Miami football’s 2019 season success hinges on North Carolina battle

Following their season opening loss at the hands of Florida, Miami football looks to rebound with a road win over North Carolina.

Things were looking up for Miami after a 10-point second quarter, but that lead would fizzle away before giving way to a 24-20 Florida victory on a Feleipe Franks touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

It was a significant loss for a Hurricane team that felt they were right there with the Gators the whole time, but they have the opportunity to turn things around this week vs. UNC.

The Tar Heels also had a 24-20 final score on their hands, but unlike Miami, it was UNC that ended up victorious. As a result, the Tar Heels will be bringing a great deal of momentum into this matchup after completing a furious fourth quarter comeback against South Carolina in head coach Mack Brown’s return to action.

There’s likely to be no love lost between these two ACC foes, so here’s how to watch what is bound to be a good one go down this weekend.

Date: Saturday, Sept. 7
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Venue: Kenan Stadium
TV: ACC Network
Live Stream: ACCN Live

Keys to Victory

Establishing the line of scrimmage is always a good place to start, but that’s something the Hurricanes failed to do on offense against Florida. In what was a very sloppy game on both sides, the Gators survived despite amassing four turnovers over the course of the game. The Turnover Chain was in full effect, but the offense did little with the opportunities they were given.

If a rebound is in the cards for the Canes, it’ll likely be a result of a strong run game. Williams held his own with 214 yards and a touchdown through the air, but he’ll need to be accompanied by more than 87 rushing yards if the coaching staff hopes to give him a fair chance. The 118 penalty yards did the offense no favors either, so that’ll have to be addressed before Saturday as well.

However, it’s not all on Miami to make a push for victory in this one. After scraping by against the Gamecocks, North Carolina will have to make sure that their yards are more rewarded than they were last weekend. Despite accruing 483 total yards, the Tar Heels had to settle for three field goals within 25 yards. These red zone struggles will make things especially difficult given Miami’s propensity for forcing turnovers.

Betting Odds

Odds provided by Bovada

Point Spread: Miami -5
Over/Under: 47.5

Prediction

While UNC eked out a win over South Carolina despite being outplayed for the majority of the game, the opposite could probably be said about a Miami group that lost despite a solid defensive effort. College football has an interesting sense of humor, so why not a little bit of deja vu for both teams this weekend? However, this time it’s the Canes who pull it off late.

Prediction: Miami 24, North Carolina 20