CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The former coach of the Hurricanes did it to his old team again, keeping his unblemished record against the University of Miami intact since taking over a surging North Carolina program.

Butch Davis was able to post a 28-24 victory last season in Miami and another close 33-27 victory in his first season in Chapel Hill in 2007. This time around, the 33-24 score wasn't indicative of North Carolina's dominance, as the Tar Heels took control early and in the process made the 12th-ranked team in the nation and the ACC's pass-efficiency leader look ordinary.

As the clock wound to zero, it was the North Carolina sideline that was filled with bowl scouts wanting to court the Tar Heels, who after blowing a Thursday night home game against Florida State on Oct. 22 are now one of the ACC's hottest teams with victories over Virginia Tech, Duke and now the Canes.

``With Coach Davis, we're always going to be prepared for the big game against big teams -- kind of the big stage,'' UNC quarterback T.J. Yates said. ``We've always done a good job against Miami. It always seems like we have a beat on what they're doing.''

Two of the four interceptions thrown by Jacory Harris were returned for touchdowns, as the nation's fifth-ranked defense ruled the day, confusing the young quarterback who has had his worst outings of the season against the ACC's top three defenses.

``We just took advantage of him staring down the receivers,'' UNC defensive tackle Tydreke Powell said of Harris, who now has 16 interceptions. ``We just tried to get in his face all night. This is real great for Butch, real great. We know how much this means to Coach Davis.''

Dating to last season, Davis and Co. have won five consecutive games against ranked opponents, starting some momentum at North Carolina the same way he did in Coral Gables for six seasons.

``The thing that Coach Davis always preached to us since the first day he got here was that you want to play in the big games, when the blimp is in the sky, when everybody in the country is watching,'' said Kendric Burney, whose three interceptions and school-record 170 return yards played a pivotal role in the UNC victory. ``This shows how much coach has put into this program and the steps this program has definitely taken.''

In addition to Davis killing his old team, so has the surfer-looking Barth family from the beach town of Wilmington, N.C. Connor Barth's game-winner from 42 yards as time expired beat the Canes in 2004, and he kicked four field goals in a 2007 victory here. On Saturday, younger brother Casey Barth connected from 22, 42, 32 and 33 yards.

UNC (7-3) will now head to a bowl in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1997 and '98, and the Canes might have missed out on a possible 10-win season with the loss, dropping to 7-3 with regular-season games left against Duke and South Florida. In addition, the Tar Heels have a good opportunity to eclipse their 8-5 record from a season ago, with games left against Boston College and N.C. State and their postseason game.

``When you come to a program and you're starting to build the tradition and the history and the environment, you need guys who are leaders,'' Davis said.