North Carolina Victorious At Last, Defeats Syracuse On the Road

First Quarter

After UNC's opening drive, where quarterback Gio Lopez was unable to find a groove, the defense did not slow down at all from its performance against the Cavaliers, as it forced a three-and-out on Syracuse and quarterback Joe Filardi, a freshman. Lopez, on the following drive, found wide receiver Kobe Paysour for 50 yards, ending up near the goal-line.

But just like the last two outings, the Tar Heels found trouble at the goal-line, as a QB sneak was not enough for a touchdown on third down. Head coach Bill Belichick elected to go for a field goal despite being so close to having an early lead. Once more, even with the big play by Paysour, UNC could not capitalize. Nontheless, Belichick's team leads, 3-0 against the Orange.

Syracuse was able to get a touchdown off due to its defense; the Tar Heels fumbled the ball again, a completed pass by Lopez to tight end Shamar Easter for two yards turned into a loose football and six points, leading to a crowd pop inside the JMA Wireless Dome. Devin Grant for the Orange forced the ball to pop out, and Anwar Sparrow picked it up for the score.

UNC finished the first 15 minutes trailing by four points, 7-3, as the same problem of turning the ball over has continued on from its last two contests.

Second Quarter

Brown's team continued its third drive of the game, but was unable to get a score despite getting near the end zone — settling for a field goal. North Carolina trailed by a touchdown going into its first drive of the second quarter. Although, as the first quarter showed, the Tar Heels' offense struggled, punting the ball away afterward.

Throughout the rest of the time period, before halftime arrived, both teams had trouble finding the end zone — Lopez and Filardi could not get anything going for their teammates, respectively. However, North Carolina found three more points after a field goal following its last drive of the half, trimming the lead to four points.

The scoreboard read 10-6, with Syracuse in control.

Halftime Stats

UNC

• Lopez threw for 86 yards on seven completed passes
• 208 total yards
• 122 rushing yards
• 20 rushing attempts
• 123 yards gained
• 1 fumble

Syracuse

• Filardi threw for 25 yards on one completed pass
• 71 total yards
• 46 rushing yards
• 15 rushing attempts
• 60 yards gained
• 1 fumble recovery (turned into a touchdown)

Third Quarter

While the passing game by Lopez did not find any success during the first half, freshman running back Demon June caught a screen pass for a 63-yard touchdown, giving North Carolina the lead, as it led by three points following the PAT with 13:26 in the third quarter, 13-10. All it took was one play for UNC — also June's first receiving touchdown as a Tar Heel.

The story of the second half was its running game, as UNC backs June and Davion Gause propelled their teammates forward during its second drive of the quarter — as June ran in for a 5-yard rushing touchdown. North Carolina held the advantage, 20-10, with eight seconds left before the fourth quarter.

15 minutes is what separated UNC from its first Power 4 conference win this season.

Fourth Quarter

Lopez connected for his first passing touchdown of the game, as he found wide receiver Jordan Shipp on the left side of the end zone. The Tar Heels found their stride, unlike their past outings against California and Virginia. North Carolina's 17-point lead was its largest in a while over the past three outings.

UNC could potentially build off its second-half offensive performance, as it arguably looked its best for the first time in a while.

North Carolina will play against Stanford in Chapel Hill at 4:30 p.m. on November 8.

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