UNC will get a shot at the No. 1 team in the country when the Miami Hurricanes visit Kenan Stadium Saturday. Miami enters the game with a 7-0 overall record and 5-0 mark in the ACC, having blown out Pitt 52-23 at home last weekend.
Leading the Canes in his fifth year as head coach is Mario Cristobal, a former player who won two national titles at Miami in 1989 and 1991. Cristobal served on staff at Miami in two separate stints before getting the head coaching job close by at Florida International. After leaving FIU for a staff job at Alabama, Cristobal headed to Oregon in 2017 where he began as co-offensive coordinator and later was named head coach in 2018. Cristobal led the Ducks to a 12-2 season in 2019 before his alma mater came calling.
Since coming back home, Cristobal has turned the Hurricanes back into the college football powerhouse they were in the 1980s and early 1990s. Since 2024, Miami is 30-6 overall and is coming off a run to the College Football Playoff National Championship last winter.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal stands on the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
What’s the history?
UNC leads the all-time series with the Hurricanes 16-11 and are 12-8 against them since Miami joined the ACC. That includes an active five-game winning streak, a run of seven wins in eight meetings and an upset of No. 4 Miami on a last-second field goal in 2004 — to this day, UNC’s highest-ranked win ever.
Familiar foes
Miami was the subject of a high-profile offseason story when it plucked quarterback Darian Mensah from Duke via the transfer portal. Duke clearly felt slighted by the move, as it sued Mensah to prevent him from heading south, alleging he had violated the terms of his NIL contract. The case was eventually settled, and Mensah moved on to Miami. To add insult to injury, Miami also took one of Duke’s top receivers, Cooper Barkate, with Mensah.
The Tar Heels got good looks at both Mensah and Barkate when the pair visited Kenan Stadium last season with the Blue Devils. Mensah completed 20-of-33 passes in Duke’s 32-25 win, though UNC held him to a season-low 175 passing yards. Barkate caught two passes for 26 yards.
Since arriving in Miami, Mensah has established himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Through seven games, Mensah leads all FBS quarterbacks with an 81.4 completion percentage and an 89.7 QBR. He also ranks in the nation’s top 10 in passing yards, touchdowns and fewest interceptions. Mensah’s “worst” game of the season came at Clemson — when he completed 18-of-27 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown, then added another score on the ground in a 41-13 win.
“He’s got NFL-type talent,” UNC head coach Bill Belichick said of Mensah. “Good arm, athletic, sees things well, makes good decisions, takes care of the ball. He’s got a lot of production and very few negative plays… he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country. I haven’t seen them all, but he’s gotta be right up there. Can’t imagine there’s too many playing better than he is.”
‘He’s good at everything’
Mensah’s statline is certainly NFL-worthy, but he’s arguably not even the biggest star on his own team. That would be receiver Malachi Toney, who rose to national prominence when he helped lead the Hurricanes to the CFP title game. In just his sophomore season, Toney has gotten even better: his 9.4 receptions per game, 136 receiving yards per game and 11 touchdown catches all rank in the nation’s top five. Toney has 66 total catches on the year, nearly triple the next-highest Hurricane (Barkate), and is already nearing the 1,000-yard plateau for the season. To put that in perspective, UNC’s two most productive receivers – Jordan Shipp and Trech Kekahuna – have a combined 55 catches.
“He sees a lot of double coverage; that doesn’t stop him,” Belichick said of Toney. “He can kill you on a screen pass, he can kill you on an intermediate play, he can kill you on deep balls.”
But Toney is just as effective even when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands, and Belichick said as much during his Monday press conference.
“He’s good at everything,” said Belichick. “He’s a good blocker. He’s tough. A lot of guys that play that position don’t have that… I don’t see any weak points in his game.”
Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Points, points and more points
With dynamic weapons like Mensah and Toney, it’s no surprise that Miami fields the best offense in the ACC by a comfortable margin. The Hurricanes rank No. 1 in the league in scoring, yardage and passing offense, and are only four yards per game behind Louisville for the league’s top ground game.
Miami is averaging a jaw-dropping 49 points per game, and their 46 touchdowns are 10 more than the next-best ACC team. The Hurricanes have scored no fewer than 33 points in any game, have topped 40 points six times and 50 points three times. UNC, meanwhile, just scored 30 points against an FBS team for the first time since 2024 — and it took overtime to do so.
What are the odds?
At the time of publication, Miami is a 15.5-point favorite in the game.
Featured image via Associated Press/Rebecca Blackwell
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2026 UNC Football Opponent Preview: Miami Chapelboro.com.
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