Top-ranked Miami has rolled through its schedule with an offense putting up big totals with ease and looking nothing short of unstoppable.
Finding a way to make that unit even slow down a bit is a daunting challenge for a North Carolina team that has leaned on its defense under NFL coaching icon Bill Belichick.
The Hurricanes (7-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) lead the Bowl Subdivision ranks in scoring (49.0) and total offense (551.9), fueled by the Darian
Mensah-to-Malachi Toney passing attack that's been so good the school is touting both players as Heisman Trophy candidates. The most recent display came in last week’s win against Pittsburgh, with Toney going for a program-record 16 catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
Toney has 27 catches for 348 yards and five scores in the last two games alone.
“Obviously he sees a lot of double coverage, that doesn’t stop him. He knows how to beat double coverage,” said Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl winner as an NFL head coach. “He’s very good at setting up his routes and getting to space and helping the quarterback. He’s a tough guy to tackle.
“He can kill you on a screen pass, he can kill you on an intermediate play, he can kill you on deep balls. ... At his age, it’s pretty impressive. I don’t really see any weak points in his game.”
Toney, a sophomore, is ranked third nationally in receiving yards per game (136.0) and total TD catches (11).
Mensah, who won in Chapel Hill last year while with Duke before leading the Blue Devils to the ACC championship, ranks in the top five in per-game passing yardage (307.3) and scoring throws (22).
That duo will stress a defense that has allowed 22.5 points in regulation this year. The Tar Heels (4-3, 2-2) have the ACC's two leading tacklers in linebackers Derek McDonald and Peyton Seelmann, while lineman Xavier Lewis is tied for fourth nationally in sacks (seven in seven games).
The Tar Heels are coming off an overtime home loss to a Syracuse team that was 0-4 in the ACC.
“We’re worried more about just taking care of our job,” UNC defensive back Coleman Bryson said. “Being smart, tough, dependable — focusing on us more than any particular player they have.”
The Hurricanes are a win away from playing one of the biggest matchups on the national schedule with next weekend’s trip to No. 5 Notre Dame. It would be a rematch of last year’s marquee game that went to the Hurricanes — and ultimately helped swing a CFP bid their way.
Just don’t expect Miami coach Mario Cristobal to talk about any of that right now.
“We just watched film on North Carolina,” Cristobal said. “At the line of scrimmage, they’re beating up everybody they play. It’s easy to see. Anyone that doesn’t recognize that chooses to be blind.
“Instead of thinking about what’s a stake and being in defensive mode and protection mode, it’s more of: you’ve got to stay in that hunting mode. You’ve got to be on the attack, because the teams we play have really, really good players that can beat you and can beat anybody.”
The Hurricanes are accustomed to playing in high-profile situations, from last year's run to the College Football Playoff championship game to their current two-week stay at No. 1 in the AP Top 25. This time, they'll line up against a team led by Belichick in his second college season.
“Honestly I haven’t even really thought about it like that,” Miami defensive lineman Justin Scott said. “When you put it into perspective like that, it is a cool opportunity."
“It’s really a blessing,” defensive lineman Ahmad Moten Sr. said of facing a Belichick-coached team. “He knows a lot. I’m pretty sure he’s coached those guys up very well for them to know a lot."
The Hurricanes have lost five straight meetings against North Carolina, a run that began in 2019 and continued through 2023. Miami's last win against the Tar Heels was a 47-10 home blowout in 2018.
UNC is 0-11 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams. Saturday will mark the sixth time that a top-ranked team visits Chapel Hill, the last being Clemson's 21-20 win in 2019 that was secured when the Tigers stopped UNC's 2-point conversion try with 1:17 left.
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