Miami Football: Previewing the Hurricanes vs. North Carolina Tar Heels

The Hurricanes head to North Carolina on Saturday to play the 5-1 Tar Heels. Miami doesn't do very well against North Carolina as they are just 6-8 against them all-time.

Miami is looking to win their first conference game of the season as they have started 0-2.

Miami has played good enough to win every game they have played so far, but mental mistakes and lack of a fast start has made them just 2-3 overall.

They have only lost those three games by a combined total of 15 points.

Here is the preview of their game against the Tar Heels this Saturday at Kenan Stadium.

Giovani Bernard vs Miami Hurricanes Horrible Rush Defense

By now, the entire country knows that Miami's rush defense is horrendous. They are currently ranked 97th in the country giving up over 196 yards per game.

In fact, they have given up over 200 yards the last three games including a 300-plus-yard performance by Virginia Tech last week.

The Hurricanes front four is missing some key players such as Marcus Forston (out for year), Olivier Vernon (suspended until next week) and Curtis Porter (out for year), but with the athletes Miami recruits, you figure they would be able to play much better.

We figured wrong.

The defensive line continuously get pushed off the ball, and when they do get in the backfield, they forget to wrap up.

North Carolina has a freshman who will hurt them if they continue poor tackling skills.

Giovani Bernard has been tearing it up for the Tar Heels of late as he has rushed for four straight 100-yard games.

He is currently 19th in the country averaging just over 109 yards per game.

Miami's front four need to get to Bernard in the backfield and if they don't, make it four straight games in which the Hurricanes have given up over 200 yards.

Lamar Miller vs North Carolina's Rush Defense

Lamar Miller has had a Heisman-type season already as he has ran for over 100 yards in every game this year.

He is third in the country with 135 rushing yards per game and gains 7.2 yards every time he touches the ball.

All those numbers are great, but what his most impressive stat is that he is the only FBS running back to have a 40-plus-yard run in every game this year.

He is a breakout back and North Carolina better be ready. The Tar Heels' rush defense is pretty solid, only giving up 119 yards per game.

Don't tell Miller that though because he doesn't care how good the opposing team's rush defense is as he put up 166 rushing yards on just 18 carries against a defense that was giving up just 58 yards per game on the ground.

Receivers Need to Continue to Play as Good as They Have Been

For those who follow my articles, I have been giving nothing but praise for the Hurricane wide receivers and for good reason.

They simply do not drop the ball.

Last year the Hurricanes had 67 dropped passes, and this year I honestly believe there has only been about three.

Allan Hurns has been the biggest surprise of the season so far, as he has 16 catches for 239 yards and three touchdowns.

Tommy Streeter has also been amazing catching 14 passes for 243 yards and four touchdowns.

Travis Benjamin is his usual self, catching 16  passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns.

With all of the success on the ground, Miami won't have the huge numbers like other teams have across the country, but it's great to know that if they do need to pass, the receivers will catch the ball.

Jacory Harris Needs to Continue to Play Mistake Free

For the first time in a very long time, Jacory Harris has gone two straight games without throwing an interception.

That may not sound very good to a lot of people, but that is impressive to Hurricane fans who have had to deal with their quarterback's interception problem for three years now.

In fact, the game against Bethune-Cookman broke Harris's streak of six straight games with an interception.

Now instead of throwing interceptions, Harris is throwing touchdowns and has been looking razor-sharp at that.

The last two games Harris has completed 25-of-38 passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns.

North Carolina is 87th ranked in passing defense giving up over 244 yards per game, which should only help Harris's confidence even more.

Hurricane Cornerbacks Better Be Ready for UNC Recevier Dwight Jones

UNC's Dwight Jones is one of the best wide receivers in the country right now, as he has caught 37 passes for 605 yards and seven touchdowns.

Standing 6'4" and 225 pounds, Jones has been an absolute disaster to cover.

Miami's pass defense has been suspect at best, allowing 348 yards passing to Maryland's Danny O'Brien and 310 yards to Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas.

Thomas actually complete 23-of-25 passes against the Canes' secondary.

Miami's defensive line is to blame as well, as they don't get any pressure on the opposing teams quarterbacks.

The corner must cover much better than they have all year, or Jones will have a huge game.

Miami Needs to Create Turnovers

The Hurricanes have eight turnovers so far this year, which would be fine if they were able to create more than the six that they have so far this year.

Miami is ranked 99 in turnovers created this year and is yet another reason why Miami has started just 2-3.

The Hurricanes have always been know for creating turnovers, but the last few years just haven't be able to do so.

I am not sure if it's the players who haven't been able to create turnovers or the lack of coaching, either way Miami needs to give the offense more opportunities to get the ball back in their hands.

UNC's quarterback Brynn Renner has thrown six interceptions so far this year, which should allow the coaches to be a little more aggressive.

Miami Can Not Start Slow Like They Have Been

I am not sure if it's the coaching or the players who have been the cause of the Hurricanes to play such a bad first half in every game this year.

Besides the Ohio State game, Miami has struggled on offense, which is becoming a major concern for a team that relies primarily on the running game.

Even against FCS school Bethune-Cookman, Miami took just a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Miami must come out fast against North Carolina, then use Lamar Miller and Mike James to control the clock.

If it wasn't for the great adjustments made by the coaching staff, it's a possibility Miami doesn't even have a win this year.