SoFla Guide Editors
The undefeated, No. 1 Miami Hurricanes are spending Halloween night in Chapel Hill, and on paper North Carolina looks like the team that should be nervous. Sports Illustrated reports the Tar Heels are more than a two-touchdown underdog at home. Mario Cristobal isn’t treating it like a gimme, though, and a leaky stretch in Miami’s secondary gives this one some real trap-game energy.
The setup: unbeaten Canes, wounded Tar Heels
Miami is 7-0 overall and 5-0 in ACC play heading into Week 9, according to the Hurricanes’ official site and the ACC. Next up is North Carolina at Kenan Stadium on Saturday, October 31, with a 7:30 p.m. EDT kickoff on ABC, ESPN reported.
The Tar Heels, coached by Bill Belichick, are 4-3, per ESPN. Sports Illustrated reported they’re coming off an overtime loss to Syracuse in Week 8. So yes, UNC is hungry. And Miami will be wearing the target that comes with that No. 1 next to its name.
Cristobal, in his fifth season as Miami’s head coach according to the school’s official site, went out of his way to praise what the Tar Heels do up front.
“At the line of scrimmage, they are beating up everybody they play. It’s easy to see, and if anyone that doesn’t recognize that is chooses to be blind,” Cristobal said, via Sports Illustrated’s Miami Hurricanes On SI.
He also made it clear he wants his team in attack mode, no matter who’s across the field.
“In the hunting mode, you gotta be on the attack because the teams that we play have really, really good players that can beat you and can beat anybody,” Cristobal said, per Miami Hurricanes On SI.
Toney and Mensah are cooking
If you’ve been watching Miami’s offense this fall, you already know. It’s been a lot.
Malachi Toney was named ACC Offensive Receiver of the Week for Week 8, the Hurricanes’ official site announced. He earned it in a big way against Pitt on October 24, catching a school-record 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns in Miami’s 52-23 win. That broke the program record of 13 receptions, which he already owned. Breaking your own record is a very specific kind of flex.
According to the official site, Toney now has 66 catches for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. He’s averaging 136 receiving yards per game.
Throwing him the ball is quarterback Darian Mensah. The school’s official site reports Mensah has completed 166 of 204 passes for 2,151 yards and 22 touchdowns with one interception through seven games. He has completed at least 80% of his attempts in five of those games. One pick in seven games. Your group chat’s fantasy league commissioner just felt a chill.
The one thing keeping Canes fans up at night
For all the fireworks on offense, the Pitt game was not a clean night for the back end of Miami’s defense. Yahoo Sports reported that Pitt hit nine explosive passing plays against the Hurricanes’ secondary. Panthers quarterback Holden Geriner completed 18 of 32 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, per Yahoo Sports.
Miami still won by 29, so nobody’s panicking at the ventanita. Still, chunk plays through the air are exactly how a heavy underdog hangs around into the fourth quarter.
The Sun Sentinel reportedly ran a piece headlined “Explosive passes troubling No. 1 Hurricanes’ otherwise strong defense.” Sports Illustrated has reportedly described coverage breakdowns and Hail Mary situations as ongoing issues for the unit. The available coverage doesn’t show Cristobal using the phrase “explosive passes” in his UNC-week press conference, so take the framing as the outlets’ read rather than his words.
The defense is run by coordinator Corey Hetherman, who is in his second season with the program, according to Sports Illustrated’s Miami Hurricanes On SI. The Canes play out of a 4-2-5 base, per the same outlet. How that secondary holds up in Chapel Hill could be the difference between a comfortable road win and a sweaty Halloween.
Why this smells like a trap, and how to watch
Look at the ingredients. A road night game. A No. 1 team favored by more than two touchdowns. An opponent coming off a gut-punch overtime loss. And a head coach who spent his week telling anyone who’d listen that UNC is physically beating people up at the line.
None of that means Miami is in trouble. The offense has been rolling and the record is spotless. It does mean the Canes can’t sleepwalk through this one if they want to keep that perfect record heading into November.
How to catch it: Miami at North Carolina, Saturday, October 31, 7:30 p.m. EDT, Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, on ABC, per ESPN. Hand out the candy early, get the costume off, and be on the couch by kickoff.
