Miami Football: 3 Bold predictions vs North Carolina in Week 15

Miami football will host North Carolina Saturday in a game with New Year’s Six implications. Here are three predictions for the Hurricanes and Tar Heels.

On a somewhat slow Saturday, there is one really juicy matchup in the ACC later today and that takes place between Miami football and North Carolina.

Miami is currently 10th in the College Football Playoff rankings and North Carolina is ranked 17th. But while those rankings reflect two solid seasons, they really don’t matter all that much from the bowl perspective in the ACC conference.

If Clemson does what many people expect and beat Notre Dame next weekend in the ACC title game, the league will likely send three teams to the NY6, with the third-place team headed to the Orange Bowl, which is why this game matters so much.

If Miami football wins this game, the Hurricanes (8-1) would certainly be headed to the Orange Bowl with another win next week and North Carolina would probably be in the same boat as long as it wins Saturday.

Either way, it’s a huge game for both programs and here are the predictions:

Sam Howell has a big day

Neither team is really known for having a great defense but Miami has really struggled at times giving up 500 yards to Clemson and more than 400 to Louisville and NC State. The Hurricanes gave up 41 points to the Wolfpack but found a way to win and while a shutout last week against Duke was promising, the Blue Devils don’t have Sam Howell at quarterback.

Howell is in his second year as a starter after throwing 38 touchdowns last season. This year, he’s been very consistent again, throwing for at least 225 yards in each game and going over 300 four times, as well as tossing three or more touchdowns on five occasions.

The Canes rank 30th in the scoring defense in the country right now, but they are giving up 225 passing yards per game and 1.6 touchdowns and Howell, plus his array of weapons will take advantage to the tune of at least 300 yards and 3 TD passes.