Miami Returns Home To Host North Carolina Saturday
Sept. 23, 2008
NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS AT MIAMI HURRICANES
Date: Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008
Location: Dolphin Stadium – Prescription AthleticTurf (Natural Grass), (74,916) in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Kickoff: 12:02 p.m. (ET)
TV: The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2, with Dave Pasch (play by play) and Andre Ware (color analyst).
Tape Delay Telecast: On CSS, Tuesday Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., with announcers Jason Solodkin (play-by-play) and K.C. Jones (color).
Local Radio: The Hurricanes Radio Network (WQAM 560 AM) will carry the game live with Joe Zagacki (play by play), Don Bailey Jr. (analysis) and Brian London (sideline reporter). Fans can also listen online at www.wqam.com. The game can also be heard on the UM student station WVUM (90.5 FM) with Justin Sheinis, Kent Brown, and Tom Murphy calling the game and Andrew Green on the pre-game and post-game show.
Radio En Espanol: The game will broadcast in Spanish on 1450 ESPN Deportes (1450 AM) with Joe Pujala (play by play) and Joe Martinez (analysis).
Websites: Miami (www.hurricanesports.com) and North Carolina (www.tarheelblue.com)
THE GAME
Miami begins a stretch of three consecutive home games Saturday when the Hurricanes host North Carolina in a nationally-televised game on ESPN2. The Hurricanes will play four of their next five games at Dolphin Stadium.
The Hurricanes are coming off of one of their best offensive games on the road in three years when Miami defeated Texas A&M, 41-23, at Kyle Field last Saturday. Miami’s 41 road points were the most since a 47-17 win at Wake Forest on Nov. 6, 2005.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Robert Marve will make his third collegiate start against the Tar Heels. Marve tossed his first two career touchdowns against the Aggies – his first a 26-yarder to true freshman Thearon Collier and his second to senior Kayne Farquharson from 15 yards out. Marve completed 16-of-22 passes for 212 yards.
The Hurricanes and the Tar Heels both enter the contest 2-1. In three games, Miami has allowed just 225 rushing yards (75 per game and 2.4 per carry). North Carolina¡¦s offense has been explosive with 1,069 yards (356.3 yards per game and 6.1 yards per play).
Defensively, the Hurricanes are ranked 26th nationally in overall defense and 17th in rushing defense through the first three games. Miami is yielding just 18.7 points per game and 277.7 yards per game. Against Texas A&M, linebacker Glenn Cook led the team with nine tackles, one for a loss and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Cook leads the team with 18 tackles.
THE OPPONENT
North Carolina dropped its first game of the season last Saturday as Virginia Tech rallied to defeat the Tar Heels, 20-17, in an ACC Coastal Division matchup. UNC outgained the Hokies 307-268, but the Tar Heels commited 14 penalties and had three turnovers in the loss.
Quarterback T.J. Yates has completed 40-of-66 passes for 623 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Yates completed 11-of-18 passes for 181 yards and one TD against the Hokies. Receiver Brandon Tate has been dynamic for the Tar Heels with 11 catches for 297 yards and three TDs. He leads the nation and ACC in all-purpose yards with 797 (141 rushing, 297 receiving, 141 punt returns and 218 on kickoff returns while accounting for five total touchdowns. Running back Greg Little has 179 yards on 50 carries and two scores.
Defensively, the Tar Heels are led by linebacker Mark Paschal with 28 tackles, 2.5 sacks and one interception. Fellow linebacker Quan Sturdivant is second with 27 tackles and an interception. The Tar Heels have intercepted seven passes and forced eight turnovers.
THE SERIES
North Carolina holds a slight 6-5 edge in the all-time series between the two schools. Since Miami joined the ACC in 2004, UM and UNC have split four match-ups with the ‘Canes winning back-to-back years in 2005 and 2006 and UNC winning in 2004 and 2007. The series between the two programs dates back to 1946.
THE COACHES
Randy Shannon is 7-8 and is in his second season at Miami. North Carolina’s Butch Davis is 6-9 in his second season with the Tar Heels.
MIAMI VS. THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
The University of Miami is 32-17-1 all-time versus teams from the state of North Carolina. Since UM joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004, the Hurricanes are 8-3 against teams from the Tar Heel State. Prior to two late season losses to N.C. teams last season, the Hurricanes had seven straight wins against the state from late 2004 to early last year.
Prior to Miami joining the ACC, the `Canes rarely faced teams from North Carolina, playing just four games against N.C. teams from the time Dennis Erickson took over the program in 1989 to the team’s last year in the BIG EAST in 2003. Over that 15-year span, UM faced East Carolina three times and NC State once.
BUTCH IS BACK
Saturday¡¦s game marks the first time that current UNC head coach Butch Davis will coach a collegiate game in Miami since the former UM head coach left for the NFL following the Hurricanes’ 2000 season. Davis, who coached the Hurricanes for six seasons (1995-2000), compiled a record of 52-20 in Coral Gables, including an 11-1 mark and a Sugar Bowl victory over Florida in his final season at UM. After coaching the Cleveland Browns for four seasons, Davis returned to the collegiate ranks last year to take over the Tar Heel program.
IT’S BEEN A WHILE
When UM hosts UNC on Saturday, it will be 30 days since UM’s last home game – the `Canes season-opener against Charleston Southern on Aug. 28. The last time the Hurricanes had that much time in between home games was during the team’s national championship season in 2002 when, after an Oct. 12 home game versus Florida State, the team had a bye week followed by three straight away games at West Virginia (10/26), at Rutgers (11/2) and at Tennessee (11/9). The Hurricanes finally hosted a game again that season on Nov. 21 against Pitt, 40 days after the FSU contest the previous month.
HURRICANES AT DOLPHIN STADIUM
Miami is a perfect 4-0 in games played in Dolphin Stadium. In addition to UM’s season-opening 52-7 win over Charleston Southern on Aug. 28, the Hurricanes defeated Virginia, 31-21, in the Carquest Bowl in 1996; NC State, 46-23, in 1998 in the Micron PC Bowl and Florida State, 16-14, in the 2003 Orange Bowl.
UM OFFENSE IN THE RED ZONE
The Hurricanes are a near-perfect 10-of-11 in the red zone on offense. UM has converted seven touchdowns, three field goals and if it weren’t for a late interception against A&M, the Hurricanes would be one of just nine teams nationally (and five teams in BCS leagues) to have converted 100 percent of their red zone chances. The ‘Canes lead the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 90.9 percentage.
