At 12:30 PM ET on Saturday at Sun Life Stadium, The Miami Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2 ACC) take on the North Carolina Tar Heels (4-4, 2-2 ACC) in a elimination game in the coastal. Most likely, the loser of this game is out of the sweepstakes for a chance to win the ACC Coastal division. The Hurricanes are coming off a impressive showing against the Virginia Tech Hokies last week in Blacksburg 30-6, while the North Carolina Tar Heels battled to the wire and came away with a victory against Virginia 28-27. Both teams have confidence and momentum headed into this game, so what will it take for the Hurricanes to get the victory?
Contain
The Tar Heels will be one of the most difficult challenges for this year’s Miami Defense. The Hurricanes defense is coming off one of their best performances of Al Golden’s tenure, only allowing 262 total yards with three forced fumbles. However, they face a different kind of monster this week, North Carolina QB Marquise Williams. Williams leads his team in passing yards (2,035) and in rushing yards (497) with the type of offense that usually gives Miami trouble. UNC runs the zone read/spread/option with Williams and they have been highly successful. They rank 21st in passing while averaging almost 300 yards per game, but here is a key stat, they rank 86th in the nation overall in rushing yards per game only averaging 146.6 per game. So if the Canes can contain Marquise Williams on the ground and force him to put it in the air, that will, obviously, enhance the winning percentage tremendously. I would like to see LB Jermaine Grace as the QB Spy on Williams to limit his yardage on the ground.
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Step Up
The Hurricanes suffered a huge loss this week with Ereck Flowers out with knee injury, although we are not aware of the severity. A freshman will have to step up. Most likely, highly touted freshman Trevor Darling from Miami Central will get the start on Saturday at RT. The Canes have already suffered key injuries on the offensive line this year with Taylor Gaidbois and Kc McDermott both out for the year. The Canes Offensive Line has shown the most improvement this year with the help of Art Kehoe. They played nasty and aggressive against Virginia Tech letting Duke Johnson run for 249 yards on the ground. The good news is that North Carolina ranks 125th total defense, 107th in rushing defense, and 116th in passing defense. The Canes offense will have a field day with Brad Kaaya, Duke Johnson and company; if the offensive line can hold up. It is time Trevor Darling, to step up.
Consistency
Fans have questions regarding which team will show up week to week, and it is valid thought. For instance, the Canes came off a very impressive showing against the Duke Blue Devils, but they drop the ball next week against Georgia Tech. Can Al Golden get this team to play consistently at a high level? Miami showed aggressiveness, passion, and execution last week against Virginia Tech in all three phases of the game which was very pleasing to watch. They key to this game is to play consistent, and execute in all three phases. The Miami Defense ranks 15th nationally in total defense, but they have not played well against the better offensive teams. North Carolina will be one of the toughest match ups offensively all year; the other two difficult match ups were Nebraska and Georgia Tech which both teams ran for over 300 yards against the Miami Defense. So what team will show up? The Canes have gained momentum on both sides of the ball heading into this game. James Coley, the offensive coordinator, has been earning his paychecks lately by calling some great games. Duke Johnson pounding the ground last week against Bud Foster’s defense, and look for more of the same this week against the Tar Heels. Brad Kaaya has not been turnover prone nor has the rest of the offense. If they stay consistent, they will have a field day against the North Carolina defense.