There are bright spots in Chapel Hill. Demon June ripped off an untouched 25-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 against the Orange, and Jordan Shipp scored on the opening 83-yard drive. UNC has gone 2-3 in its last 5, but none of those 5 games got away from it. The worst loss was 37-26 to Notre Dame, and the 2 wins came 21-17 at Pitt and 24-20 at Duke. This team plays close games. Whether it can make the No. 1 team play one is the question.
Miami is 7-0 and 5-0 in the ACC, and it has done it without a full roster. WR J. Moore, RB C. Brown and TE L. Gilbert are all out for the season, and the offense hasn't slowed down. Mensah and Toney have just made up the difference, and Javian Mallory ran for 2 touchdowns against Pitt to keep the backfield moving. There is one crack to watch. Florida State put up 35 in a 43-35 game in Miami, so this defense can be scored on when an offense keeps the ball moving.
North Carolina's injury report hits one spot hard: tight end. J. Washington and J. Warren are both out with undisclosed injuries, and a tight end drop came right before June's touchdown run against Syracuse. For a quarterback who already holds the ball too long, losing his safety-valve option is a big deal against a defense that will be pinning its ears back.
The forecast says 62 degrees, cloudy and basically no wind, so both offenses get clean conditions. Miami has been beating teams by a lot, with 52-3 over Central Michigan and 41-13 at Clemson. UNC has made everybody sweat. One of those trends has to give in Chapel Hill.