No. 1 Miami heads to Chapel Hill on Saturday night looking to keep its offense humming and avoid the kind of trap door that has opened before in this matchup.
The Hurricanes will face North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. at Kenan Stadium, with ABC carrying the game. Miami enters as a 14.5-point favorite in 60-degree weather with no rain in the forecast. Mario Cristobal is 42-19 at UM and 104-79 overall, while North Carolina’s Bill Belichick is 8-11 overall.
Miami arrives at 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the ACC after getting back to a blowout last week against Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes have been one of the country’s most dangerous offenses all season, sitting No. 1 nationally in points per game at 49.
They’re also fourth in passing offense at 340.7 yards per game and 18th in rushing offense at 211.14 yards per game. The school has already started a Heisman Trophy push for its two biggest offensive names, quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Malachi Toney.
Toney has been especially electric over the last two games. Against FSU and Pitt, he piled up 348 yards and five touchdowns on 27 catches. And he’s done damage all over the field, not just deep - 325 of his receiving yards and four touchdowns have come on passes thrown 9 yards or fewer.
North Carolina comes in at 4-3 and 2-2 in the ACC after a painful overtime loss to Syracuse on Saturday. The Tar Heels have shown improvement in Year 2 under Belichick, but the offense has still been a problem. UNC is averaging 24.4 points per game, which ranks 95th nationally.
The matchup on that side of the ball tilts heavily toward Miami. North Carolina’s defense has been decent at keeping points down overall, allowing 20.9 points per game to rank 41st nationally, but the Tar Heels have had trouble against both the run and the pass. They’re 90th in rushing defense at 154.71 yards allowed per game and 84th in pass defense at 218.0 yards allowed per game.
That’s a tough setup against a Miami offense that leads the nation with 551.9 yards per game. The Hurricanes are bringing the most explosive attack North Carolina has seen this season by a wide margin - 100 yards per game more than the top offense UNC has faced so far.
There’s also the history, and it hasn’t been kind to Miami. The Hurricanes are 11-16 all-time against North Carolina and have dropped their last five meetings.
In Chapel Hill, it’s been even rougher: Miami has lost three straight road games to UNC and is 3-8 all-time there. With Notre Dame waiting next week, Cristobal will need to make sure his team doesn’t drift ahead of Saturday night.
In Other News...
Clemson Fans Finally Got The Elyjah Thurmon Update They Needed
Clemson got an anxious moment early in its game against Florida State when left guard Elyjah Thurmon went down after a head-on hit from a Seminoles linebacker. The scene quickly turned from football to concern as Thurmon was stabilized on a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital, with his mother accompanying him off the field.
There was at least one encouraging sign before he left the stadium: Thurmon gave a thumbs-up, a small but meaningful indication that he had movement in his extremities. For a Clemson team and fan base that had been holding its breath, it was the kind of update that mattered most in the moment, even as the full extent of the injury remained a concern. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State's Mike Norvell Backlash Just Turned Into A Public Spectacle
Florida States frustration with Mike Norvell has been building for weeks, but it spilled into a more public form during the game against Clemson when fans displayed a plane banner calling for his firing. The message was misspelled, but the sentiment was unmistakable, and it landed at a moment when the Seminoles are already dealing with a losing record and a run of poor performances that has only sharpened the pressure around the program.
Norvells contract only adds another layer to the situation. He signed an eight-year extension through 2031, and any move to part ways with him would come with a significant buyout and a duty-to-mitigate clause, which means the financial side of any decision would be as complicated as the football side. For a fan base already on edge, the banner was a reminder that the conversation around the Seminoles is no longer happening quietly. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Finally Got The Win It Needed As One Tiger Took Over Late
Clemson got the kind of win it needed on Oct. 31, and it came with a little bit of everything. The Tigers beat Florida State 36-24 behind a defense that kept creating extra possessions, forcing four turnovers while the Seminoles never managed one of their own. It was the sort of complete effort that had been missing at times this season, and it gave Clemson a much-needed lift.
Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds provided the finishing touch late, breaking free for a 79-yard rushing touchdown to put the game away. The night also carried a sobering moment when starting left guard Elyjah Thurmon was injured on a helmet hit and taken to the hospital, a reminder that even in a needed victory, the toll can be real. [Read more 🡒]