The Tar Heels will be back at it this Saturday after a disastrous Week 6 loss to Florida State. The Miami Hurricanes are visiting Kenan Stadium, but Carolina has had recent success on the gridiron against the vaunted visitors from South Beach.

UNC leads the all-time series with the Hurricanes 12-10, and have won the last two games. Both are particularly memorable to Carolina fans: the first was the home opener in Mack Brown’s first season, which ended on a Miami missed field goal in the final minute. The second was a 62-26 thrashing of the Hurricanes which punched Carolina’s ticket to the Orange Bowl.

But all those games are in the past, and this season’s Tar Heels are coming off a more disappointing result than either of the first two teams dealt with. Head coach Mack Brown said while the team’s 3-3 record isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary, the preseason hype makes it feel much worse.

“Last year we were 4-2 at this time, first year we were 3-3, so it’s not that much different, really,” he told reporters Wednesday. “But the expectations were. And that makes us all feel differently about it than we should. And really and truly, we’re still in a process of building that culture and learning how to handle adversity and having leadership within the team, because leadership changes every year. And we’ve just got to keep getting better.”

Brown has repeatedly said this week’s game is more about the Tar Heels than the Hurricanes. But he still noted the Miami offense is loaded with playmakers, even with freshman backup quarterback Tyler Van Dyke playing Saturday to replace the injured D’Eriq King.

“[van Dyke] came in and played really well,” Brown said. “He’s big, he’s a pro-style quarterback. He’s very, very accurate, but he can run for a big guy, too. And he did a lot of good things. Also, they’ve got two NFL receivers. You start looking at [Charleston] Rambo, who transferred in from Oklahoma, and [Mike] Harley, No. 3, who we’ve played against for the previous two years. And they return four of their five offensive linemen.”

Rambo, Harley and others will challenge a Carolina defense which was embarrassed by Florida State last weekend. Sophomore cornerback Tony Grimes said he thinks the defense is still coming together as a unit, but knows the potential is there for much more.

“We, as a core, as a defense, we’re learning. And we’re growing,” Grimes said. “This week, we’re working on our communication. That’s one thing we lacked last game. That can’t happen again, especially if we want to be the best defense in the country. So we’ve gotta start off right. So these next couple games, we’re gonna get right.”

Grimes is one of a number of young players on the Carolina defense. After last weekend, many Tar Heel fans were clamoring for more freshmen and sophomores to enter the game, particularly linebacker RaRa Dillworth and defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie.

“We’re trying to find roles for those guys and play them,” defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said. “And not just those two. Other good young guys, too. The other thing with Ritzie is, right now when Ritzie goes in, that means Kaimon Rucker comes out, or that means Myles Murphy comes out. It’s not like Ross Martin and I are playing four techniques and we’re rotating in with those guys. So, I think they’re playing the right amount right now, and I think they’re getting better, and they’re gonna be really good players.”

With so much young talent on both sides of the ball, the future will likely usher in happier days for UNC football. But for now, Carolina is still coming off a bad loss, and still facing a dangerous opponent. And the Hurricanes would love to exact revenge on the Tar Heels after last season’s blowout.

 

Featured image via Getty


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