Miami Carries No. 1 Ranking to Chapel Hill to Face Belichick's Tar Heels
The Hurricanes have not held the top spot in the AP poll since 2002 and enter Saturday's game as 14-point favorites over North Carolina.
By Amina Yusuf ·
Miami has not occupied the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll since 2002, but the Hurricanes climbed back to that position this week after opening the season with seven consecutive wins. The team carries a 14-1 record across its last 15 games dating to early November 2025, a stretch that followed a run to the national championship game last season.
The Hurricanes own a scoring margin of 33.7 points per game, the best mark in the nation, and they rank first in FBS for point differential in the second quarter at +95 and third for the third quarter at +57. Miami also sits third nationally in scoring across the final four minutes of the second quarter and the first four minutes of the third quarter, averaging +7.6 points in that window.
Miami travels to Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday against North Carolina and coach Bill Belichick. The game airs on ABC. The Tar Heels have taken the last five meetings in this series, including wins over Miami teams coached by Mario Cristobal in 2022 and 2023. Those two Hurricane squads finished with a combined record of 12-13.
North Carolina enters the matchup after a home loss to Syracuse. The Tar Heels led by 10 points in the fourth quarter before Steve Angeli and the Orange offense scored late to force overtime, where Syracuse prevailed. North Carolina has defeated TCU, Pitt and Duke this season, and those victories came in games decided by narrow margins.
Two Miami players are in the Heisman Trophy conversation. Quarterback Darian Mensah leads FBS in completion percentage at 81.4%, has thrown 22 touchdowns, second in FBS, and averages 307.3 passing yards per game, fourth in FBS. Wide receiver Malachi Toney leads FBS with 66 receptions and has posted at least 900 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns on a 7-0 team, a combination last reached by Heisman winner DeVonta Smith in 2020.
The Hurricanes are 14-point favorites for Saturday's game. Miami's next opponent after North Carolina is Notre Dame.
Source: CBS Sports
