UM vs. North Carolina: Matchups to Watch
By David Villavicencio
HurricanesSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes have their eyes set on a second consecutive appearance in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 1, and a win in Thursday’s game will get the Canes one step closer to Charlotte.
Coming off a 31-17 win over FIU at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., last time out on Sept. 22, the No. 16/16 Miami Hurricanes continue their month of September with their conference opener vs. ACC Coastal foe North Carolina on Thursday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
North Carolina leads the all-time series, 11-10, but the Canes carry a 7-6 all-time lead in games played in Miami or Miami Gardens into Thursday. The Hurricanes captured a 24-19 victory over North Carolina in the 2017 meeting between the two teams on Oct. 28, 2017 in Chapel Hill, N.C. UNC won the last meeting in Miami Gardens, 20-13, on Oct. 15, 2016 – the last home regular-season loss for Miami, which has won 11 straight since.
North Carolina is under the direction of head coach Larry Fedora, who has a compiled a 78-55 overall record and a 44-36 mark with the Tar Heels. Though Carolina’s record stands at just 1-2, the Heels topped Pittsburgh, 38-35, at home on Sept. 22 in the Heels’ first conference game of the year. The Tar Heels are led offensively by WR Anthony Ratliff (11 catches, 230 yards), QB Nathan Elliott (669 passing yards, 3 TDs) and RB Antonio Williams (257 rushing yards, 3 TDs). Defensively, Carolina is paced by LB Cole Holcomb (25 total tackles).
Here are three matchups to watch in Thursday’s game.
Miami’s quarterbacks vs. North Carolina’s quarterbacks
An untraditional matchup to watch since they don’t face off head-to-head on the field, the quarterback situation on both sidelines will be a heavily discussed storyline on Thursday night.
Miami head coach Mark Richt said throughout the week that he would evaluate the quarterbacks in practice and decide on a starter before kickoff, but the Hurricanes have two strong options in redshirt senior Malik Rosier and redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry.
Two weeks ago at Toledo, Rosier became the first Hurricane to score five touchdowns in a game since Brad Kaaya threw four touchdowns and rushed for a score against Pitt on Nov. 5, 2016.
Perry was impressive in Miami’s 31-17 win over FIU on Saturday, completing a career-high 17-of-25 passes for a career-best 224 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He added 32 rushing yards on the ground.
“We feel really good about having as much depth as we can at any position, including the quarterback spot for guys who can help us perform well,” Miami offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said. “The guys that practice the best will play and help us win.”
UNC head coach Larry Fedora will star junior Nathan Elliott at quarterback and also had sophomore Chazz Surratt available after serving a four-game suspension. Elliott set a career high with 313 passing yards in a win over Pitt on Saturday. His previous game- high was 278 yards at NC State in 2017. Elliott was 22 of 31, threw for two touchdowns and posted a QB rating of 177.1. It’s the second straight game he completed a career-high 22 passes. Last year in Chapel Hill, Elliott came off the bench to throw for 173 yards and a touchdown against the Hurricanes.
Miami’s defensive line vs. North Carolina’s offensive line
The battle in the trenches is also one to watch because the team that dominates the line of scrimmage usually wins the football game.
The Tar Heels have allowed just one sack through three games in 2018. UNC junior offensive tackle William Sweet was named ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week after his performance in Saturday’s win over Pitt. The Jacksonville, Florida, product graded out at 91 percent and had a team-high 10 knockdown blocks to lead the Tar Heels to a 38-35 win in the team’s ACC opener. Sweet did not allow a pressure or a sack on the day, helping pave the way for the UNC offense to rush for 173 yards and three scores and gain a season-high 486 yards.
Miami leads the nation in team tackles for loss, with redshirt senior defensive tackle Gerald Willis as the national leader with 10.0 tackles for loss (2.5 per game). Miami leads the ACC and is fifth nationally in rushing defense, allowing 78.8 yards per game. The Canes have sacked opposing quarterbacks 11 times over four games and will look to consistently penetrate the UNC offensive line and wreak havoc in the backfield.
“We set our standards to a higher standard from last year,” Willis said. “We won’t accept the same goals we set last year. We’re going to continue to rack up those TFLs [tackles for loss].”
Miami’s special teams vs. North Carolina’s special teams
Special teams could be a key factor in Thursday’s game, with North Carolina featuring a veteran kicker and one of the best kick returners in all of college football and Miami’s dynamic returners posing a threat to score every time they touch the ball
UNC’s Anthony Ratliff-Williams had a pair of kick return touchdowns and 895 return yards, second-most nationally a year ago. The junior was a Preseason All-ACC selection in 2018 and was named first-team All-ACC as a returner a year ago. Carolina has 16 total kick and punt return touchdowns since the start of the Larry Fedora era in 2012. That total was tied for the lead among all FBS programs during that six-year time frame. Kicker Freeman Jones, who led the roster with 64 total points a year ago, is back and has made six of his seven attempts this season.
Miami’s Jeff Thomas ranks third in the ACC with a 25.8 yards per kick return average, while Thomas and fellow sophomore DeeJay Dallas have helped the Canes post an ACC-best 25 yards per punt return average. The Canes have also blocked punt and returned it for a touchdown and blocked a field goal this season. Freshman kicker Bubba Baxa is 2-for-3 on field goal attempts and has made all 22 PATs he has kicked this season.
