[NCAAF]– North Carolina vs Syracuse Live Stream Online

The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Syracuse Orange are opening their 2020 seasons against one another at noon ET on Saturday at Kenan Memorial Stadium. While UNC was not exactly top dog last year, they did wrap up the year with a winning record of 7-6. Meanwhile, ‘Cuse struggled last season, ending up 5-7.

WAtch Live Now:: https://footballinhdtv.com/ncaaf/

WAtch Live Now:: https://footballinhdtv.com/ncaaf/

Two last-season stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: The Tar Heels were 12th best in the nation (top 9%) in yards per game, finishing the 2019 season with 474 on average. Less enviably, the Orange ranked 16th worst in the nation with respect to yards allowed per game last year, where the squad gave up 464.1 on average (bottom 88%). The good news for ‘Cuse, of course, is that these forces working against them might not carry over into the new season.

UNC is the favorite in this one, with an expected 23-point margin of victory. A victory is hardly a sure thing, especially this early in the season, so expect a good game.

How To Watch
When: Saturday at 12 p.m. ET
Where: Kenan Memorial Stadium — Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV: ACC Network

No. 18 North Carolina kicks off a much-hyped 2020 season with a home game against Syracuse on Saturday, serving as the first official conference game in the ACC. It’s the beginning of a season unlike any other in the league, with 15 teams playing in one division, a 10-game conference schedule and with Notre Dame as a full member.

It’s the second time these two teams have ever met as conference opponents, a result of their cross-division relationship, with the Orange winning the 2018 meeting 40-37 in triple overtime.

But the rare meeting of Atlantic and Coastal teams isn’t the only result of the adjustments that have been made to allow for college football to happen this fall. The game will be played without fans in the stands and with rigorous third party COVID-19 testing for both teams before and after the game. Football may be back, but it is not without acknowledgement of the challenges associated with pulling it off.

Storylines
North Carolina: This program has come a long way in 12 months. At the start of the 2019 season, Mack Brown’s return to Chapel Hill was celebrated as more of a topic of intrigue than national relevance. The Tar Heels were staring down a difficult schedule that included Clemson in the cross-division rotation and had oddsmakers projecting between four and five wins on the season. But then they opened with wins against South Carolina and Miami, came a two-point try short of upsetting Clemson and quarterback Sam Howell emerged as one of the top freshman in the country. No longer a topic of intrigue or novelty in college football, Brown’s return was proven to be among the most significant developments in ACC football.

That better-than-expected showing in 2019 was followed by wins on the recruiting trail that powered a hype train all the way to this season opener against Syracuse. The program is carrying a top-25 preseason ranking, has been picked to finish third in the ACC behind Clemson and Notre Dame and opens the year as three-touchdown favorites against Syracuse. Howell has two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher back with him to lead an offense that’s expected to be one of the most prolific in the league, and the 2020 schedule, even with 10 ACC games, notably includes no date against Clemson. We’ve seen what Brown and the Tar Heels are able to do with low expectations, now we see how they respond with the bar raised as high as its been in years.

No. 6 North Carolina pulled away late in a close game to spoil legendary coach Jim Boeheim’s return to the sidelines with an 84-73 win over Syracuse on Saturday night at the Carrier Dome.

The Tar Heels (15-2, 4-0 ACC) were led by Isaiah Hicks with 21 points and eight rebounds as they improved to 4-0 in conference play for the first time under head coach Roy Williams.

Brice Johnson added 16 point and a team-high eight assists, while Kennedy Meeks, seeing his first game action in four week due to a knee injury, had eight points in limited minutes.