CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina coordinators Phil Longo and Jay Bateman met with the media for their weekly press conferences Monday morning as the Tar Heels prepare to travel to Miami this Saturday for their regular season finale.

UNC is coming off a 49-9 win over Western Carolina in Chapel Hill. The 20th-ranked Tar Heels sit at 7-3 overall while No. 9 Miami currently sits at 8-1.

Below are the full press conferences as well as notes and some quotes from what both Longo and Bateman had to say.

*In the game before UNC’s blowout victory over Western Carolina, the Tar Heels lost 31-17 to No. 2 ranked Notre Dame. It was a day to forget for Carolina as a team and even more so for the offense.

Against the Irish, UNC racked up just 298 yards of total offense, its lowest single-game total of the season. Despite being an easier opponent, the Heels did get back on track in last Saturday’s win over WCU, finishing with 540 yards of total offense in a game in which every single player on the roster saw action.

So, does Longo think his offense got its mojo back after the big win over the Catamounts?

“Last week was good in a lot of ways because we got back into a rhythm and then we got some backups that hadn't been playing as much on the field,” Longo said. “We got a lot of real offensive reps with those guys, got all four quarterbacks on the field, got all the RBs, got everybody. I think we got everybody on the offensive roster on the field and so it gave us an opportunity, one, to get into a rhythm, like you're asking and, two, to evaluate some of our future stars here for North Carolina.”

*When playing a lesser opponent like Western Carolina that you’re supposed to beat with ease, expectations are different for UNC players during the game and, as a result, are different when evaluating the game film.

How exactly are they different? Longo explains here:

“I think anytime that you play somebody that you may be more talented than, you really expect perfection,” Longo said. “You expect to be able to finish your blocks, you expect to be able to get open on your routes, you expect to be able to protect well, you expect to be able to finish things at the second level and create some explosive runs. You just expect a higher level of overall execution.

“You don't expect missed assignments and you don't expect to get beaten physically as often because maybe there's a larger disparity between the talent that you're playing and the talent that you have. And that was our expectation, we wanted to play a really, really clean first half in all facets of the game and we did.”

*UNC’s offense is preparing to face a Miami defense that ranks No. 3 in total defense in the ACC, allowing just 22.0 points per game so far this season.

A big positive for Longo is that his offense ranks No. 2 in the ACC in total offense, averaging 41.1 points and 534.5 yards per game.

So, what stands out the most to Longo about the Hurricanes’ defense?

“Speed is the first thing that comes to mind,” Longo said. “They track the ball very, very well, they pursue very, very well. I will challenge you to find a reverse to get outside of one of those d-ends this year. They are vertical in nature on the d-line, they are going to disrupt and penetrate and create seams and creases in the offensive box.”

Who stands out the most to Longo on Miami’s defense?

“I think we're going to see two of the best d-ends this entire season. Maybe in the two years I've been here, this is the best combination of defensive ends that we've seen. They're outstanding, 15 and number two, who we saw at Temple last year.”

*Defensively, UNC is preparing to face one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC in D’Eriq King. King currently ranks No. 6 in the conference in passing yards with 2,334 and is tied for second in the league in touchdowns with 20 behind Sam Howell.

King is also a mobile quarterback, having run the ball 111 times for 467 yards and four touchdowns. The Tar Heels have struggled mightily at times to stop mobile quarterbacks this season, most recently with Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book.

So, how is Bateman using what happened against the Irish to prepare his unit to be ready for King’s ability to escape and extend plays outside of the pocket?

“I think you have to be careful what kind of blitzes you run and what kind of coverages you play behind your blitzes,” Bateman said. “Because, if they do escape one, and then there's a lot of space, right? So, I think against both of them you want to try to keep them in the pocket and try to kind of throw a vice around them.

“The thing I took away against Ian Book was that, when we did that, we were really successful and, when we didn't, we weren't. And so I think our kids understand that, too. So, I think that'll be a big piece moving forward is gap integrity and pass rush integrity against guys like this. I think that's gonna be a really big deal.”

*The Tar Heels are also getting ready to face one of the top tight ends in the league in Brevin Jordan, who has missed time this year due to a shoulder injury.

In the Hurricanes’ 48-0 win over Duke last Saturday, Jordan finished with four catches for 75 yards and one touchdown. That was Jordan’s first appearance since Miami’s 25-24 victory over Virginia Tech on Nov. 14.

Not only was Bateman full of praise for Jordan, he has also been impressed with what Miami’s tight end room as a whole has done so far this season.

“I think both their tight ends are tremendous,” Bateman said. “We've played against some really good tight ends this year and I don't think we've played against two that are as good as these two.”

What in particular about Jordan’s game impresses Bateman?

“Brevin, last year he got after us a little bit in the pass game. I think he's improved in the run game tremendously. Last year we felt like, when he got in the run block to block in the run game, we could survive. And I feel like, now, he's become a really good run blocker also.”

*Despite only finishing with three tackles, UNC Coach Mack Brown said after the win over Western Carolina that freshman linebacker Des Evans had his best game in a Carolina uniform.

Evans played just 35 snaps against the Catamounts, 24 in run defense, eight in pass rush and three in coverage.

Statistically, Evans’ numbers don’t look that impressive, especially with them coming against an FCS team, but regardless Bateman agreed with Brown’s statement.

“Yeah, for sure,” Bateman said. “I think, really for the last handful of games, he’s kind of every week taking the steps you expect to see. We're gonna need him to play a lot this week.”