amongst Power Five teams. The line looked like they were getting an upgrade with Florida transfer Chris Bleich, but there still has been no ruling from the NCAA on his immediate eligibility waiver. So it looks like the line will look very similar to the 2019 unit at least this week. If that group doesn’t take a major step, DeVito and the Syracuse offense could be in for a long day.

North Carolina defensive coordinator Jay Bateman led a very impressive turnaround last year when the Tar Heels gave up 7.6 less points and 62.7 less yards per game compared to 2018. This year’s unit should be strong once again. Again, tackling early on could be an issue for a lot of teams, so ‘Cuse could definitely break some big plays. But UNC is a very well-coached team with Bateman and Mack Brown, I’d trust those two to be focusing on tackling fundamentals during practices.

Head coach Dino Babers brought in Sterlin Gilbert to run the offense this year, the two have worked together in the past so maybe more familiarity in the coaching staff helps the offense. But also installing a somewhat new offense could lead to some issues early on.

We really have no idea how this shortened offseason and limited practices are going to affect teams, but I’d like to side with the continuity of the Carolina defense here. UNC is the much more talented team. I wouldn’t be shocked if the ‘Cuse offense struggles to put up points.