The Miami Hurricanes begin ACC Play when they host North Carolina on Thursday night. The Hurricanes finished non-conference play 3-1.
After beginning the season with a loss to LSU the Miami Hurricanes begin ACC play with a three-game winning streak. The loss to the Tigers caused Miami to plummet from eighth in the preseason rankings to 22nd and 23rd in the AP and Coaches Poll. After the win over FIU last week the Hurricanes are back up to 16th nationally.
North Carolina travels to Hard Rock Stadium with a 1-2 record. The Tar Heels began the season with road losses at California and East Carolina. North Carolina won their ACC Opener last week against Pittsburgh.
Thursday night’s prime time game is likely one of transition for both teams. The Miami Hurricanes are likely to give Redshirt Freshman quarterback N’Kosi Perry his first start. North Carolina is expected to get back seven players off suspensions according to the Charlotte News-Observer.
The Tar Heels also hope to return a pair of key defensive players from injury. UNC has been missing safety Myles Dorn and defensive tackle Aaron Crawford early in the season.
Miami has it’s own injuries to worry about. They are likely to be without star safety Jaquan Johnson and standout wide receiver Ahmmon Richards. This would be the fourth game in a row Richards has missed and the second full game Johnson has been out.
Richards suffered a bone bruise on his knee in the season opener against LSU. Johnson hurt his hamstring two weeks ago against Toledo and missed the entire second half.