Cure for a Hurricanes hangover: Beat undefeated No. 12 UNC, led by Heisman contender
The cure for a Hurricanes Hangover could be along Tobacco Road in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Either that or it’s a relapse recipe.
The No. 25 Miami Hurricanes (4-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) will embark on their second road trip of the season to face the No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels (5-0, 2-0), one of 11 undefeated top 25 FBS teams, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC) at Kenan Stadium.
Expect a packed crowd for the occasion, as UNC students and fans especially love to pack the house for the Canes, whom the Tar Heels have defeated the past four years. UNC is 15-11 in the series that began in 1946 but has continued every year since UM joined the ACC in 2004.
“You do it with honesty and transparency,’’ Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said this week about bouncing back after a devastating home loss to Georgia Tech with one second left. “Going to fix all the things that we can do better. Realize the opportunity in front of us [and] understand what football is, very much like life. We owe it to ourselves and to our players, to our entire organization, like we do our very own families, to look each other right in the eye and demand the best, the absolute truth from each other, so you can always go forward.’’.
The truth hurt last week, when Cristobal was ridiculed across the nation for choosing to run the ball instead of taking a knee in a victory formation with 33 seconds left and UM leading 20-17. Instead, running back Don Chaney Jr. fumbled and Georgia Tech went on to score four plays later for the 23-20 win.
Tar Heels coach Mack Brown said he believes young players “pull together’’ and respond when facing intense criticism like the UM program has the past week. “They’ve completely turned around who they were from last year,’’ Brown said. “They’re a top-25 team. They’re the most talented team we’ve played to this point. They’ve got speed all over the place, and we’ll have our hands full.’’
So will Miami.
The Tar Heels are 5-0 for the first time since they began the 1997 season 8-0.
Heisman contender
UNC has a Heisman contender in 6-4, 220-pound third-year sophomore quarterback Drake Maye, considered a high-round draft prospect in 2024. This season, Maye is 129 of 179 (72 percent) for 1,629 yards and eight touchdowns, with four interceptions. He also has rushed for four touchdowns. He has several talented options at receiver, including Junior Nate McCollum (355 yards and a touchdown), who is 14th nationally with seven catches a game.
Maye also has Kent State transfer Tez Walker, who had 921 receivng yards and 11 touchdown catches last season and was finally granted an NCAA transfer waiver before last week’s UNC victory against Syracuse. The 6-2 1/2 Walker caught six passes for 43 yards in his Tar Heels debut, as UNC finished with 644 total yards —the third time the Heels have surpassed 500 this season.
Last season, Maye threw for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He rushed for seven touchdowns. Against the Hurricanes, Maye threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns, with two picks in UNC’s 27-24 win.
Maye told reporters early this week that he didn’t see the Georgia Tech-at-UM ending.
“The last time that Miami got the ball and they were running it out, I turned it off,’’ the quarterback said. “Next thing you know, you see it popping up on social media. Some of the guys texted. Just a heartbreaking way to lose.’’
Rebounding
Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and the Hurricanes insisted this week they had put last week’s loss behind them and were intent on another road win. A win against UNC would keep the Canes in contention for a spot in the ACC title game on Dec. 2 in Charlotte. This season, the top two ACC teams in winning percentage will meet in that game, as the Coastal and Atlantic divisions were eliminated.
Van Dyke, who threw three interceptions last game, is nonetheless sixth nationally in passing efficiency (178.8), 17th in passing touchdowns (12) and 28th in passing yards per game (266). Miami has the No. 13 scoring offense (39 points) and 12th scoring defense (14.6). UM’s rushing defense leads the nation in allowing only 58.2 ground yards a game.
Asked if the loss snapped the players’ attention back after a 4-0 start, Van Dyke said, “I wish we could have learned this lesson while winning the game. That would have been nice. But everyone is still locked in no matter what. We have a great group of guys who are willing to work no mater what happens.’’
Painful rivalry
The UM-UNC rivalry has in recent years been painful for the Canes. Last year at Hard Rock Stadium, Van Dyke threw for a career-high 496 yards and three touchdowns. But UM turnovers, including a costly tailback fumble and Van Dyke’s late fourth-quarter interception, sealed the UNC victory.
UM also lost by three points in 2021, when the Canes rallied for 25 second-half points and reaching the UNC 16-yard line before Van Dyke’s third-down pass was broken up, bounced off a Tar Heel and was intercepted.
Three years ago, UNC set an NCAA record with a combined two-man rushing onslaught of 544 yards. UM gave up 778 total yards, the most it ever allowed, and got trampled 62-26.
And in 2019, with 1:01 left, UM missed a 49-yard field-goal attempt to fall 28-25.
UM defensive end Rueben Bain, graded by Pro Football Focus as the No. 1 defensive player in the country among freshmen, will make his first trip to Kenan Stadium.
Last week, Miami wore its all-black, special-edition Adidas “Miami Nights” uniforms. On Saturday, they’ll be in their all-white Stormtroopers unis.
“Looking forward to it,’’ Bain said. “Ready for the atmosphere. Ready to take the field with my brothers again. Another week, another opportunity.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 4:18 PM.
