Miami stayed unbeaten with a 38-35 win at North Carolina on Saturday night, scoring twice in the final eight minutes to escape Chapel Hill. The top-ranked Hurricanes improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while North Carolina fell to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play. Miami ended a five-game losing streak against North Carolina and survived a late rally from the Tar Heels.
Mark Fletcher Jr. scored three touchdowns for the Hurricanes, including the go-ahead score with 7:49 left. Fletcher ran two yards for a touchdown on fourth down to put Miami ahead 31-28. Darian Mensah threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns, completing 22 of 29 passes without an interception. Malachi Toney caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns for the Hurricanes.
North Carolina quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. completed 28 of 34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns went to tight end Jelani Thurman in the first half. Edwards threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Trech Kekahuna with 1:38 left, cutting Miami’s lead to 38-35. North Carolina then recovered two onside kicks, but a penalty on each play wiped out the recovery and gave the ball back to Miami.
Miami finds a late answer in Chapel Hill
North Carolina took a 28-24 lead early in the fourth quarter, and Miami needed a response. Fletcher provided it with his fourth-down touchdown run, and the Hurricanes then produced the defensive play that changed the game. Marquise Lightfoot stripped Edwards from behind as he tried to throw, and Justin Scott recovered the fumble with 5:33 left. That takeaway gave Miami the ball with a chance to extend its lead.
The Hurricanes used that chance well. Elija Lofton leaped over a would-be tackler on a catch to move the chains, and Mensah then threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Toney with 2:33 left. That score gave the Hurricanes a 38-28 lead, their first double-digit lead of the game. North Carolina answered quickly, driving 75 yards in five plays in 55 seconds to cut the gap to three points, but the onside kick penalties ended the Tar Heels’ comeback hopes.
Mensah opened the game with a 13-play drive in which all four of his completions went to Toney, including a two-yard touchdown pass. He later threw a 31-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Fletcher. Mensah also ran for key first downs when the Hurricanes needed to extend drives, and he did not throw an interception all night. His accuracy kept the Hurricanes moving even when North Carolina’s defense made the Hurricanes work for yards.
Miami leans on Fletcher and Toney late
Fletcher finished with 13 carries for 43 yards and two rushing touchdowns, plus two catches for 43 yards and a receiving touchdown. His 31-yard touchdown catch was the 36th touchdown of his Miami career, the most in program history, breaking a tie with Edgerrin James and Stephen McGuire. Fletcher’s go-ahead run in the fourth quarter was his third touchdown of the night and his second rushing score.
Toney caught the touchdown that gave the Hurricanes a 10-point lead, and he had three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter alone. The Hurricanes finished with 416 total yards, and their offense scored 38 points against a North Carolina defense that had been competitive all season. The Hurricanes trailed in the fourth quarter and still found a way to win, a pattern that has kept them unbeaten through eight games.
North Carolina fell to 0-12 against No. 1-ranked teams. The Tar Heels played well enough to lead in the fourth quarter, but they could not hold that lead against a team that has won close games all season. Edwards threw for a season-high 341 yards, and Thurman caught two touchdown passes, yet North Carolina could not stop the Hurricanes on the two drives that decided the game.
Miami heads to Notre Dame next week
The Hurricanes now travel to No. 5 Notre Dame next week for a high-profile matchup. Notre Dame is 7-1, and the game will be a test of whether the Hurricanes can stay unbeaten against another ranked opponent on the road. The Hurricanes improved to 8-0 for the second time in three seasons, and a win at Notre Dame would strengthen its place at the top of the rankings.
North Carolina will look to regroup after a loss that slipped away in the final minutes. The Tar Heels led 28-24 in the fourth quarter and scored with 1:38 left to pull within three points, but the penalties on the onside kicks left them without a final chance. The Hurricanes kneeled out the clock after recovering the third onside kick attempt, closing out a 38-35 win that kept their unbeaten season alive.