Multiple quarterbacks, more Demetres Samuel in Syracuse’s bag of Halloween tricks (10 things to know)
Syracuse, N.Y. — For the first time since its Sept. 12 game against Colgate, Syracuse is favored to win a game.
The Orange is a 2.5-point favorite against North Carolina for Friday night’s game between two teams near the bottom of the ACC. The Tar Heels have yet to win a game in conference play, and Syracuse has lost four straight since beating Clemson in its conference opener on Sept. 20.
The Orange likely won’t be favored again until the season finale against Boston College, the worst team in the ACC. With two top-25 matchups on the horizon, Friday counts as must-win for Syracuse.
Here are 10 things to know as Syracuse aims to snap its four-game losing streak and clinch a .500 home record for the season.
Signal the bullpen
Fran Brown is no longer locked in on Rickie Collins as Syracuse’s starting quarterback. He started the week by saying Syracuse will compete at quarterback. He added to those comments Wednesday when he said Collins won’t be the only quarterback to play against UNC.
Syracuse’s next quarterback on the depth chart is true freshman Luke Carney, whom Brown’s staff didn’t trust to make a 3rd-and-9 throw against Pittsburgh earlier in the season.
Brown and his staff have not, however, committed to a third-string quarterback. In the mix there is redshirt sophomore Jakhari Williams, whom Carney surpassed to become the backup, and true freshmen Rich Belin and Joseph Filardi.
Filardi’s athletic scholarship at Syracuse is for his place on the lacrosse team.
Good news and bad news
Syracuse received bad news this week as Kemon Spell, the No. 1 running back in the Class of 2027, had to cancel his Friday visit to Syracuse.
Spell’s McKeesport (Pennsylvania) team has a playoff game that runs concurrent with the Orange’s game against North Carolina. Unless he cancels his visit to Michigan, he also won’t be able to visit for Syracuse’s Nov. 29 finale against Boston College.
Spell is also booked to visit Georgia during Syracuse’s Nov. 15 bye week.
The Orange was able to arrange the visit for the five-star when he decommitted from Penn State after James Franklin’s firing. Now, the Orange will have to rely on offseason visits and hope to schedule a visit during the 2026 season for Spell.
However, Syracuse is expected to host former defensive end KingJoseph Edwards against the Tar Heels.
Edwards spent his freshman year at Syracuse before transferring to Hudson Valley Community College for 2025. Brown has left the door open for a 2026 return.
The youth movement is on
Syracuse played 14 true freshmen in its loss to No. 8 Georgia Tech last week. As the season has progressed, Brown has made it a point to get more freshmen on the field.
It began with cornerback Demetres Samuel Jr. in the spring before linebacker Antoine Deslauriers’s emergence in fall camp. Then Brown began to incorporate offensive guard Byron Washington as early as Week 3.
As the schedule begins to expire and losing redshirts becomes less of a concern, Brown said to expect more freshmen to play in the final month of the season. And it’s because of the traits they’ve shown in practice.
“When they can make a mistake in practice, and then they can come right back the next play in practice and still take the coaching,” Brown said, when asked how he knows they’re ready to play.
With holes to fill throughout the roster, including quarterback, left tackle and defensive line, Syracuse has incentive to get its young guys experience.
Brown also told TK99 on Thursday that freshman guard Byron Washington would start for the rest of the season. He did not say who Washington would replace.
Another evolution for Samuel
While other freshmen begin to increase their snap counts, Brown is ready for Samuel to begin taking form as the Orange’s Swiss army knife. He said Samuel will likely start work at punt returner against UNC. He also gave an update on Samuel’s two-way status.
“I think he needs to see more time on the offensive side of the ball these last four games,” Brown said Monday. “I think that they’ve got to get that done and figure those ways out of getting him in.”
Brown said that Samuel and the staff wanted to get the 17-year-old fully settled in at cornerback before adding more to his plate. Samuel was named a midseason freshman All-American and has been Syracuse’s highest-graded cornerback on Pro Football Focus.
