UNC vs. Miami: Game Preview

What a tale of two teams last Saturday was. Carolina, 5-0 after thrashing Syracuse 40-7. Miami, 4-1 after losing to a poor Georgia Tech team at home in the stupidest fashion possible:

Those stupid bell-ends probably cost Chapel Hill a visit from College Gameday, though to be fair, Oregon and Washington are both ranked in the top ten. UNC is in the midst of its longest win-streak against the Hurricanes at four in a row. If Drake Maye and the offense keep rolling, and the defense proves it can stop a dangerous quarterback for two consecutive weeks, the Tar Heels could be looking at a fifth win in a row over Miami.

After starting his junior season hot, Tyler Van Dyke shit his pants against Georgia Tech, throwing three interceptions against just one touchdown. The first pick was thrown with no pressure on him (his feet were set, no bouncing) but he inexplicably threw short into triple coverage. The second was a great play by DB Ahmari Harvey, who cut underneath the route and caught the ball over his shoulder like Jerry Rice. The final interception was a poor throw by Van Dyke on a simple hitch that Jaylon King returned 66 yards.

Bad day at the office for sure. If Van Dyke doesn’t clean that up, you can bet that Alijah Huzzie or Cedric Gray will be able to pick off a sloppy pass. Did people give Miami too much credit for beating Texas A&M and a “who’s who” of buy-game schools?

I say Van Dyke is still dangerous. Carolina fans will no doubt remember the 496 yards and 3 touchdowns he threw for against the Heels. It’s time for the defense to shift from bottling up a running quarterback to shutting down a throwing one.

Carolina only recorded one sack against Minnesota, two against Pitt, and just one again versus Syracuse. Tyler Van Dyke is not the running threat that any of those teams possessed, particularly Syracuse — and he will stand tall in the pocket to launch deep throws. This is the most pocket comfortable quarterback Carolina will see since Spencer Rattler, and we all know what the Heels were able to do to him.

Gene Chizik’s crew absolutely must get home to put Miami drives behind schedule, or at least hurry Van Dyke into making some of his patented numbnuts throws. A turnover or two would do wonders for Drake Maye and the offense. Despite not looking great against Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes have been lighting up scoreboards, averaging 43.8 ppg in their four previous wins.

If you disregard the 62-26 bare-bottom spanking Sam Howell, Javonte Williams, and Michael Carter gave Miami in 2020, the last three wins against the Hurricanes have all been by just three points. These are fine margins. Drake Maye has shown that he can throw an untimely pick, so it’s absolutely critical that the Tar Heels win the turnover battle.

Miami is due in this series, and after a fluky loss to the Yellow Jackets, could they pull off some nonsense against the feel-good Heels? My guess is no, but I’m more nervous now than before Mario Cristobal let his team run the ball instead of taking a knee.

Predication: UNC 45, Miami 38