There’s going to be two Hurricanes in Chapel Hill this weekend: the UNC offense and the University of Miami (FL) football team.
One hurricane, the UNC offense, is coming off a season-high in points during its 40-7 thrashing of Syracuse. Carolina quarterback Drake Maye looked even more like a Heisman Trophy contender, throwing for 442 yards and three touchdowns. Kenan Stadium welcomed back Devontez Walker in his return from ineligibility, Nate McCollum reached the 1,000-yard career mark and the defense, which struggled immensely in 2022, is enjoying success not seen in quite some time.
The other hurricane, Miami, is second-guessing itself after a time-expiring loss to an average Georgia Tech team. The Hurricanes had possession and the lead late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s matchup – all they needed to do was kneel down and run out the clock.
Instead, Miami handed the football off to Don Cheney, who fumbled right into the arms of Yellow Jacket defenders. Quarterback Haynes King marched his team right down the field, capping the game-winning drive off with a touchdown throw to Christian Leary.
UNC is playing its best football, with four of its first five wins coming against Power 5 opponents. Miami has four wins under its belt, including a Week 2 victory against then-23-ranked Texas A&M, but wins against Miami (OH), Bethune-Cookman and Temple are nowhere near as impressive as Carolina’s wins against South Carolina, App State, Minnesota, Pitt and Syracuse.
If Carolina wins, it’ll keep pace with Florida State and Louisville atop the ACC. Miami, however, hopes to play spoiler in this primetime matchup.