North Carolina holds a 16-11 on-field edge over Miami in 27 meetings since 1946, though the programs' history has been defined more by narrow finishes and occasional upsets than by long periods of dominance.
The Tar Heels' five-game winning streak is the longest by either side, and Saturday's Halloween night matchup at Kenan Stadium gives the No. 1 Hurricanes a chance to end it.
The two programs became annual opponents after Miami joined the ACC in 2004 and met every season through 2023. Miami is 3-8 in 11 visits to Chapel Hill and 8-8 when hosting North Carolina.
Early history in Miami-UNC matchup
The teams played only seven times before Miami joined the ACC. North Carolina won the first three, all in Miami, before the Hurricanes took three straight from 1959 to 1961.
A 41-year hiatus followed the 1963 game in Chapel Hill until the programs resumed play in 2004.
Memorable games between Miami and UNC
In 2004, a 6-0 Miami team with national-title hopes fell 31-28 in Chapel Hill when freshman kicker Connor Barth hit a 42-yard field goal as time expired.
Miami's last win in Chapel Hill came on Halloween weekend in 2017, when the eighth-ranked Hurricanes escaped 24-19 and improved to 7-0 on the way to an ACC Coastal title. The following season Miami's defense forced six turnovers and scored three defensive touchdowns in a 47-10 home win, the Hurricanes' largest margin in the series and their most recent victory over the Tar Heels.
North Carolina's current streak began in 2019 with a 28-25 home win in Mack Brown's return, sealed by a Sam Howell touchdown pass with just over one minute remaining. In 2020 the Tar Heels set an NCAA FBS record at the time for combined rushing yards by teammates when Michael Carter (308) and Javonte Williams (236) combined for 544.
Close three-point wins followed in 2021 and 2022 before a 41-31 victory in Chapel Hill in 2023.
Other notable results include Miami's 27-23 road win in 2013, sealed by a late touchdown, and North Carolina's 59-21 home blowout in 2015.
How close the series has been
Across all 27 on-field meetings the teams have combined for 675 points for North Carolina and 657 for Miami. Thirteen games were decided by eight points or fewer.
Miami-UNC all-time series history
- Oct. 4, 1946, Miami: North Carolina 21, Miami 0
- Nov. 28, 1952, Miami: North Carolina 34, Miami 7
- Oct. 11, 1957, Miami: North Carolina 20, Miami 13
- Nov. 6, 1959, Miami: Miami 14, North Carolina 7
- Sept. 30, 1960, Miami: Miami 29, North Carolina 12
- Oct. 27, 1961, Miami: Miami 10, North Carolina 0
- Nov. 16, 1963, Chapel Hill: North Carolina 27, Miami 16
- Oct. 30, 2004, Chapel Hill: North Carolina 31, Miami 28
- Oct. 29, 2005, Miami: Miami 34, North Carolina 16
- Oct. 7, 2006, Miami: Miami 27, North Carolina 7
- Oct. 6, 2007, Chapel Hill: North Carolina 33, Miami 27
- Sept. 27, 2008, Miami Gardens: North Carolina 28, Miami 24 (later vacated by UNC)
- Nov. 14, 2009, Chapel Hill: North Carolina 33, Miami 24 (later vacated by UNC)
- Oct. 23, 2010, Miami Gardens: Miami 33, North Carolina 10
- Oct. 15, 2011, Chapel Hill: Miami 30, North Carolina 24
- Oct. 13, 2012, Miami Gardens: North Carolina 18, Miami 14
- Oct. 17, 2013, Chapel Hill: Miami 27, North Carolina 23
- Nov. 1, 2014, Miami Gardens: Miami 47, North Carolina 20
- Nov. 14, 2015, Chapel Hill: North Carolina 59, Miami 21
- Oct. 15, 2016, Miami Gardens: North Carolina 20, Miami 13
- Oct. 28, 2017, Chapel Hill: Miami 24, North Carolina 19
- Sept. 27, 2018, Miami Gardens: Miami 47, North Carolina 10
- Sept. 7, 2019, Chapel Hill: North Carolina 28, Miami 25
- Dec. 12, 2020, Miami Gardens: North Carolina 62, Miami 26
- Oct. 16, 2021, Chapel Hill: North Carolina 45, Miami 42
- Oct. 8, 2022, Miami Gardens: North Carolina 27, Miami 24
- Oct. 14, 2023, Chapel Hill: North Carolina 41, Miami 31
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