Miami keeps No. 1 spot in ClutchPoints power rankings after 38-35 escape at North Carolina

Miami is still No. 1 in ClutchPoints' Week 10 college football power rankings. It was close, though. The Hurricanes needed a fourth-quarter push to beat North Carolina 38-35 in Chapel Hill. Only two teams kept the same spot in this week's ranking, which came after the fourth straight week in which a top-two AP team lost. Ohio State fell 11 places to No. 13 after losing 30-18 to USC.

ClutchPoints' Bryan Logan wrote that Miami "nearly lost the top spot." North Carolina answered both of Miami's first-half touchdowns and opened the third quarter with a touchdown pass to Jordan Shipp. Miami pulled away only late, when Mark Fletcher Jr. and Malachi Toney scored fourth-quarter touchdowns. Darian Mensah went 22 of 29 for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Toney caught seven passes for 75 yards and two scores, and Fletcher ran for two touchdowns. The win moved Miami to 8-0. Notre Dame moved up one spot to No. 7 after a 35-13 win over Navy. Wake Forest, at 7-1 and No. 11 after beating Virginia 51-7, is the only other ACC team in the ClutchPoints top 25.

The close game is part of a trend. Miami has given up 35, 23 and 35 points in its last three games, after allowing 49 points total in its first five. The Hurricanes still average close to 48 points a game, and Mensah has the offense moving. Still, Miami's recent games have been tighter than its early-season blowouts.

For North Carolina, the result was another one-score loss. The Tar Heels fell 31-30 to Syracuse a week earlier. They are 4-4 after losing two straight games by a combined four points.

What it means for Saturday

Miami's next game is its toughest yet: a Saturday night trip to No. 4 Notre Dame on NBC. The Irish are favored. Novig lists Notre Dame at -199 and Miami at +194 on the moneyline, and Hard Rock Bet's -195 is the best Notre Dame price on the board. Novig has Notre Dame as a 5.5-point favorite at -104 on both sides, but the line varies by venue. Hard Rock Bet has the Irish at -4.5, and Pinnacle gives Miami +6. That full-point gap is the widest disagreement in the market. Totals run from 56.5 to 58, and Novig sits at 57.5. Sportsbook hold on the game ranges from about 3.8% to 6.7%.

The number makes sense given how the season has gone. Miami has won road games at Clemson, Wake Forest and Stanford, but none of those opponents was as highly rated as Notre Dame. The last three Miami opponents also scored at least 23 points each. An unbeaten team going into South Bend as an underdog of about a field goal and a half will be a real test of its No. 1 ranking.

North Carolina plays at UConn on CBSSN and is favored there. Novig has the Tar Heels at -257 on the moneyline and -6.5 at -120 on the spread. FanDuel gives UConn the most points at +7.5, priced at -124. The total is 54.5 at Novig and 54 at Fanatics. North Carolina's late losses to Syracuse and Miami have made a road win more important if it wants to stay above .500. Full prices are on the game page.