The North Carolina Tar Heels' postseason bowl eligibility aspirations are suddenly teetering following a 31-30 loss to the Syracuse Orange in Week 8.

Now, the Tar Heels head into Halloween with a scary matchup on tap against the No. 1-ranked Miami Hurricanes. In comparison to last year, North Carolina's roster is light-years ahead. However, there are still questions about the personnel, specifically at quarterback, with Billy Edwards Jr. That being said, in recent weeks, another position group has emerged as problematic for the Tar Heels: wide receiver. Here's why.

Lack of Production

This conversation excludes Jordan Shipp, who has been utterly dominant over the last four weeks, firmly cementing himself as the go-to option in the passing game. This also doesn't include Jelani Thurman, who is a tight end. We're focusing solely on the wide receiver position, and the Tar Heels lack a second-fiddle option to Shipp.

Trech Kekahuna and Mason Humphrey were the notable additions to the wide receiver corps in the transfer portal. Humphrey has caught three passes all season and has missed the last two games due to injury. Meanwhile, Kekahuna has been in and out of the lineup after what seemed to be a soft benching following his significant fumble in the season opener. The Wisconsin transfer has 14 receptions for 162 yards.

C.J. Sadler has been heralded as a potential future star during his freshman campaign, but he's dealt with off-field shenanigans that have cost him at least one game. Sadler was perplexingly left out of the game plan against Syracuse, not playing a single snap. That ceded opportunities to fellow freshman wideout, Nyqir Helton.

Just for context, Shipp has 41 receptions for 543 yards and two touchdowns through seven games. Those four receivers have combined for 27 receptions, 329 yards, and zero touchdowns. The lack of production behind Shipp is alarming.

Depth is Thin

The last point somewhat covers this, but at the same time, the Tar Heels only had three receivers run routes in the loss this past weekend: Shipp, Kekahuna, and Helton. That shows the unreliability and overall lack of options North Carolina currently has at its disposal in the pass-catching department.

That's why we've seen a heavy dosage of 12-personnel for the Tar Heels, who have been leaning on their tight end depth, which has also been challenged this season. We're seven games through the season, and North Carolina has already shuffled through several wide receiver combinations. It's a makeshift unit for the Tar Heels right now.