North Carolina (2-5) And Syracuse (3-5) Both Enter The JMA Wireless Dome Friday While Riding Four-Game Losing Skids.

You should expect to see more than a few couples dress up like UNC head coach Bill Belichick and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson for Halloween this year.

But as trick-or-treaters are knocking on doors seeking candy, Belichick's Tar Heels will be visiting Syracuse on Friday night looking for their first ACC win of the year and — for a change — their chances are looking pretty good.

Syracuse, which won nine games in Fran Brown's first season at the helm, opened 2025 with a 3-1 record. However, in that fourth game at Clemson, quarterback Steve Angeli sustained a season-ending achilles injury and the Orange hasn't won since.

Not only has Syracuse been beaten in four consecutive games, each loss has been by double figures with a 22.5-point average margin of defeat. 

Which brings us to the visiting Tar Heels. Even though UNC has also lost four in a row, it has shown noticeable improvement in the last two games. 

On Oct. 17, the Heels trailed at California 21-18, but had the ball inside the red-zone late in the game. That's when quarterback Gio Lopez completed a crosser to receiver Nathan Leacock, who then fumbled the ball away less than a yard away from the end-zone and a go-ahead touchdown. 

The Bears held on to win by that score and nobody expected a more heart-breaking finish was possible in the following game.

However, Virginia obliged — after benefitting from another goal-line fumble by UNC — by escaping Kenan Stadium with a 17-16, overtime win. Once again, the Tar Heels were a yard away from a different result. This time, Belichick went for the win on a two-point play and the Cavaliers stuffed running back Davion Gause at the goal-line on a late-developing pass play.

These two results are a far cry from UNC's first three games against Power 4 competition, which it lost by a combined margin of 120-33. If this isn't the week for Belichick's first ACC win, his last four games are against Stanford (home), Wake Forest (away), Duke (home) and NC State (away).

Kickoff for Syracuse-UNC is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.