College Football Preview: #20 North Carolina vs. #9 Miami
A massive top-20 showdown with a major bowl bid on the line.
When you hear “ACC” in today’s college football landscape, your initial thoughts are usually aimed at Clemson University and their current stance as a college football powerhouse. Back in the 90s and early 2000s, Florida State University used to carry that particular distinction within the ACC.
While Clemson is currently the cream of the crop in the ACC, a few programs are on the verge of elevating themselves to be ACC title chasers fairly soon. A pair of those programs will meet this Saturday in a top-20 matchup with both programs looking for this win to take that next step to a possible Orange Bowl bid. A very successful season is materializing for the #9 Miami Hurricanes (8-1, 7-1 ACC). A dual threat transfer quarterback and a new offensive coordinator with fast tempo approach has revitalized the Hurricanes program who now have themselves a bright future. Visiting those Canes this weekend will be the 20th ranked program in all of college football, the talented North Carolina Tar Heels (7-3, 7-3). The Heels also have themselves an offense that can score points at a blistering pace. Let’s explore this intriguing matchup.
Network: ABC
Time: Saturday, December 12th, 3:30 PM EST
North Carolina Analysis
As a true freshman in 2019, quarterback Sam Howell introduced himself to college football in very impressive fashion. Howell tossed for 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions last season and while his numbers have taken a slight step back this season (26 TDs, 6 INTs), his maturation as a passer has been well noted. Thanks to his growth, the Tar Heels are 12th in the country in scoring and fifth overall as a unit. The combination of Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown give the Tar Heels arguably the best wide receiver duo in the ACC. Together, they have combined for 97 receptions and 13 touchdowns to this point. As an offense, the Heels have eight players with at least 13 receptions and each one has at least one touchdown reception to their name. The Heels offense is deep and dangerous.
While the defense has seen more downs than ups this season, there are still a few ball players on this side of the ball that are difference makers. Linebacker Chazz Surratt is fun to watch and leads the team in tackles and sacks. Just two seasons ago, Surratt was the starting quarterback for North Carolina on the road against Miami. A contest in which he threw three interceptions, two which were returned for touchdowns. Tomari Fox and Tomon Fox have combined for 15 tackles for loss as well as 9.5 sacks. The Tar Heels have to tighten up in pass defense as they ranked 122nd in passing plays of 30 or more yards allowed with 23.
Miami Analysis
The transfer of D’Eriq King from Houston to the University of Miami can be filed as the most critical on-the-field move the program has made in quite some time. King has been very stellar in recent weeks as he is fourth in the ACC in passing yards per game and second in passing touchdowns. He has also added 467 rushing yards and four touchdowns to boot. Speaking of rushing, junior running back Cam’ron Harris leads a solid stable of running backs with 555 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. The team is fresh off a performance against Duke in which the offense rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 5.2 yards per rush.
Where Miami has wrecked havoc on defense this season is having front seven capable of making any quarterback uncomfortable. The Hurricanes defense is tied for 16th in the country in total sacks with 27 and sixth in the country in tackles for loss with 81 and that’s with the team missing two weeks worth of action. Edge rushers Jaelen Phillips and Quincy Roche have a combined 28 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. While defensive tackle Nesta Silvera has also been a bright spot with 30 total tackles and six tackles for loss. The secondary however has been underachieving greatly this season, especially at the corner position. The team will be without starter Al Blades Jr. at cornerback for the rest of the season and will now rely on true freshmen to get considerable time on the field.
Prediction
I mentioned in the opening that the winner of this contest will have the leg up on a possible Orange Bowl bid at the end of the season. The matchup should be fun and features a pair of outstanding quarterbacks, a number of solid receivers and plenty of running backs capable of busting big plays.
So of course, the difference will come down to the defenses. Neither unit has been viewed as “shutdown” but as of late, the Hurricanes probably has played the better ball as a group and sport the better defenders between the two teams. North Carolina has allowed 31 or more points on five different occasions this season and in each of those contests, the opposing offense has totaled over 400 yards. Both offenses will have some big plays and both quarterbacks will have some big moments. But the combination of Phillips/Roche are capable of taking over at certain junctures. Their ability to make a few plays late will be the difference here as Miami grinds to a hard fought win.