Syracuse vs North Carolina Odds, Picks, and Predictions: Orange Struggle to Stay With Another ACC Top Dog

The North Carolina Tar Heels will look to maintain their undefeated record when they host the Syracuse Orange in Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon.

Syracuse (4-1) is coming off its first loss of the season, as the Clemson Tigers beat the Orange 31-14 last Saturday. North Carolina (4-0) has won three of its first four games by double digits, though they’re still only the third choice to win the ACC Championship according to the latest college football odds.

The Orange have had a solid start to the season, but showed they might struggle against the upper crust of the ACC last weekend. We’ll see if that pattern will repeat on Saturday in our free college football picks and predictions for Syracuse vs. North Carolina on October 7.

Syracuse vs North Carolina best odds

Syracuse vs North Carolina picks and predictions

Hopes of a dream season for Syracuse took a hit last weekend when the Orange came up way short in their first loss of the year. Clemson showed that while the Orange looked impressive against inferior competition, they don’t have the talent of the top ACC squads.

Syracuse faces a similar problem this weekend, as they head down to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels. Like Clemson, North Carolina has a capable offense that will be able to put up a reasonable number of points against Syracuse’s highly-regarded defense. In fact, the task may be even harder this weekend, as the Orange face off against one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft class.

Drake Maye is only a sophomore, but is likely going pro next year. While Maye has struggled early in the season, throwing four interceptions and only five touchdown passes, nobody has let this slow start raise questions over his potential. Maye is coming off a year in which he threw for 38 touchdowns against just seven interceptions, and his numbers will almost certainly improve.

Maye leads an offense that is averaging 35.8 points per game this year, which includes games against three Power Five opponents and another solid FCS foe in the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Even while Maye struggles a bit, the Tar Heels are dominating teams on the ground, with Omarion Hampton rushing for seven touchdowns while Maye has contributed three of his own on the ground.

There’s a real chance that North Carolina won’t be able to blow the game open against a Syracuse defense that is allowing just 14.8 points per game. But even if that’s the case, it’s unlikely that Syracuse will be able to keep up. 

North Carolina is only allowing 22 points per game themselves, and the Orange are missing their most dangerous offensive weapon in junior tight end Oronde Gadsden II, who will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury. 

Syracuse just lost by 17 points at home to a Clemson team that — at least this season — is similarly talented to North Carolina. This time, however, the Orange will be playing on the road outside of their friendly dome environment. While this won’t be a blowout, I fully expect the Tar Heels to win by multiple scores here, which will be enough for them to cover the spread.

My best bet: North Carolina -9.5 (-104 at FanDuel)
Picks made at time of writing may not reflect live odds.

Syracuse vs North Carolina same-game parlay

North Carolina -9.5

Garrett Shrader anytime TD

+300 at FanDuel

I’ve put together a counterintuitive same-game parlay for this matchup, which starts with picking North Carolina to cover the 9.5-point spread.

Normally, I’d combine this with some other UNC props, or perhaps one side of the Over/Under. Instead, I’m going to pair this bet with the player I think is most likely to score a touchdown in this game in Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader. 

Shrader has run for six touchdowns already this year, and while Clemson kept him out of the end zone, he should be able to find a little bit more success against a Tar Heel defense that is allowing 124.2 yards per game on the ground. 

It may be a bit of a weird combination, but Shrader to score while North Carolina covers offers a lot of value as an SGP. 

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Syracuse vs North Carolina spread and Over/Under analysis

North Carolina opened Saturday’s game as an 8.5-point favorite. The consensus spread has now jumped up to Tar Heels -9.5 at virtually all sites. Interestingly, you can get -104 on UNC at that number at FanDuel, despite being below the key number of 10. Other books have Syracuse at -109 on that same 9.5-point line. 

Both teams have played well against the spread this year. Syracuse has put up a 3-1-1 ATS record, while North Carolina is 3-1 against the number on the season. 

I’m picking the Tar Heels to cover the spread. As much as Syracuse has looked like a capable team this year, they failed their first real test, as they were never really in the game against Clemson last week. 

I can’t see a path for them to fare much better against UNC on Saturday. Lay the points with the Tar Heels. 

The total in this game opened at 58.5 points. That number has climbed to 59.5 at most sites, with some books going all the way up to a flat 60 points. Most books are offering -110 odds on both the Under and the Over at whatever number they’ve chosen as their main line. 

Syracuse has won games largely on the strength of its defense, and the Under is 4-1 when the Orange have played this season. The Tar Heels have been even against the number, with the Over posting a 2-2 record in their games this year. 

The Syracuse defense is the real deal, but they weren’t able to completely stop Clemson last week. North Carolina has a very similar offense in terms of talent to Clemson, with the Tar Heels putting up 35.8 points per game on the season compared to 35.2 for the Tigers. 

I could see both UNC and Syracuse putting up reasonable numbers in this game, but 60 points still feels like a stretch. I’m staying off the total in this one, but my lean is towards the Under. 

Syracuse vs North Carolina betting trend to know

Syracuse is 0-5 ATS in its last five games against ACC opponents. Find more college football betting trends for Syracuse vs North Carolina.

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