With Brown giving snaps to freshman cornerbacks such as Kaylib Singleton as the season comes to an end, there will be chances for Samuel to catch passes and catch a bit of a break on defense.
Samuel has lined up at wide receiver once this season, making his first catch in the Sept. 12 win against Colgate.
Belichick is coming to town
Future Pro Football Hall of Famer will coach against Syracuse for the first time against a roster that grew up witnessing his New England Patriots dominate the NFL.
Syracuse football isn’t fawning over Belichick, though. Brown is ready to coach another football game against an improving team, and sophomore running back Yasin Willis is just fine playing for Brown.
The Orange also has a former Tar Heel on its offensive line. Redshirt junior guard Zach Rice transferred to Syracuse in 2025 after Belichick was hired in Chapel Hill.
“We didn’t really jell,” Rice told Syracuse.com. “I just wanted to be valued more, and I feel like I’m valued more here at Syracuse.”
Rice hasn’t exactly panned out for the Orange either, though. He’s played just 17 snaps across two games and hasn’t played since the Sept. 27 loss to Duke.
Syracuse also has a player coming in next season in 2026 quarterback Zaid Lott who has some experience with Belichick.
Lott, who plays at Providence Day (North Carolina) decommitted from UNC and chose Syracuse as his new home once Belichick’s staff took over.
“The culture switch, it just wasn’t fitting me,” Lott told Syracuse.com on Tuesday.
There may be some Belichick Halloween costumes at the JMA Dome on Friday — Brown claimed he’ll be dressed like former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel — but he won’t have many fans on the Syracuse sideline.
What the numbers say
Syracuse has won 10 of its last 15 Friday night games, including this season’s win against Colgate and last year’s Holiday Bowl against Washington State. In terms of playing UNC, though, the numbers aren’t as lopsided.
The Tar Heels have won four of their seven all-time meetings against Syracuse. Two of the last four games have been decided in overtime, with Syracuse winning both overtime games. The last two meetings between these teams, however, hasn’t been close.
UNC has won the last two matchups by an average score of 35.5-6.5. Those games came in 2020 and ‘23 in Chapel Hill. Syracuse won its last home game against UNC, 40-37, in a 2018 triple-overtime battle.
Syracuse offensive lineman Joshua Miller will not play Friday against North Carolina, according to the ACC availability report released Wednesday night.
Miller has spent the last two weeks filling in for Austin Collins at center. Collins has, however, been upgraded to questionable against the Tar Heels.
Collins was injured on the first play of Syracuse’s loss to Pitt on Oct. 18 and missed last week’s loss at Georgia Tech.
Syracuse will also be without defensive end Chase Simmons and safety Berry Buxton III. Buxton was injured at Georgia Tech. Linebacker Gary Bryant III, who left last week’s game in the first quarter, is listed as questionable.
Joining Bryant are wide receiver Darien Williams and long snapper Fran Brown Jr., who both missed last week’s game.
New to the injury report is safety Braheem Long Jr.
Washington and fellow guard TJ Ferguson, along with left tackle Trevion Mack (foot) are all listed as probable. Joining them are sophomore running back Yasin Willis and linebacker Trey Dudley.
North Carolina vs. Syracuse will air at 7:30 p.m., on ESPN, which you can stream on DIRECTV (free trial).
Stream: DIRECTV (free trial), fuboTV (free trial), Hulu + Live TV, Sling
Odds
The latest betting lines for Saturday’s game are as follows:
- Spread: Syracuse favored at -2.5
- Total (Over/Under): 44.5
- Moneyline Odds: Syracuse -130, UNC +110
The odds and lines presented in this article are the best available from selected sports betting sites at the time of publication and are subject to change.
Betting is unavailable for in-state college teams in New York, but we’ve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.
BRENT AXE: Syracuse 24, UNC 17
CHRIS CARLSON: UNC 24, Syracuse 14
JAVON EDMONDS: UNC 21, Syracuse 17
NATE MINK: UNC 20, Syracuse 14
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