Strong Second Half Lifts Carolina Past Syracuse, 27-10

Friday, October 31

Syracuse, N.Y. (JMA Wireless Dome)

7:30 PM

North Carolina

Syracuse

October 31, 2025 | Football

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

By: Ben Mihailovich

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - North Carolina used a second-half surge to pull away from Syracuse 27-10 to earn the program's first ACC victory under head coach Bill Belichick Friday night inside the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Tar Heels (3-5, 1-3 ACC) outscored the Orange (3-6, 1-5 ACC) 21-0 in the second half and dominated on both sides of the ball to outgain Syracuse, 425-147.

"The guys just kept grinding," Belichick told ESPN reporter Paul Carcatera after the game. "Once we got to the fourth quarter, we were able to run the ball and grind it out."

Freshman Demon June put together his best game of his young career against Syracuse, leading the way for Carolina with 182 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. June's 63-yard touchdown reception to start the second half gave Carolina a 13-10 lead, an advantage the Tar Heels did not relinquish. June finished with 101 rushing yards and 81 receiving yards.

Quarterback Gio Lopez was excellent when called on, finishing the game 15-for-19 with 216 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Lopez completed 79% of his passes, while also adding 33 rushing yards on six carries.

Melkart Abou Jaoude was a monster on defense for North Carolina. Abou Jaoude led the defense with six tackles, two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Kaleb Cost tallied five tackles and recorded two pass breakups.

First Quarter:

North Carolina grabbed the game's first lead on a 24-yard field goal by Rece Verhoff. The Tar Heels marched down the field thanks to a 50-yard catch and run by Kobe Paysour on a slant route, but were unable to punch the ball into the end zone and settled for the field goal.
Syracuse responded with a 51-yard fumble recovery return to the endzone to grab a 7-3 lead.
The first quarter concluded with the Orange up 7-3 and driving in the Tar Heels' red zone.
North Carolina's defense did not allow a completed pass on four Syracuse attempts in the first quarter.

Second Quarter

After forcing a three-and-out, the Orange regained possession in the second quarter. The rushing attack proved formidable, pushing Syracuse deep into North Carolina territory. Marcus Allen had a key pass breakup on third and goal to force the Orange to kick a 31-yard field goal. The kick sailed through the uprights to extend the Syracuse lead to 10-3.
North Carolina put together a productive drive at the end of the first half, going 67 yards to get back on the board with a 43-yard field goal from Verhoff. June was instrumental in getting the Tar Heels into field goal range with 50 total rushing yards on the drive alone. That total included a 44-yard outburst on the second play of the drive to push the Tar Heels into Orange territory. The kick by Verhoff cut into Syracuse's lead and had the Tar Heels trailing 10-6 at halftime.
North Carolina's defense held Syracuse to just 71 yards of total offense in the first half, surrendering only one pass completion.

Third Quarter

After forcing a three-and-out on the first drive of the second half, North Carolina got right to work. The Tar Heels set up a Lopez screen pass to June who caught the pass and ran 63 yards to paydirt. The catch and run put both June and Lopez over 100 total yards on the day and saw the Tar Heels back in front of the Orange, 13-10.
North Carolina forced a Syracuse punt on the ensuing possession after a Tyler Thompson sack pushed the Orange out of field goal range. On their following drive, the Tar Heels relied heavily on Demon June and Davion Gause. The two combined for 53 total yards on the drive and it was Demon June who found the endzone for the second time. June's five-yard touchdown rush with eight seconds remaining in the quarter extended the Heels' lead to two possessions, 20-10.
In total, the Tar Heels outgained the Orange 137-54 in the 3rd quarter alone.
At the end of the quarter, Demon June had 180 total yards while Syracuse as a team had just 125.
The Tar Heels led 20-10 after three quarters.

Fourth Quarter

North Carolina's defense finally got its turnover at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Melkart Abou Jaoude got pressure in the backfield and strip sacked the Syracuse quarterback, Joseph Filardi. Smith Vilbert pounced on the football to give Carolina great field position on the Syracuse 34-yard line.
The Tar Heels capitalized on the Syracuse giveaway. It took just four plays for Gio Lopez to connect with Jordan Shipp for a 21-yard touchdown toss. It was the second time the two linked up on the drive. The score gave the Tar Heels more separation, seeing them ahead 27-10.
North Carolina stifled Syracuse on its final drive by forcing a turnover on downs. Syracuse gave North Carolina the ball back on its own 34-yard line with 8:21 to go in the game, and never saw the ball again. North Carolina accumulated 46 yards on 14 plays to run out the clock on a 27-10 victory.

The Tar Heels return home next Saturday to take on Stanford, the first time the two teams will meet as ACC foes. The game will kickoff at 4:30 p.m. on The CW Network.