Syracuse Beats North Carolina 31-30 in Overtime on Angeli to Russell Two-Point Conversion

Syracuse beat North Carolina 31-30 in overtime on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill. Steve Angeli found Calvin Russell III for the overtime touchdown and then again for the two-point conversion on back-to-back plays, giving Syracuse its first lead of the game, its first conference win of the season and an end to an 11-game losing run in ACC play.

North Carolina scored first in overtime. Demon June caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Billy Edwards Jr. to give North Carolina a 30-23 lead. Syracuse answered with the Angeli to Russell touchdown, and then Angeli went back to Russell for the two-point conversion and the 31-30 win, instead of kicking to extend the game.

North Carolina builds the lead

North Carolina led 10-0 after the first quarter on a field goal and a touchdown pass from Edwards to Jordan Shipp. The Tar Heels stretched the lead to 13-3 on a 39-yard field goal, and Syracuse scored 10 points in the second quarter. In the third quarter, June rushed for a 25-yard touchdown on fourth-and-one, his seventh score of the season, and North Carolina led 20-10.

Syracuse is 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the ACC in the official Syracuse recap. North Carolina is 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC. The quarter scores were North Carolina 10, 3, 7, 3 and 7 in overtime for 30, and Syracuse 0, 10, 0, 13 and 8 in overtime for 31. The teams went to overtime tied 23-23.

The fourth quarter comeback

Syracuse came back in the fourth quarter. Umari Hatcher scored on a 76-yard touchdown catch and run to cut the North Carolina lead. Rece Verhoff made his third field goal of the game for a 23-17 North Carolina lead with 7:12 left. Tylik Hill then scored on a 3-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 23 with 1:54 left in regulation.

Angeli completed 20 of 34 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime. Hatcher caught four passes for 103 yards, with the 76-yard touchdown as his long play of the night. Russell caught eight passes on 11 targets for 86 yards and one touchdown, plus the winning two-point conversion catch.

For North Carolina, Shipp caught eight passes on 10 targets for 102 yards and one touchdown, and Jelani Thurman caught seven passes for 77 yards.

An 8.5-point favorite loses at home

North Carolina entered the game as an 8.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook as cited by Bleacher Report. The loss ended a two-game North Carolina winning run that included a rivalry win over Duke and an upset win over No. 25 Pittsburgh. Syracuse took its first conference win of the season on the road, in overtime, after trailing 10-0 in the first quarter and 20-10 in the third.

North Carolina next hosts No. 1 Miami next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Syracuse returns home for a Halloween game against No. 23 SMU on Saturday, October 31, at noon on ESPN2. Syracuse leaves Chapel Hill with the conversion play as the difference: one touchdown catch by Russell, one conversion catch by Russell, and a one-point win.