Miami opening as a big favorite at UNC won't mean much with an angry Bill Belichick up next

The Miami Hurricanes will be a big favorite on the road against the North Carolina Tar Heels. FanDuel opened the line at 15.5 points for the No. 1 team in the country.

Going into Week 8, it seemed like that line would be a little tighter. However, every time it seems like the Hurricanes might have a more intriguing challenge in the ACC, the future opponent loses the week before and takes some of the starch out of the matchup. And the Tar Heels followed that script, losing 31-30 in overtime to Syracuse in Week 8.

Up until that point, North Carolina had been on a bit of a surge, and it looked like Bill Belichick's team had figured some things out, but the Orange came in and racked up over 450 yards of offense in Chapel Hill to squeeze out the win.

Yep, there's former Miami Northwestern standout Calvin Russell winning the game for Syracuse. The Tar Heels struggled with Russell, who had eight catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. I wonder how that Belichick-coached secondary will deal with Malachi Toney?

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Malachi Toney vs. Bill Belichick's defense is the main event

After a week of enjoying an early game at Hard Rock Stadium in the bright sunlight, the Hurricanes will be back on the road and under the lights against North Carolina. Kickoff at Kenan Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ABC. 

The Tar Heels might've slipped up in Week 8, but Belichick's ability to scheme up a defense that confuses even the best offenses should never be underestimated. That's what makes this game so intriguing. North Carolina doesn't have the horses to slow down Toney — no one does in the ACC. But Belichick is going to throw everything, including the kitchen sink, at Miami to try to contain him and get Darian Mensah out of his game.

Miami's maturity has come through a few times this season. The Hurricanes have enjoyed some big margins, but they were challenged by FSU two weeks ago and had to fight their way to the win. They were also challenged at times by Wake Forest and needed the defense to come up big at that moment. 

There's a lot of professionalism from the Hurricanes that doesn't get appreciated enough. Are they perfect? No. And no one is in college football this year. But they are very good. Just ask Pat Narduzzi. 

Darian Mensah has to continue to find his secondary options

Toney was amazing against Pitt — 16 catches, 194 yards and three touchdowns. But Mensah also spread the ball around. Dre Jacobs, Cooper Barkate, Daylyn Upshaw, Elija Lofton and Somourian Wingo all had at least two catches against the Panthers. Jacobs hauled a deep ball while Barkate and Upshaw both had potential chunk plays that were broken up or Mensah could've been over 450 yards passing.

But the greater point is that Mensah did seem to make an effort to get more guys involved in the passing game. Sometimes that's been a problem for Miami's offense — maybe it's the only real problem. But it's one that should continue to improve down the stretch of the season.

And with Belichick expected to cook up some kind of exotic scheme to keep Toney contained, Mensah will need to get the secondary receivers involved early. 

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