Bill Belichick wins first ACC game as North Carolina rallies to defeat Syracuse 27-10
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Demon June accounted for two touchdowns and nearly 200 yards on offense, Gio Lopez threw for two scores, and Bill Belichick won his first Atlantic Coast Conference game when North Carolina came from behind to defeat Syracuse 27-10 Friday night.
“Feels good. Feels great,” Belichick said. “We had a couple of opportunities the last couple of weeks that we couldn’t capitalize on. It was good to get this one. So we look forward to all the rest of the games in the ACC.
“Things didn’t go great great at the beginning of the game but then they just kept on battling and we had a really good second half defensively,” he added of a defense that shut out the Orange after intermission. “We all know in football it’s not who you play it’s when you play them. We were probably fortunate to get them (now) as opposed to the week they played Clemson.”
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Tar Heels (3-5, 1-3 ACC), while the Orange (3-6, 1-5) lost for the fifth consecutive time. North Carolina lost its previous two games by a combined four points.
The Tar Heels had not scored more than 20 points against an FBS team and trailed 10-6 when Lopez hit June for a short gain of 9 yards on the team’s first play of the second half. June then broke a tackle and scampered 63 yards down the right sideline for a 72-yard scoring play to give the Tar Heels a 13-10 lead they would never surrender. On the team’s next series, June ran it in from 5 yards out for a 20-10 margin. A 21-yard scoring strike from Lopez to Jordan Shipp gave the Tar Heels a 17-point lead and 21 unanswered points.
Lopez was 15-of-19 passing for 216 yards and two touchdowns. June had 101 yards on the ground and 81 yards on two receptions. Shipp had six catches for 64 yards.
“He did a great job giving us a spark tonight,” Lopez said of June. “He does a great job in every aspect. He’s picking up blocks better. That screen got us out of the funk we were having.”
Syracuse walk-on Joe Filardi, a true freshman, started at quarterback for the Orange. He was 1 of 11 in the first half and didn’t complete his first pass until 6:12 remained in the half. He finished 4 of 18 for 39 yards. Filardi replaced struggling LSU transfer Rickie Collins, who had gone 0-4 as a starter in relief of Steve Angeli. Angeli, who directed the Orange to a 3-1 start, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against Clemson. Syracuse hasn’t won since.
“It was a month straight of football and we got other kids on the football team,” Brown said in defense of starting Filardi. “Just trying to get a new spark or something different to be able to move. I’m hoping that would give our team a little bit of momentum.”
Brown said the decision was “just strictly” based on Filardi’s performance in practice.
“I thought he tried to protect the football, running the football. A lot of times you guys just want to blame the quarterback but there’s a lot, like 10 other people out there also.
Practice didn’t make perfect for Filardi or the offense on this night.
The only touchdown in the first half came courtesy of the Syracuse defense. Devin Grant knocked the ball loose from Shamar Easter on a short completion from Lopez. Linebacker Anwar Sparrow scooped up the ball and ran 51 yards for the score with 4:38 to go in the first quarter, giving the Orange a 7-3 lead.
Rece Verhoff had field goals of 24 and 43 yards while Tripp Woody had a 31-yarder for the Orange.
Syracuse managed 12 first downs, generated 147 yards on offense, and averaged only 2.9 yards per play.
Pinstripes in the House
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was on hand. Boone’s son, Brandon, is an offensive student assistant for the Tar Heels.
A Visitor They Wish Could Play
Also on hand was last year’s Syracuse savior, quarterback Kyle McCord, now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad. Coach Brown may have been tempted to put him in disguise on this Halloween night.
The Takeaway:
North Carolina: The Tar Heels are showing some fight. After two tough losses, North Carolina dominated Syracuse in the second half, albeit against a walk-on quarterback, and could be turning things around.
Syracuse: The Orange are competing without a functional quarterback and a functioning offense. They simply cannot score, putting an awful burden on a defense that is spending too much time on the field.
Up Next:
North Carolina: Home against Stanford Nov. 8.
Syracuse: Travels to No. 10 Miami Nov. 8.
