UNC football controls its bowl season destiny in Saturday matchup with Miami

The North Carolina football team will travel to face the No. 9 Miami Hurricanes this Saturday with a chance to earn the program a signature win.

Just two weeks ago, the Tar Heels stumbled on the national stage against No. 2 Notre Dame, losing momentum after the first half in a 31-17 defeat. Although UNC leads the ACC in total offense with 534.5 yards per game, Notre Dame's defense stymied sophomore quarterback Sam Howell and the offensive unit in the second half, forcing five punts and a turnover on downs in six possessions. 

While Notre Dame’s defense is revered as one of the nation’s best, Miami is also solid in this area, holding opponents to 366.2 yards per game. In the Hurricanes' last contest, they held Duke to just 99 yards gained in a 48-0 victory.

Despite the success of the Miami defense, Howell said UNC is prepared to use its experience from the Notre Dame game to take on the challenge.

“We learned how physical the game is when you play teams like this,” Howell said. “We just have to be prepared mentally and stay locked in, because if you’re not locked in against good teams, you won’t be able to move the football.”

Miami’s defense deserves some recognition, but the most impactful player for the Hurricanes is their quarterback, senior D’Eriq King. A true dual-threat signal caller, King has been one of the most dynamic players in college football this season, throwing for 2,334 yards and running for 467 more. 

To prepare the defense for the speed and elusiveness of King, the North Carolina coaching staff added a new wrinkle to the practice regiment. Junior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said the Tar Heels have gone as far as utilizing scout receivers and "speed guys" as quarterbacks in practice to simulate the speed they anticipate in Saturday's matchup.

"I think the key thing is to try to limit the big play opportunities for him, and see if he can make throws accurately over and over and over again," defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said in Monday's press conference.

UNC has struggled against mobile quarterbacks this season, most notably in the team’s three losses against the Fighting Irish, Virginia and Florida State. If the Tar Heels want to have success against the Hurricanes, containing King will be an important step. 

“We’ve been emphasizing in practice to set the edge and make sure he doesn’t have any creases to go to because he’s shown on film that he’ll make you pay for it,” Gemmel said.

In the home opener of the Mack Brown 2.0 era last year, the UNC-Miami matchup largely dictated the direction of both teams' seasons. The Tar Heels used a victory in the game as a springboard to a winning record and bowl victory, while Miami fell from national prominence and stumbled to a loss to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl. 

Although that game took place over 15 months ago, the Hurricanes will likely still be looking to avenge their loss. Howell said he and the Tar Heels realize this, and they want to be prepared for whatever comes their way.

“We were probably a little more pissed off this year playing teams we lost to last year and wanted to get revenge, so I’m sure that’s in their heads in Miami,” Howell said. “They’re a really good football team, so we need to go down there and prepare to play a really good team.”

In addition to knocking off a top-10 team, a victory this weekend could impact the Tar Heels’ postseason aspirations. 

A bowl berth has long been solidified, but depending on how the College Football Playoff committee evaluates the upcoming Notre Dame-Clemson rematch in the ACC Championship, the winner of UNC's game this weekend could potentially solidify a berth in the Orange Bowl.

“At this point in the season, some teams get a little complacent with their calls or don’t want to spend a lot of time in the film room because we’ve been in there since August,” Gemmel said. “It’s added motivation to go out there and prove we can beat a top-10 team like Miami.”

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