No way NC is 23 points better than SU

[upperdeck]

UAB almost covered 15 last night and Miami had an even bigger talent gap than UNC does over us. But UNC is better coached for sure.

 

[wolfhound]

Why all the OL Swiss cheese comments all the projected starters are there except
For Rhino (who I think will hold his own due to his strength and experience)
As long as there are no injuries Saturday I think you all are going to be surprised.
I am expecting a strong running game to surprise NC tomorrow

 

[wolfhound]

I thought this deserved m

 

[Orangezoo]

I am really curious to see what our 3-3-5 looks like against the run. With UNC racking up a lot of yards on the ground last year and our D getting gouged quite a few times by the run it is definitely a game within a game I'm looking forward to see. The excitement around the LB core is making me cautiously optimistic at this point with little else to go on.

 

[Orijinal]

I give SU a 75% chance to cover. 30% Chance to win.
Head: 31-17
Heart: 27-24

This sounds absolutely more than reasonable

 

[storange]

They gave up a crap load of points last year. UNC should be clearly favored with excellent people returning on O. But 23 pts. I don’t think so.

 

[Orijinal]

Why all the OL Swiss cheese comments all the projected starters are there except
For Rhino (who I think will hold his own due to his strength and experience)
As long as there are no injuries Saturday I think you all are going to be surprised.
I am expecting a strong running game to surprise NC tomorrow

I was going to say something similar, wolfhound. I think we are all going to be pleasantly surprised this year. We have more going for us than fans are talking about and the pundits are giving us credit for.

People are really overlooking Cuse ...because of last year ...but last year is last year. This point spread is just disrespectful.

After 2 games, Cuse won't be overlooked. This is my belief

 

[cuse10]

Is North Carolina 23 points better than Syracuse? I don't know. They're dealing with injuries on their line as well. Are they much better than Syracuse? Yes. I don't believe in moral victories, but given the talent that UNC has and Mack Brown was able to focus, if Syracuse can lose by less than 2 TDs, I'll be much higher on SU than I was when I saw the schedule.

Give Brown another season and UNC will be competing for the ACCT out of their division.

 

[syrBossHogg]

We really need Black/Bear/Kingsley to win at the line of scrimmage and create pressure, draw penalties, and hopefully cause turnovers. Put them in 3rd and long and make them earn the first down.

 

[Roger N]

I’m amazed that no one gives Syracuse any chance of winning this game. We are not playing Alabama, NC is not a powerhouse and I believe our talent has been steadily improving, we will win this game in a route on the way to a 9 win season.

Did you watch the BC game last year?

 

[orangecuse]

There has been a very big upgrade in talent, but most of it remains Soph and Frosh. Brown also has done a good job of getting more out of the players that he has than Fedora ever hoped to, save for 1 very lucky season in which everything was perfect, from the schedule to the fact that the team had almost no injuries.

If this UNC team has the kind of lucky season we did in 2015, it could play Clemson for the Championship once again. If injuries hit, with the OL especially vulnerable because of no proven depth, and confidence gets shaken, the team could limp to 7-4.

100%. UNC even in the Fedora era had solid and quite reputable recruiting classes. Fedora caught some really bad luck a couple of years back when they had so many injuries to so many key players. That being said, he clearly underachieved based upon UNC's talent level.

Mac has been able to recruit excellent talent and hit the ground running in his second stint there. UNC's class ranked 19th last year in recruiting and currently ranked number two! Certainly wish Dino was having that kind of success recruiting wise. Winning allegedly is the key to great recruiting success (so I've heard so much here) however, it's not as if UNC has been winning much, so who knows.

Analysis: These prospects could solidify a top 10 recruiting class for UNC football

The Tar Heels will have to bring a few more additions to an already stacked class if they hope to complete their first top 10 haul since 2007. Here are some players in the 2021 class on North Carolina’s radar who have yet to make a college decision.

www.dailytarheel.com

 

[storange]

Did you watch the BC game last year?

Yep, they also won 2 of there last 3 after they juggled the offensive line . And we’re playing a completely different defense with a different DC. So the BC and Md games are not a good barometer. We will see what this 3-3-5 does.

