No. 8 Miami aims to stay unbeaten at North Carolina

No. 8 Miami (6-0, 4-0 ACC) at North Carolina (1-7, 0-5), Saturday, noon ET (ESPN2)

Line: Miami by 20.

Series record: UNC leads. UNC said it holds an 11-9 margin, Miami lists it at 10-9.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Miami has a chance to carry an unbeaten record into November. The Hurricanes are the only unbeaten team in the ACC’s Coastal Division, so they don’t want to squander that lead in a game as a big favorite against a struggling team.

KEY MATCHUP

Miami RB Travis Homer vs. UNC’s run defense. The Hurricanes lost top rusher Mark Walton to an injury, but Homer has thrived since taking the lead role. He ran for 170 yards against Georgia Tech followed by 95 more against Syracuse. He’ll face a defense allowing 223.4 yards rushing per game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Miami: QB Malik Rosier. Rosier has avoided mistakes in his first season as the full-time starter, throwing 14 touchdown passes against three interceptions.

North Carolina: TB Jordon Brown. Freshman Michael Carter is out with an injury, so Brown will have to carry a bigger backfield load. He hasn’t carried the ball more than 11 times in any of the past five games.

FACTS & FIGURES

Miami coach Mark Richt is 15-4 in his two seasons there. … UNC is the only winless team in either ACC division. … UNC is off to its worst ACC start since going 0-6 in 2006. … The Hurricanes are seeking a 12th straight win. … The Tar Heels haven’t beaten a power conference opponent since last November, a streak of nine straight games — along with a loss to FBS independent Notre Dame. … North Carolina won the last meeting in Chapel Hill 59-21 in 2015 on its way to the Coastal Division title. … Miami is 4-0 in the ACC for the first time. … UNC has 21 players out for this game on the injury report, 17 of those for the season.

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