UNC Wins Two Straight on the Road as an Underdog, Now Favored Against Syracuse

Bill Belichick's second season at North Carolina has reached its midpoint, and the Tar Heels are 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC after winning back-to-back road games as underdogs. For anyone following North Carolina sports betting, that is worth a closer look before Syracuse visits Chapel Hill this weekend.

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Two Road Wins in Two Weeks

UNC beat No. 25 Pitt 21-17 on Oct. 10, then went to Durham and topped rival Duke 24-20 on Oct. 17. ESPN noted the Tar Heels won both games as a road underdog. The Duke game had plenty of twists. UNC built a 17-0 lead in the first 17 minutes, and Duke rallied to go ahead 20-17 with 4:39 left. Jaylen McGill answered with a 24-yard touchdown run with 1:53 to play, and Kenton Dopson III intercepted Walker Eget with 14 seconds left to seal it. It was UNC's first win in Durham since 2022, and the Tar Heels took the Victory Bell back to Chapel Hill.

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Holding Teams Down

One trend stands out through six games: UNC has won every game in which it held its opponent to 20 points or fewer. The Tar Heels allowed 10 points to TCU, 3 to East Tennessee State, 17 to Pitt and 20 to Duke. TCU's 10 points in the 15-10 game in Dublin were its lowest total since October 2023. UNC's two losses came against Clemson (28 points) and No. 3 Notre Dame (37 points).

What Is Next for UNC and Duke

Syracuse (2-4, 0-4 ACC) comes to Kenan Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network. The latest UNC football odds on from DraftKings list the Tar Heels as 8.5-point favorites, with the total set at 46.5. The Tar Heels then host No. 1 Miami on Oct. 31, with Miami listed as a 14.5-point favorite. Duke, now 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the ACC, travels to Virginia on Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Duke odds for that game show Virginia favored by 2.5 points.