North Carolina hits the road to take on No. 16 Miami at newly refurbished Hard Rock Stadium for a 3:30 kick Saturday.
The Tar Heels are 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC while the Hurricanes are 4-1 and 1-1.
Here are our picks:
This week’s Guest Picker: mkcwbc
If Miami's QB can't play, the game could be a run away for the Heels. I believe that Mitch and the boys will make up for the loss last week with an unbelievable showing. Prediction: UNC 38, Miami 24.
Deana King
UNC will bounce back after dealing with Hurricane Matthew and a solid Hokie defense to take a win last Saturday. The Heels were embarrassed and will look to take it out on the Hurricanes especially Trubisky and Switzer. The defense will have to play at another high level and cause some much needed turnovers. It's another big game for the Heels against a quality opponent. Prediction: UNC 38, Miami 31.
John Gwaltney
North Carolina is coming off of a poor performance against Virginia Tech, but the question is how much was caused by weather and how much was caused by the Tar Heels? The outcome of Saturday's game at Miami should give us all an answer. Miami has a big, athletic squad, but their schedule doesn't give much of a clue of how good they are since their only strong opponent, Florida State, is also their only loss. If Carolina's offense can bounce back and the defense continue to improve look for UNC to have a good shot at a win. Prediction: North Carolina 35, Miami 32.
Jarrod Hardy
Another week, another toss up pick. This game is really important for the Heels, especially if UNC wants to try to defend their coastal title. Both teams are coming off losses, both teams are dealing with multiple injuries. I fully expect Elijah Hood to be at full force and ready to go and I think Mitch will bounce back big time. The defense is going to have another tough QB to battle in Brad Kaaya. Mark Richt has some athletic weapons that will give Chizik’s defense some problems. UNC will break through and get at least two interceptions. Prediction: UNC 31, Miami 28.
Bruce Young
Miami comes into the game in Saturday with a chip on it's shoulder after losing a close game against FSU. It's safe to say Carolina has a boulder on it's shoulder after their uninspired performance against VA Tech. Miami's only hope is Hurricane Gertrude rolling in during the game! Prediction: UNC 46, Miami 31.
Matthew Hatfield
If this game was played after the Tar Heels won at Florida State and before their forgettable performance during Hurricane Matthew against Virginia Tech (and folks, that's not my fault, even though the hurricane and me share the same name), the pick would be UNC here with little hesitation. However, the Heels are just 116th in rushing offense and 113th in rushing defense. Miami comes in with the nation's #5 scoring defense, and while it would be easy to point to the common opponent of FSU, remember that the Heels needed an incredible field goal from Nick Weiler to win, whereas a missed extra point kept the Hurricanes from getting OT last week against those Seminoles. Prediction: Miami 24, UNC 21.
Andrew Jones
Extremely important and difficult game for the Tar Heels. Bottom line: If they create 3 or more turnovers they will win. But that’s a hard thing to predict given they’ve only forced 5 all season, with none as interceptions. That said, Carolina will play well and have a chance late, but Miami will get a few key sacks, force a series of punts and prevail at home. Prediction: Miami 35, UNC 30.
Average staff prediction: UNC 33.5, Miami 30.2.
