Carolina Opens Unique 2020 Season With Syracuse On Saturday

Saturday, September 12

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Noon

North Carolina

Syracuse

Photo by: Grant Halverson

September 10, 2020 | Football

Watch Listen Live Stats Carolina Gameday: Home Edition Media Center

No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Syracuse Orange
Chapel Hill, N.C. • Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 • Noon ET
Kenan Stadium • ACC Network

Carolina Football Media Center

@TarHeelFootball | @CuseFootball

Series vs. Syracuse: SU leads 3-2
Series Streak: SU won two in a row
Last Meeting: 2018 (L, 37-40 2OT)
Last UNC Win: 2002 (W, 30-22)

NORTH CAROLINA
Record: 0-0
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Mack Brown (Florida State '74)
Brown's Overall Record: 251-128-1, 32nd year
Brown's Record at UNC: 76-52-1, 12th year

SYRACUSE
Record: 0-0
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Dino Babers (Hawaii, '84)
Overall Record: 60-42, ninth year
Record at Syracuse: 23-26, fifth year

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Kickoff: Noon ET
ACCN: Wes Durham, play-by-play; Roddy Jones, analyst; Taylor Davis, sideline
Tar Heel Sports Network: Jones Angell, play-by-play; Brian Simmons, analyst; Lee Pace, sideline
Satellite Radio: Sirius 105, XM 193, Internet 955
Compass Media Radio: TJ Rives, play-by-play; Tiki Barber, analyst
Website: A live radio broadcast of the Tar Heel Sports Network is available on UNC's official athletic website, GoHeels.com, as well as through the TuneIn app.

TAR HEELS AND ORANGE
• North Carolina and Syracuse will meet in the 2020 season opener on Saturday, Sept. 12 in Chapel Hill for a noon kickoff on ACC Network.
• The Tar Heels are coming off a 7-6 record in the 2019 season. UNC defeated Temple, 55-13, in the Military Bowl to earn its first winning season since 2016.
• Syracuse posted a 5-7 overall record in 2019 and went 2-6 against the ACC, winning two of its last three games against Duke and Wake Forest.
• The two teams matched up as conference opponents for the first time ever in 2018 in a two-overtime thriller that went to the host Orange, 40-37.
• Carolina last hosted Syracuse in the 2003 campaign, and the Orange won in three overtimes, 49-47.
• The Tar Heels first win against the Orange was a 27-10 win inside the Carrier Dome in 1996.
• The first meeting in the series was held in Chapel Hill in 1995 and the result went in favor of the visiting Orange, 20-9. The game is probably best known as the launch of the Donovan McNabb era at SU.

BROWN VS. SYRACUSE
• Mack Brown is 1-1 all-time against Syracuse.
• UNC lost 20-9 in the first ever game between the two schools on the football field in 1995 in Kenan.
• The following year the Tar Heels went into Central New York and came away with a 27-10 victory.

PRESEASON RANKINGS
• Carolina begins a season ranked for the first time since 2016. The Tar Heels were selected No. 18 in the Associated Press top 25 poll, while the Amway Coaches Poll listed UNC at No. 19.

ACC PRESEASON POLL
• Carolina is predicted to finish third in the ACC Preseason Poll. The Tar Heels trail only Clemson and Notre Dame in the 15-team poll.

ALL-ACC HONORS
• Three Tar Heels, Michael Carter (All-Purpose), Dazz Newsome (WR) and Chazz Surratt (LB), were named to the 2020 Preseason All-ACC Football Team.

UP NEXT
• Carolina hosts its lone non-conference game of the season next Saturday against in-state foe Charlotte. Kick off is slated for 3:30 pm on ACC Regional Sports Network.