UNC beats Miami 33 to 24

For those of you that watched the game between #12/15 Miami and North Carolina one thing is certain, this is not the same team that the Heel fan base was watching about a month ago. If anyone can say we they gone from one side of the spectrum to the other, UNC can surely be that team. From dropping a heart breaker against Florida State, where it was more the Tar Heels losing that game than the Seminoles winning, head coach Butch Davis has now won three games in a row (two of them against ranked squads), and has Carolina bowl eligible. Yes, let me repeat that, North Carolina is 7 and 3 and is now able to go to the post season. The latest victory came on Senior Day today, where UNC took care of Miami by the final score of 33 to 24, which is pretty close to my prediction of 27 to 24.

How did the Heels get it done? With their bread and butter, their defense, picking off Miami’s qb Jacory Harris four times, three of them by Kendric Burney, one returned for 77 yards and a touchdown. This is the most interception for a Heel since Dre Bly (`96) and then 170 yards are a record of their own, both for UNC as well as the ACC. Another pick by the UNC D was also returned for a touchdown, this time by Melvin Williams (with an assist of sort by, you guessed it, Kendric Burney). Yes, as I keep saying, if UNC wants to get it done it must follow the lead of their defensive unit and have the offense just play good enough to win. Or, for those that like these kinds of statements, all the offense needs to do is play within themselves.

While T.J. Yates was not perfect by any means, his wide outs also dropped about 4-5 balls that were catchable, the offense was able to do enough to keep the momentum on UNC’s side. One of the things I was most impressed with was that the Heels didn’t turn over the ball once against the `Canes, giving the visitors no possibility to get some easy scores.

The running game, led by Ryan Houston, didn’t have the same easy going as they had a week ago when the Heels faced the Blue Devils, but it was able to gain well over 100 yards and keep the Miami front seven from going after T.J. Yates full out. When the Hurricanes did full blitz it was picked up and once turned into a touchdown as Yates audible to a hot route (slant) where Greg Little beat his defender and ran for 35 yards and a score. I did enjoy the fact that Yates spread out his passes to nine different receivers and while tight end Zach Pianalto is still the main hook up (5 catches), four other players caught multiple passes from their quarterback. By sharing the wealth and having the running game working the Heels were able to keep the `Canes defense guessing and that had to help Carolina in this game.

Can I find something to be a stickler about? Sure, I love that Casey Barth is becoming a great kicker for the Tar Heels, but I would rather that the offense score a bit more touchdowns and give their kicker more work on the extra points and not field goals so close to the end zone. I do not know about anyone else, but as the lead went from 17 to 6 the thoughts of another team from the sunshine state taking a game from Carolina were beginning to slowly, but surely, enter my mind. Fortunately, as I said at the beginning, this team is not the same one that we saw against FSU, and it showed, as they bent but didn’t break against Miami. In the end Miami is now winless in its last four visits to Chapel Hill, something that coach Davis must be pretty proud of.

On this day the Heels salute their ten seniors: center Lowell Dyer, left tackle Kyle Jolly, walk-on linebacker Alex Crisp, walk-on cornerback Tyler Caldwell, fullback Bobby Rome, defensive tackle Cam Thomas, middle linebacker Kennedy Tinsley, safety Melvin Williams, defensive end E.J. Wilson and defensive tackle Al Mullins, I like to say thanks for having done all of your best to make this program the best it can be. If the Heels keep moving forward and upward do not ever forget that it was also you guys that helped to start that!

But let’s remember that UNC has still two games left in the regular season (as well as a bowl game), and so the team will be right back at it working hard to get ready for a trip to Chestnut Hill to face off against Boston College. A game that will be played next Saturday with the time yet to be determined.

Shortlink: