Instant Analysis: UNC Slams Syracuse on Halloween for First ACC Victory

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — North Carolina was able to turn Halloween into what qualified as a treat. The Tar Heels stomped spiraling Syracuse 27-10 on Friday night in ACC football at the JMA Wireless Dome, stopping a four-game losing skid and picking up their first victory in conference play under coach Bill Belichick.

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Demon June piled up 182 total yards for the game, and delivered a pair of second-half touchdowns that vaulted UNC from trailing 10-6 at halftime to leading 20-10 by the end of the third quarter. UNC outscored Syracuse 21-0 during the second half.

The Tar Heels (3-5 overall, 1-3 ACC) finished with their highest scoring total against an opponent on the FBS level this season, along with their best total yardage output (431 yards) in any game. And on defense, Carolina kept Syracuse (3-6, 1-5) sputtering and inept. The Orange’s only touchdown came on linebacker Anwar Sparrow’s 51-yard fumble return in the first quarter, while ultimately stumbling to their fifth straight loss.

The true freshman June’s 72-yard breakaway touchdown on the UNC’s offense’s first play of the second half jumped the Tar Heels ahead to stay. Later in the third quarter, June scored on a 5-yard run. Gio Lopez’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Shipp increased UNC’s lead to 27-10, and the home crown began emptying from the dome.

Carolina certainly benefitted from Syracuse’s nightmarish quarterback play. The Orange benched Rickie Collins, who had been winless across the previous four games, and turned to freshman walk-on Joseph Filardi as their starter on Friday night. Filardi also is on the Syracuse lacrosse team. He was out of his depth here against the Tar Heels, completing just one pass in the first half, and finishing 4-of-18 for 39 yards on the night.

Lopez went 15-of-19 passing for 216 yards. June cranked out his second 100-yard rushing effort of the season.

Defensive TD Difference Early On for Syracuse

The freshman walk-on Filardi struggled mightily to just 1-for-11 passing in the first half, but still, Syracuse led 10-6 by halftime. Anwar Sparrow’s 51-yard touchdown return on Carolina tight end Shamar Easter’s fumble was the difference in the game at that juncture.

In the first quarter, Lopez hit Easter across the middle for his first catch of the season. And that quickly unraveled into a disaster. Easter fumbled and Sparrow, the Syracuse linebacker, scooped the loose ball to race away to deliver the defensive touchdown that put the Orange ahead 7-3.

UNC led 208-71 in total yards by halftime, as Syracuse only generated 2.7 yards per play during the first half. Filardi started the night 0-for-8 passing, before coming up with his only first-half completion for 25 yards to Darius Johnson, on a flea-flicker that nearly was mishandled before Filardi got the pass off.

Tar Heels Fail to Crack End Zone in First Half

On offense, UNC had a run of 44 yards (by June) and a pass of 44 yards (Lopez to Kobe Paysour, who dashed off for 32 yards after the catch) in the first half. But the sputtering Tar Heels weren’t able to crack the end zone.

Carolina’s best chance for a first-half touchdown on Friday night came on its second possession, when Paysour’s catch-and-run chunk play put the Tar Heels in business with first-and-goal at the Syracuse 3-yard line. But on third-and-goal from the 1, the Orange stuffed Lopez on a quarterback sneak. Then, Bill Belichick called timeout with UNC lined up to go for it on fourth-and-goal inside the 1. And coming out of the timeout, was flagged for a false start.

All of which left UNC settling for Rece Verhoff’s field goal from chip-shot distance. That provided a rare occurrence, a 3-0 lead for the Tar Heels, who hadn’t held a lead against a power-conference opponent since the first quarter of the season opener on Labor Day night.

Next on the Schedule

Carolina faces another unfamiliar ACC football foe when Stanford visits Kenan Stadium next Saturday on homecoming. Across these last three games, the Tar Heels have played California (third all-time meeting) and Syracuse (eighth all-time meeting), and next they meet Stanford for just the fourth all-time matchup between the football programs. After the Stanford game, UNC squares off against in-state rivals Wake Forest (Nov. 15 on the road), Duke (Nov. 22 at home) and NC State (Nov. 29 on the road) to close the regular season.

Stanford leads the series 2-1 against UNC, since defeating Mitch Trubisky and the Tar Heels in the 2016 Sun Bowl. The Cardinal is under football general manager Andrew Luck and interim coach Frank Reich, putting it among college football’s eight power-conference programs already in the market for new head coaches next season.

Stanford (3-5 overall, 2-3 ACC) plays host to ACC contender Pittsburgh this weekend. The Cardinal will arrive at UNC next week with a winless 0-5 record in road games this season. Those losses have occurred at Hawaii, BYU, Virginia, SMU and Miami.