Miami football faces UNC team that bounces back from losses under Mack Brown

The Miami football team plays at North Carolina on Saturday who has been tough under head coach Mack Brown after a loss. This is focusing on the Tar Heels under Brown during his second tenure in Chapel Hill since 2019. North Carolina lost last week 35-25 at home to Florida State.

North Carolina has won six straight games after a loss dating to 2019. The Tar Heels lost their 2021 season opener 17-10 at Virginia Tech. North Carolina bounced back with a 59-17 against Sun Belt Conference opponent Georgia State at home. The Tar Heels’ second loss this season was 45-22 at Georgia Tech on September 25.

North Carolina followed up the loss to Georgia Tech with a 38-7 win over Duke on October 2. The Miami football team has alternated wins and losses this season. Miami began 2021 with a loss to Alabama, followed by a win over Appalachian State, a loss to Michigan State win over Central Connecticut State and a loss to Virginia.

Miami ended the 2020 season with a blowout loss to North Carolina and Cheez-it Bowl defeat to Oklahoma State. North Carolina defeated North Carolina State, Duke and Western Carolina after losses to Florida State, Virginia and Notre Dame in 2020. Miami lost to North Carolina in 2019 after a season-opening loss to Florida.

Miami had a bye in between playing Florida and North Carolina in 2019. The Hurricanes broke a streak of five consecutive losses after a regular-season bye last season. Miami lost 42-17 at Clemson in the first of their games off a bye last season. The Hurricanes followed that up with wins over North Carolina State and Duke.

North Carolina has followed up all five of their losses the last two seasons with double-digit wins in their next game. Some of that has been their opponents after a loss. A 48-21 victory over number 23 North Carolina State last season was the only victory North Carolina had over a ranked opponent after a loss.

The Tar Heels were ranked 14th when they defeated the Wolfpack. The other 2020 victories for North Carolina after a loss were against FCS Western Carolina and Duke who finished 2-9 last season. North Carolina’s two victories following losses this season were against 2-4 Georgia State and 3-3 Duke.

The key for North Carolina could be turnovers, The Tar Heels are minus five in their three losses and plus one in their three wins. North Carolina has been woefully inconsistent in 2021. The Tar Heels are averaging 385 total yards per game in losses and 587.33 in wins. North Carolina has held five of six opponents under 400 yards.

The Miami football team needs to come out as focused against North Carolina as well as it did in their last two regular-season byes of 2020. The Hurricanes and Tar Heels are among two of the most disappointing team in college football in 2021. Miami and UNC were both ranked in the top 15 to begin the 2021 season.