Published Aug 10, 2020
The 2020 Slate: Miami
Andrew Jones & Jacob Turner
Tar Heel Illustrated

Miami Hurricanes

Date: Dec. 5, Coral Gables, FL

Miami 2019 Record: 6-7, 4-4 ACC

Postseason: Lost to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl

Returning Starters: Offense 10, Defense 6

Head Coach: Manny Diaz (46) returned to Coral Gables last season, his first as a head coach, and led the Hurricanes to a 6-7 mark, including 4-4 in the ACC. Diaz, however, appears to have the program moving in the right direction, at least on the recruiting trail, as the Canes currently have the No. 9 class in the nation, which is two spots ahead of UNC.


3 Key Players: QB D’Eriq King (in essentially three seasons at Houston, King completed 61.8 percent of his pass attempts for 4,925 yards, 50 TDs and 10 INTs), Gurvan Hall Jr. (Sophomore DB will be the Hurricanes’ top returning tackler in 2020 after finishing with 66 in 2019); TE Brevin Jordan (35 receptions, 495 yards, 2 TDs) is one of the best at his position in the nation.

Must Figure Out: Quarterback was going to be a potentially messy situation again with two average players battling back and forth until the Canes brought in Houston transfer D’Eriq King. Now, King must get on the same page with his new teammates quickly, which is a bit further complicated by having a new offensive coordinator, the third for the program in as many seasons. Getting King in sync with everyone else is paramount for the Hurricanes.

In Great Shape: Defense. Miami had the second best scoring defense in the ACC last season, allowing just 19.6 points per game, and will return around half of those starters.


Looking Ahead: “The version we saw (in the bowl game) can’t take part in 2020, in any way, shape or form. That’s up to me to fix and make sure that what that looked like (in the bowl game) night does not show up in 2020. … And it will get fixed.” – Miami Coach Manny Diaz following his team’s 14-0 bowl game loss.

History vs. UNC: Miami leads 11-10 thought UNC won the last meeting.

Miami’s ACC slate: Home: FSU, Ga. Tech, UNC, Pitt and UVA; Away: Clemson, Louisville, NC State, Va. Tech and Wake.


Matchup with UNC: This would potentially have been a game that decided the Coastal Division, but divisions and ACC football are so 2019. In 2020, there won’t be any divisions, but the Canes and Heels could still be jockeying for position, so this is an extremely important game. UNC is better right now on paper, but if King is as good as some folks in South Florida believe, this could be a toss up.


Rivals site: CaneSport.com


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