The University of North Carolina Tar Heels we’re locked in from opening kickoff against the number ten ranked Miami Hurricanes. Coming off a dominant performance against the Western Carolina Catamounts, the Tar Heels were the more assertive and fundamentally sound football team. With a 62-26 win, the Tar Heels should jump into the top ten.
Junior running back Javonte Williams and senior Michael Carter combined for 544 rushing yards. This has been one of the most consistent duos in college football all year and on Saturday they had a breakout performance. The offensive line created massive holes for the backs who both averaged over ten yards a carry while going seemingly untouched past the second level of the defense for most of the night.
Miami’s gap integrity on defense was nonexistent. When the Tar Heel backs set the tone running down hill, everything else opened up. Offensively for the Canes, Quarterback D’Eriq King came out flat and not in sync with his receivers. They couldn’t match the efficiency of the Tar Heels offense.
The blue and white defense came to play with a chip on their shoulder this week. Led by senior linebacker Chazz Surratt, this defense was flying all over the field. Whether it was getting stops on fourth down or forcing crucial turnovers to halt momentum, this team came to play and set the tone early.
What’s interesting about this matchup is not only what happened on the field, but also the coaching aspect. Hurricanes Head Coach Manny Diaz is the former defensive coordinator at the University of Texas under current Tar Heel Head Coach Mac Brown.
In Diaz’s last game as coordinator, his defense gave up 550 rushing yards to Texas Tech, which resulted in him being fired the following day. Seven years later, the two coaches face off against one another and Diaz falls victim to a similar defensive performance giving up 554 total rushing yards.
The Tar Heels are a team to be reckoned with not only this season, but for the foreseeable future. Sophomore quarterback Sam Howell continues to get better and the team is growing as a whole.
With this win, the blue and white move to 8-3. The loss drops Miami to 8-2 and knocks them out of the top 10 ranking.