No. 1 Miami survives North Carolina 38-35 behind Fletcher's TD and Lightfoot's strip-sack
Mark Fletcher Jr.'s fourth-down score and Marquise Lightfoot's forced fumble let No. 1 Miami hold off North Carolina 38-35 before its trip to Notre Dame.
Top-ranked Miami is still unbeaten, but it took a fourth-quarter comeback in Chapel Hill to stay that way. The Hurricanes trailed North Carolina 28-24 with less than 12 minutes left Saturday night. Mark Fletcher Jr. then scored on a 2-yard run on fourth down, and Marquise Lightfoot forced a fumble on the next series. Miami won 38-35, according to the Associated Press recap carried by ESPN.
The Tar Heels had gone ahead on Demon June's 1-yard run with 11:46 left. Fletcher answered with 7:49 to go. On North Carolina's next possession, Lightfoot came from behind Billy Edwards Jr. and knocked the ball loose as Edwards tried to throw, and Justin Scott recovered with 5:33 remaining. Darian Mensah then threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Toney, his second scoring connection with Toney on the night, to make it 38-28 with 2:33 left. North Carolina scored again, and Miami still had to recover an onside kick before it could kneel out the clock. Two earlier North Carolina recoveries had been wiped out by penalties, ABC News reported in its version of the wire story. Fletcher accounted for three touchdowns, and his two rushing scores tied Miami's career record for rushing touchdowns.
The win came with a warning. Edwards threw for a season-high 341 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to tight end Jelani Thurman. Bill Belichick's offense kept drives alive all night, including a 16-play touchdown march that took nearly eight and a half minutes. After the game, Miami coach Mario Cristobal listed the problems: soft zone drops, sloppy tackling, too few defenders reaching the ball, and receivers beating his corners in man coverage. "This isn't the business for moral victories," Edwards said afterward, per ESPN.
For North Carolina (4-4, 2-3 ACC), it was a second straight home loss by a field goal or less, following a 31-30 overtime defeat against Syracuse. The Tar Heels are now 0-12 all-time against No. 1 teams. They leave conference play next Saturday to visit UConn on CBSSN.
What it means for Notre Dame
Miami (8-0, 6-0 ACC) goes to No. 5 Notre Dame next Saturday on NBC, in a rematch of last season's game that helped send the Hurricanes to the College Football Playoff instead of the Irish. The offense has not been the concern. Miami is averaging about 47.6 points a game, scored at least 33 in every game, and has put up 38 or more in each of its last three. The defense is the open question. It allowed 17.75 points a game through eight weeks, but it has given up 35 in two of its last three games, against Florida State and now North Carolina.
The market has the Irish as the choice. On this site's Miami at Notre Dame board, which tracks eight venues, Notre Dame is favored by 3.5 points. Novig lists Notre Dame -3.5 at -141 and Miami +3.5 at +108. FanDuel has the widest number on the Hurricanes, Miami +4.5 at -112, and bet365 has the best price on Notre Dame -3.5, at -109. On the moneyline, Novig has Notre Dame at -160 and Miami at +156. Polymarket's +158 is the best Miami price anywhere, only slightly ahead of Novig. Sportsbook hold runs from 4.3% to 6.7% on the moneyline. The total sits between 54.5 and 55.5, a high number given that Miami's offense keeps scoring while its defense has been leaking points.