 

[Cusefan69]

Likely to be a pretty ugly game. For both teams. Missed tackles, blown assignments, etc...first game of year in which there was significantly less practice time. I think NC will blitz often with our line in question. If Cuse can read it correctly there will be points to be had. Though rain is in the forecast...could make passing for both teams an issue. Which means we could be relying on our new rbs more than people think. Which could be a g thing if JJ can find some cracks to run through.

 

[upperdeck]

BC game was a ton of mistakes for sure. same play worked for a million yds.. who knows if the new scheme which is usually good against the run works day 1. we may also stop the run and blow 3-4 long pass coverages.

 

[cusefan88]

I remember last season Maryland had like two freshman OT's starting and I thought Coleman/Alton would feast. That...did not happen. I won't underestimate another team's OL situation again.

 

[RF2044]

Who knows?

Does anyone really have a good feel for how the depleted OL will play? Or how our new defensive system will perform?

Or how UNC prepared for what we're going to throw at them defensively, with no film of our defensive system?

Or whether they'll be looking past us due to being such heavy favorites and all of Mack Brown's comments taking this win for granted?

Maybe Tommy will have the eye of the tiger and surprise UNC, and put up tons of points. Or maybe their superior depth wins out. Pretty difficult to project, under the crazy circumstances everywhere.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I'm looking for whether we move the ball and put points on the board. We need to score +30 points. Offense is our path to competitiveness. Get that, and take our chances that our defense can hold up just enough.

 

[007]

I am really curious to see what our 3-3-5 looks like against the run. With UNC racking up a lot of yards on the ground last year and our D getting gouged quite a few times by the run it is definitely a game within a game I'm looking forward to see. The excitement around the LB core is making me cautiously optimistic at this point with little else to go on.

Just a wild guess, but I suspect that the game plan on D is going to center on trying to take away or limit the running game and hope that our secondary talent can make plays and create turnovers. I expect press man coverage from the CBs and in the slot.

There will likely be a lot of run blitzs and sending 6-7 at Howell in passing situations. Howell's strength (besides his arm talent) is his poise in the pocket. It will be interesting to watch how this plays out.

If we can limit the run game, hit Howell often, and create INTs, this game might be closer than people think. That's a really big ask though, especially in game 1.

 

[Newhouser]

we need to be able to run the ball. Not chunk plays but move the chain plays. Tightrope for us - we need to play fast but I don't think we can win a total shoot out.

 

[elimunelson]

it, i took the points. Needed action for this one. I have no idea if it was a dumb bet or a great one.

No one knows anything including the wise guys.

 

[Moontan]

I just caught a UNC reporter podcast. All three had UNC winning. Two of them had them covering the spread. One even went so far as to prefict a 52-9 score. Yikes.

Hopefully our coaches will have something up their sleeves to keep the Orangemen in the game or even win.

 

[dollarbill44]

Ehhhhhh unfortunately we are in the position where we have “prove it” to not be a massive underdog to a top 25 team who may have one of the best qbs in college football this season.

I can see why the experts have us as 24 point underdogs. We have an OL that on paper looks like Swiss cheese.

hopefully tomorrow we will all be proven wrong!

What do you mean we all? I'm expecting good things from SU. Bear is going to have a big day.

 

[TheCusian]

I just caught a UNC reporter podcast. All three had UNC winning. Two of them had them covering the spread. One even went so far as to prefict a 52-9 score. Yikes.

Hopefully our coaches will have something up their sleeves to keep the Orangemen in the game or even win.

They should be favored. But I think these guys in NC are high on their own supply

 

[FasterCuse]

They should be favored. But I think these guys in NC are high on their own supply

Yeah, I don't know too much about the UNC defense, but I do know they aren't that good.

 

[Alsacs]

UNC smoked Temple in their bowl game.
They could easily blow us out as badly tomorrow.
Unless our defense is really good tomorrow I expect they will cover.
I don’t think our OL gives us a chance to sustain that many drives.